The Dangers Of ENDA

This is family policy matter program is produced by the North Carolina family policy Council of profamily research and education organization dedicated to strengthening and preserving the family and elf in the studio.

Here's John Rushton, president of the North Carolina family policy Council, thank you for joining us this week.

Profamily policy matters.

It is my welcome Brian Anderson program. Ryan is the William E. Simon fellow at the Heritage foundation and the editor of public discourse. The online Journal of the Witherspoon Institute previously served as assistant editor of first things in his writings have appeared widely in the Harvard Journal of law and public policy.

The weekly standard national review and the new Atlantic. Ryan has been the featured speaker at several of the North Carolina family policy Council's major speakers dinner events in recent years and he has been a guest on family policy matters. On numerous occasions. So were excited to have him back with us today. He is back today with us to talk about a dangerous piece of federal legislation known as the employment nondiscrimination act or Endo Narayan recently submitted testimony to the US commission on civil rights, explaining why India is bad public policy will talk with him today about this in the thread that interposes to a number of fundamental civil liberties. Ron welcome back to the program. It's great to have you with us again, thank you, thank you for those who are unfamiliar with Endo or the employment nondiscrimination act.

Briefly explain what it is.

If you would, and who is behind it short duration at end it and the great sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal employment law on to say that employer cannot engage in what it considers to be discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender. I currently can including routing, bisexuality, gender identity, including transgender identity. Biological males identify female biological females identified as male ultimately darted it. The belief that we are created in the now and that male and female are created for each other in marriage and it and unjust form of irrational bigotry and racism we have to wait for the protected class and federal employment law, you can't remember the late trying to say that beliefs about the nature of marriage and belief without human anthropology being created male and female is the functional equivalent of racism. Oftentimes we hear these terms because they are undefined is they seem to be in many cases when they come up that really ambiguous and it's hard for people to get a grasp on the true impact of the purpose behind creating these words as special protected classifications. Now they still do remain fairly ambiguous terms within the context of Endo. How does Endo define the terms and what is problematic about those definitions. Ron right now and find orientation."

Homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality offers no definitions of what those three terms mean not offer any principal limit sexual orientation to those three terms, at least in the LGBT acronym, grow to include about half of the alphabet at some places at Wesleyan College. They have a safe speed for their extended LGBT acronym, LGBT PDQ QS AG Steve BDSM sex before acronym one of our nation's most elite colleges of the question is what limits sexual orientation and gender identity and to just those terms right now, right now the text of Endo limited to those terms. Why, what is the principal reason that section plantation Jedi 91 and extend other orientations and other identity.

Just one question, even given how they are currently defining it, eyesight University at the kite at John Hopkins Hospital school of medicine and a law professor at University of Notre Dame point out that unlike grace. However, the city sexual orientation did not have any object is a definition is no consensus within the social science community as to what it means there is no thank you consensus on how to define the truncation in the various definitions proposed by financially different groups of people to become part of federal law to be very confusing as to who is protected and under what situations opens and clears up quite a bit of liability, so the objections and I really united with Rotarians that are concerned about free market conservatives concerned about marriage equality, united me know various part of the center-right communities are not very ambiguous law, and in addition to the ambiguity of these terms, when we look at the classifications that have traditionally been protected like race, color, age, national origin, those are classifications that are much more clearly defined and so what do you see some of the key differences between the efforts to gain legally protected status for sexual orientation and gender identity in those classifications that have traditionally been protected by, or national, and in some cases state laws charging a lot in the pocket money that I delivered it on. I pointed out that sexual orientation and gender identity.

Conceptually different from a and are historically different from a sluggish start with the conceptual difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was entirely right arm that he had a dream that his children would be judged by the content of their character, not the color in one's character is comprised of one voluntary action Martin Luther King Jr. St. I want my children to be judged based on their character based on their actions not judged based on their skin color which is utterly irrelevant to their character interactions so already.

I knew nothing about one's character, about one action, sexual orientation and gender are simply descriptions for voluntary action. Race, by contrast, refers to nothing with respect to behavior allows reasonable to say that employer should make any judgment on right always and everywhere irrelevant to the employment context, irrelevant to the content of one's character is reasonable for employers when they think it's a job with vitamin E can implement efficiently upon action letters by reason engine experience, many people of goodwill believes that our bodies are essential to who we are. This email message xenon arc arbitrator.

