The state of Utah would seem to be a tough nut to crack when trying to push through legal protections for GLBT people, but that effort is current being made in the state legislature. It has found support from the Salt Lake Tribune in this editorial.
Rep. Christine Johnson knows it could take years to win passage by the Utah Legislature for her bill aimed at protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers from job discrimination. Many years.
Still, she's in it for the long haul, and we congratulate her for standing up for equal rights for these Utahns. It's a battle that has to start somewhere.
Johnson, one of three openly gay Utah legislators, is carrying the banner for her constituents and other gay and transgender Utahns, many of whom have described to her their fear of being ostrasized or even fired if they are open about their sexual orientation or their gender identity.
Utah law should not tolerate these people living in fear of losing their livelihood if they are honest about who they are. Anti-discrimination statutes now forbid unequal treatment of any employee based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, age (40 and over), religion, national origin or disability. Discrimination against anyone, simply because they belong to a specific group, should be illegal.
Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list simply puts into Utah code a recognition that all Utahns deserve the same civil rights and bosses in the workplace are obliged to base personnel decisions on only two things: qualifications and performance.
It seems pretty simple, doesn't it? That's what happens when you approach a situation with common sense.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment