Will Allow All Federal Contractors to Discriminate Against LGBT People for Religious Reasons

The U.S. House of Representatives just after 10:00 PM EDT Wednesday night passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping 1299 page appropriations bill that funds the U.S. military. Included in the bill is the Russell Amendment, which guts and nullifies all of President Barack Obama’s 2014 executive orders prohibiting federal contractors and their employees from discriminating against LGBT people. The bill passed 277-147. Opposing the NDAA were 142 DemocratsÂ and five Republicans.

Dem’s MTR to target Confederate flag at the Citadel and remove GOP’s LGBT provision in NDAA failed along party lines. â€” Cristina Marcos (@cimarcos) May 19, 2016

The amendment passed the HouseÂ Armed Services Committee April 28 over the objections of Democrats who rightly saw through GOP Oklahoma Rep.Â Steve Russell‘s claim that he merely wanted to decrease federal regulations, and claimed Obama’s protection orderÂ â€œunduly burdens the practice of religion.â€

Like many bills in state legislatures, Russell’s amendment, now officially part of the House version of the vital military funding legislation, would allow contractors to discriminate against LGBT people by merely citing their sincerely held religious beliefs. Protections President Obama extended to LGBT people would disappear if the House version of the NDAA becomes law.

“Obama has alreadyÂ threatened to vetoÂ the House bill and gave a long list of reasons why, including problems ranging from misuse of funds and operating the prison at Guantanamo Bay, to military pay raises and base closures,” The Huffington Post’s White House and Congressional ReporterÂ Jennifer Bendery reports. “White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that he couldnâ€™t single out any one item, such as the anti-LGBT provision, as grounds for a veto.”

â€œThere are a whole lot of reasons why the bill is bad,â€ Earnest said in his daily briefing. â€œItâ€™s unfortunate that it is being larded up with a bunch of proposals … that arenâ€™t related to our national security but are intended to be divisive.â€

The Human Rights Campaign hadÂ saidÂ the Russell Amendment “would dismantle President Obamaâ€™s executive order prohibiting discrimination in federal contracting based on sexual orientation or gender identity, under the guise of religious liberty.”

HRC also says that the amendment “would allow sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination in an attempt to promote anti-LGBT religious-based discrimination in the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. With far-reaching intended and unintended consequences, the vague amendment could even undermine existing nondiscrimination provisions that protect workers, and perhaps even beneficiaries, against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and more.”

Democratic Rep. Mark Takano went on a Twitter rant:

The purpose of NDAA is to keep our country safe & strong. A pillar of US strength is the respect we give to every single American. (5/x) â€” Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) May 18, 2016

As did Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney:

Russell amdt in #NDAA17 is anti-#LGBT, plain and simple. Writes anti-gay bias into law to allow people to be fired for who they are or love. â€” Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) May 19, 2016

My dad was nearly killed while serving his country. He taught me to respect those who serve & to talk plainly – this bill is anti-gay â€” Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) May 19, 2016

This amdt is NOT about supporting troops, defeating ISIS, or keeping us safe – it’s about bigotry. We have a chance to stop it tonight. â€” Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) May 19, 2016

The NDAA now heads to the Senate.Â

UPDATE:Â House Republicans Conspire to Defeat LGBT Protections Bill That Had Already Passed (Video)

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Image byÂ Stephen MelkisethianÂ viaÂ FlickrÂ and aÂ CC license