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04/20/2010

And yes, Mr. Nimocks: Straw men can be fired on the basis of their bullsh*t-iness

by Jeremy Hooper

Speaking about the supposed limitations that workplace non-discrimination protections for LGBT people will supposedly pose to Christian business owners, the A Lie in Defiance of Fun Alliance Defense Fund's Austin Nimocks says this:

"A law that would require an organization to retain employees who don't fulfill that organization's mission is a dangerous law," he said. "It's like requiring an environmental group to fill up its board with a bunch of lumberjacks or requiring a Democratic senator to hire a bunch of Republican staffers."
Could Gay Protections Trump Religious Freedom? [CBN]

Uhm. Okay. Interesting. Except here's why he's completely and utterly wrong:

The Employment NonDiscrimination Act simply takes away employers' (with more than 15 employees) right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, the same way similar protections prevent bias on the basis of skin color, race, sex, national origin, or yes -- RELIGION. ENDA does not take away their ability to gauge qualifications in other areas. If an environmental group has a field of candidates, then the one who comes in with a "CHOP DOWN ALL THE DAMN TREES!" platform is unlikely to win the position. Or if a Democratic senator is conducting a job search, they retain every right to ensure that their new hire holds the skills and knowledge that are fit for the job, and any potential employee who espouses the virtues of Palinism just might be seen as too rogue for the (D-lawmaker's) particular office. And in terms of faith-based businesses that are not specifically covered under ENDA's religious exemptions: The owners will still retain every right to gauge their potential worker bee's skill set, dress code, work ethic, attitude towards the business' mission, competence, etc. In short: He or she will totally retain the right to say "don't call us, we'll call you" to any potential hire who doesn't fit the business' calling.

The only thing ENDA prevents is the idea that one's sexual orientation or gender expression can and/or should be an immediate disqualification. It does not create quotas. it doesn't eliminate any other employment considerations. It does not eliminate the whole host of factors that go into an employer's payrolling process. It doesn't force PETA to hire a gay hunter who comes to his interview with deer guts on his vest. It simply curbs bias -- the same way that we have long worked to curb employment discrimination against religious people (a quality that's undeniably a choice, by the way)!

Plain and simple: Anti-gay evangelicals want ENDA stopped because they don't want LGBT people seen as what they are: Normal parts of society's benign normalcy. In denying this fact -- FACT! -- the anti-ENDA evangelicals are not only doing a disservice to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning people and their straight allies -- they are also doing a disservice to those faith convictions that demand sincerity rather than agenda-laden deception!

***

**SEE ALSO: CBN's video report, which contains the above Nimocks quote (and bears out the idea that ENDA is a "slippery slope" to this crowd):

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