TELL THE SENATE, FIX THE FILIBUSTER, Stop Senate discrimination against gays and lesbians from CREDO ACTION

THE time has come to make sure all Americans civil rights are protected nationally, the laws allowing LGBT workers to be fired just because of who they are are wrong and they are un-American and they need to be done away with. The vast majority of Americans don't care about someones sexual orientation in the workplace, we just want co-workers who do their fair share and treat us with respect and are fun to work with. The Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), currently being filibustered in the U.S. Senate, will end this great wrong. Please sign the petition from Credo Action telling the Senate to change the filibuster rules in the Senate so a small, ignorant, prejudiced minority is no longer able to endlessly delay legislation the majority wants passed. Click the header to sign the petition.

Tell the Senate: Fix the filibuster Clicking here will add your name to this petition to all current senators and candidates for Senate:  http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/filibuser_fix/ Progress on lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) rights has ground to a halt in Congress because a minority of right-wing senators has relied on the unprecedented use of the filibuster. The filibuster is an antiquated provision in Senate procedure that requires a 60-vote supermajority to pass legislation, confirm nominees or even perform some of the most mundane parliamentary tasks. Because of the filibuster, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)is languishing in Congress. Meanwhile gays and lesbians can be fired in 29 states just because of their sexual orientation, and transgender folks can be fired in 38 states. In addition, thanks to the threat of a filibuster, we still have the wrongheaded "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy on the books, which writes discrimination into the law and prevents gay and lesbian soldiers from serving their country openly. With different rules in the Senate, we would be celebrating the end of DADT and the passage of ENDA, not to mention dozens of progressive policies passed by the House and killed in the Senate. For more than 150 years, the filibuster was used less than once per year. But since the Republicans lost their majority in the Senate in 2006, they've used it almost daily — 112 times in 2007 and 2008, and this year they are on pace to break their own record. And that doesn't even count the number of times the threat of a filibuster has created gridlock in the Senate. As the November elections near, it's increasingly clear that obstructionism is likely to be a winning political strategy for the GOP. Frankly, unless something changes, we're likely to see Republican filibusters on any type of progressive issue for the foreseeable future. The good news is that, contrary to popular belief, the filibuster isn't some immutable part of the Senate. The filibuster isn't in the Constitution — in fact it's the product of a historical accident. Not only that, the rules governing the filibuster have been changed twice before. For the first time in 30 years, there is growing momentum to change the filibuster rules in the Senate again. This can be done with a simple majority vote on the first day of the next Senate session. http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/filibuser_fix/ Thank you for working for a better world. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Share on Facebook Post to your feed wall Tweet this Post to Twitter