Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman announces support for ENDA

Colorado Republican Mike Coffman threw his support behind the Employment Non-Discrimination Act today. He is the seventh House Republican to back the legislation that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal.

From Politico:

"I see this legislation as the workplace equivalent of the Golden Rule — do unto others, as you would have them do unto you," Coffman told Politico. "In the workplace, in 2014, we should judge employees the way we would want to be judged — based on our qualifications, our contributions and by our character, period."

The legislation passed in the Senate earlier this year.  Speaker of the House John Boehner has refused to bring the bill to the floor of the House for consideration.

LGBT advocacy group Freedom To Work cheered the support:

"We applaud Congressman Coffman for supporting the freedom to work without discrimination for all Americans," said Christian Berle, the legislative director of Freedom to Work, who happens to be a Republican. "When I met with the Congressman to discuss this legislation, he impressed me with his conservative case for giving LGBT Americans a fair shot to contribute to our economy. He’s a strong conservative who understands that ENDA is good for business and the right thing to do."

(via Advocate.com)