WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor said Wednesday that he will support legislation prohibiting employers from making hiring decisions based on sexual orientation.
Pryor, D-Ark.,was one of the last Senate Democrats who hadn’t publicly said how they would vote on the measure, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, which prohibits discrimination because a person is homosexual or transgender or because the employer thinks the person is. By Wednesday morning, all Senate Democrats had publicly backed the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he expects to call a vote on the legislation by Thanksgiving.
“The senator thinks that no one should be fired or harassed in the workplace based on their sexual orientation,” Pryor spokesman Michael Teague said.
The bill needs support from 60 senators to avoid procedural hurdles. It has 54 co-sponsors: 52 Democrats and two Republicans. Pryor is not a co-sponsor.
Arkansas’ other U.S. senator said he will vote against the legislation.
“I’m very much in favor of treating everyone fairly,” said Sen. John Boozman, a Republican. “I have concerns that you are having special provisions for a certain class of people.”
He said the current bill is vague, which he said would make it easy to sue employers.
The Family Research Council, which opposes the bill, said it is too broad and might force church-related businesses to employ homosexuals. In a statement, council President Tony Perkins urged supporters to ask their senators to oppose the measure.
Section 6 of the Senate version of the bill exempts corporations, associations, educational institutions and societies that are already exempt from the religious-discrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also only applies to businesses with more than 15 employees.
Supporters from two gay rights organizations urged Pryor to support the legislation this week - the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Freedom to Work.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund Executive Director Rea Carey praised Pryor’s announcement Wednesday, saying it gave the legislation momentum.
“This is an historic opportunity for all senators to protect millions of [gay, bisexual and transgender] people from employment discrimination,” Carey said.
The 15th annual Arkansas Poll found that 78 percent of respondents said homosexuals should have equal rights in job opportunities. Twelve percent said they should not and 9 percent were undecided or refused to answer.
The poll, which interviewed 800 Arkansans Oct. 10-17, has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
University of Arkansas political-science professor Janine Parry, who designed the poll, broke the results down by political party Wednesday. She said 76 percent of Republicans who answered the survey said homosexuals should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities, while 14 percent said they should not and 10 percent didn’t know or refused to answer.
She said 80 percent of Democrats who answered the survey said homosexuals should have equal rights in job opportunities, while 12 percent said they should not and 8 percent didn’t know or refused to answer.
Among independents, 82 percent said homosexuals should have equal rights to job opportunities. Nine percent said they should not and 9 percent did not know or refused to answer.
The four Arkansans in the U.S. House said they haven’t yet taken a stance on the measure.
Arkansas Code 16-123-107 prohibits discrimination on the basis of “race, religion, national origin, gender, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability,” but it doesn’t bar general discrimination against homosexuals. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, more than a dozen states already ban discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, including Delaware, Minnesota, Nevada and New Jersey.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 10/31/2013