Objectively, your human and that are sexual as male and female is the heart of what marriage is an end. It would threaten to make those convictions inventory system, plus the conceptual difference the historical difference that you look at what happened with the American experience of research-based slavery in the no waste-based system of government enforced Jim Crow segregation is that voluntary market forces were insufficient to overcome the terrible discrimination frequently government boxer discrimination against African-Americans.

But there's nothing similar like that today going on against the people in the LGBT community. 88% of Fortune 500 companies have voluntarily said that they're knocking to consider sexual orientation employment decision and the financial company Prudential reports that the median LGBT household income is $61,000 with the average American happens only $50,000 Fidelity householder Nikki $11,000 more on average than other is unclear what the problem discrimination. This bill is actually seeking to address this looks much more like a solution in search of a problem. What you have written that ended quote tramples fundamental civil liberties and unnecessarily impinges on citizens rights to run their businesses. The way that they choose. You spoken a little but already about the potential impact of Endo own business, but explained that he would how Endo threatens the constitutional rights of business owners in particular part of title VII of the Civil Rights Act that have prevented employment discretion based on rate it says that employers cannot allow speech that creates a hostile work environment, so if your employer new employees keep saying racist things at work, you are liable if one of your employees. You saying that you are creating a hostile work environment you liable so would end up interpreted through the lens of title VII it would say that people who are saying that all I believe are created male and female married woman now creating a hostile work environment for LGBT employees would do that would enact a general civility code which is more or less being that traditional views about marriage and about embodiment of male and female would be rendered each it would be rendered type of speech that creates a hostile work environment that would limit the free speech rights. It would limit the rewrite of many employers and their employees. So this is something that could have a broad and significant impact on all of us, not just those who think that they might directly confront this issue in the workplace, but it is good impact all of us. It could so the North Carolina family policy Council is unclear how this would apply to your hiring unclear how this would apply to the type of speech that your employee can engage in one's… Saying that when you advocate for family policy in North Carolina that you hostile work.

You didn't a gay or lesbian, or transgender employee that would be illegal nation. Endo will undermine the marriage culture and our ability as a society at large to a fun marriage is only between a man and a woman. How would Endo threaten what we have known to be traditional marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman shortening the basic idea that heightened and coursing of those employers who seek to live out that by saying that the functional equivalent of racist and in the same way that the law I wouldn't allow someone to take into consideration someone's rate law would allow someone to take into consideration whether or not someone is advocating for or against the employer understand the truth about marriage. I would and also limit the employees of that business to be able to speak during lunch time around the water cooler about what they believe to be the truth. It says the police about marriage correct understanding of marital unit man, a woman foster a hostile work environment because it would be saying that LGBT sector protected class because LGBT sex orientation simply a descriptor for relationship. Clicker L part of it that how it would threaten the ability of employers and employees to witness to the truth about marriage as we close how important it is for lawmakers in states like North Carolina to resist attempts to pass an Endo type bill not only on the national level but on the state level and if you could speak directly to our state lawmakers. How would you counsel them writing all public policy should promote the common good of society as a whole, and we don't need government coercion whether the employment context warranty what they call public accommodation.

Context is another area where they had sex orientation and gender identity to the law. We should let free market work.

The things that we don't need government meddling in the employment market, nor do we need government meddling in the forest or the baker or the photography business let markets sort these things out a couple photographers don't want to be taking things like letting close the government shouldn't be forcing them a couple businesses that we can't be hiring openly gay marriage activists and our employees undermines our particular industry and make their own decisions. Public policy to allow as much freedom as possible, absolutely necessary for government to come in and correct the problem and we don't see that sort of problem in the case of a sex orientation and gender identity.

It's not like the Jim Crow South, where government legislation was appropriate.

Thanks so much.

I know you are at a conference and we appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule to be with us today.

I wanted to give you an opportunity to let our listeners know where they could go to get more information about Endo and also to learn more about the heritage foundation go to art WW W.heritage.org that links to all sorts of papers and essays I've written. Explain electronic Endo, but also a host of other public policy issues. Thank you again so much for your time for being with us today and specifically for speaking with us about the employment nondiscrimination act. Thanks again for your time. We appreciate you so much been with us on family policy matters family policy matters is information and analysis, future North Carolina family policy Council known as weekly discussion on policy issues affecting the family you have questions or comments. 919-0708 visit our website and see family. One