Passage
of
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
(ENDA)
has
long
been
at
the
top
of
gay
activists’
wish
lists.
The
bill
has
been
around
in
one
form
or
another
since
the
1970s
and
after
the
Democrats
took
control
of
Congress
in
2006,
many
were
optimistic
it
would
finally
pass.
But
the
excitement
gave
way
to
a
divisive
fight
over
transgender
rights
this
year,
pitting
some
activists
against
gay
Rep.
Barney
Frank
and
others
who
supported
the
gay-only
version
when
it
became
clear
there
were
not
enough
votes
to
pass
the
trans-inclusive
version.
Many
trans
activists
felt
abandoned
and
some
even
picketed
the
annual
Human
Rights
Campaign
National
Dinner.
Others
argued
that
a
successful
House
vote
—
even
with
a
White
House
veto
threatened
and
looming
—
would
be
historic
and
bode
well
for
more
expansive
legislation
in
the
future.
The
ENDA
timeline
below
shows
how
the
bill
has
progressed
since
1974.
Reps.
Bella
Abzug
(D-N.Y.)
and
Ed
Koch
(D-N.Y.)
introduce
H.R.
14752,
dubbed
the
“gay
rights
bill”
or
“Equality
Act
of
1974,”
but
it
fails
to
make
it
out
of
committee.
It
proposes
that
new
categories
of
sex,
sexual
orientation
and
marital
status
be
added
to
the
1964
civil
rights
act.
It
is
forwarded
to
the
civil
rights
subcommittee,
part
of
the
Judiciary
Committee,
but
because
the
committee
is
in
the
throes
of
impeachment
hearings,
the
bill
is
seen
as
a
long
shot.
Abzug’s
version
bars
anti-gay
discrimination
in
public
accommodations
and
housing,
but
not
transgender
protections,
thus
making
it
further
reaching
than
its
modern
counterpart.
Abzug
introduces
the
Civil
Rights
Amendment
of
1975,
which
would
add
“affectional
or
sexual
preference”
to
existing
civil
rights
laws,
separating
sex
and
marital
status
from
sexual
orientation.
The
modern
version,
now
called
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act,
is
introduced
with
gay-only
protection
without
public
accommodations
or
housing
provisions.
The
Senate
Labor
&
Human
Resources
Committee
holds
the
first
hearings
on
ENDA.
It
fails
to
make
it
out
of
committee
as
does
a
1995
version.
The
Senate
votes
on
ENDA
without
a
gender
identity
provision.
It
loses
by
one
vote,
49
to
50.
The
House
doesn’t
vote
on
the
bill.
The
near
victory
came
at
a
high
price.
With
the
consent
of
national
gay
advocacy
groups,
Sen.
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.),
the
lead
sponsor
of
ENDA,
struck
a
deal
with
Senate
Republican
leaders
that
activists
say
they
hope
will
never
again
be
necessary.
GOP
leaders
said
they
would
allow
ENDA
to
come
up
for
a
vote
only
if
Kennedy
and
his
Democratic
allies
agreed
to
end
a
filibuster
blocking
a
vote
on
the
anti-gay
Defense
of
Marriage
Act.
Known
as
DOMA,
that
legislation
sought
for
the
first
time
to
define
marriage
under
federal
law
as
a
union
only
between
a
man
and
a
woman.
On
the
same
day
the
Senate
narrowly
defeated
ENDA,
it
passed
DOMA
by
a
vote
of
85
to
14.
The
disappointment
over
the
close
defeat
of
ENDA
and
the
approval
of
DOMA
was
heightened
by
what
ENDA
supporters
view
as
a
quirk
of
fate
that
prevented
the
Senate
from
passing
the
gay
rights
measure.
Sen.
David
Pryor
(D-Ark.),
who
was
expected
to
vote
for
ENDA,
sent
word
that
he
had
to
rush
to
Arkansas
to
assist
his
son,
who
was
undergoing
cancer
surgery,
and
could
not
be
present
in
the
Senate
for
the
vote.
ENDA
languishes
in
the
ensuing
years.
Another
version
of
ENDA
is
introduced
with
hearings
held
by
the
Senate
Labor
&
Human
Resources
Committee.
This
version,
also
without
a
trans
provision,
fails
to
make
it
out
of
committee.
Abzug
dies.
President
Bill
Clinton
issues
an
executive
order
prohibiting
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation
in
much
of
the
federal
workplace.
Later
in
the
year,
the
House
rejects
an
amendment
that
would
have
prohibited
use
of
federal
funds
to
enforce
Clinton’s
order.
The
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force
becomes
the
first
gay
civil
rights
organization
to
stop
work
on
ENDA
because
of
its
lack
of
a
trans
provision.
ENDA
re-introduced,
again
without
trans
protections,
fails
to
make
it
out
of
committee.
Democrats
win
back
control
of
the
Senate
by
one
vote.
During
the
next
year
and
a
half,
Democrats
have
the
ability
to
bring
up
ENDA
and
other
gay
rights
measures
to
the
Senate
floor
for
a
vote
but
don’t.
In
retrospect,
Elizabeth
Birch,
then-director
of
HRC,
and
Tom
Daschle
(D-S.D.),
then
Senate
Majority
Leader,
say
they
expected
a
Republican-led
filibuster
and
didn’t
have
the
60
votes
to
end
such
a
move
and
pass
the
bill.
A
version
of
ENDA
is
considered
in
committee
but
doesn’t
make
it
to
the
House
or
Senate
floor.
ENDA
hearings
are
held
before
the
Senate
Health,
Education,
Labor
&
Pensions
Committee.
It’s
placed
on
the
Senate
calendar
but
never
makes
it
to
the
floor.
ENDA
re-introduced
without
trans
provision
but
never
makes
it
out
of
committee.
HRC
changes
its
position
from
opposing
a
trans
provision
on
the
grounds
...
