The Freedom From Religion Foundation salutes President Barack Obama for doing the right thing today — by not caving to the ugly demand by many religious leaders of various denominations seeking the privilege to discriminate against gays and lesbians while receiving federal contracts.

This morning the president issued an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, and prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in federal employment. Obama took matters into his own hands after the House failed to act on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which was passed last November by the Senate with strong bipartisan support.

“It’s a fact that the only organized opposition to gay rights and non-discrimination against LGBT citizens is religious,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.

“Those host of religious leaders who urged Obama to exempt them from the executive order — for the express purpose of shunning gays and lesbians while working on the public dime — ought to be ashamed of themselves,” added FFRF Co-President Dan Barker, a former evangelical minister. “When my mother, a former fundamentalist, left religion, she told me how happy she was that ‘I don’t have to hate anymore.’ It shouldn’t be socially acceptable to be bigoted for any reason, much less in the name of religion.”

Religionists who contacted Obama included Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, Rick Warrens, Catholic leaders, priests, rabbis, evangelical leaders and Christian college presidents.

FFRF maintains that the federal government and recipients of federal programs will benefit by weeding out discriminatory would-be contractors.

CONTACT

Obama’s being targeted for this action by many theocratic groups. If you’d like to thank him for putting people above dogma, here’s how to contact him:

Please click here to send a message directly to the White House urging President Obama, using the online comment form.

Or phone the President at the White House comment line now: 202-456-1111.