For years, the lgbt community have known that religious right claims regarding ENDA (i.e. it destroys "religious freedom) were bogus.
And now we have official notification to say so, thanks to Politifact.
Recently,
Politifact labeled anti-gay claims about ENDA as false. The organization took a close look at the claim because of an email sent out by anti-gay group the Traditional Values Coalition which attacked Democratic Senator Mark Pryor because of his vote for ENDA:
The ENDA bill would prohibit private-sector employers and government
employers on the local, state and federal levels from discriminating
against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That
protects people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.
Under the law, employers can’t fire or refuse to hire people based on
actual or perceived sexuality and gender identity (which need not align
with a person’s biological identity).
Churches and other institutions with religious purposes (like schools
and daycares) are exempt from the ENDA rules, just as they are from the
religious discrimination portion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII.
Under Title VII, and therefore under ENDA, religious organizations,
which need not be church-run, would be exempt. Additionally, all
businesses with fewer than 15 employees are exempt, whether they’re
religious or not.
Nelson Tebbe, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who specializes in
religious liberty, said ENDA’s religious exemption exceeds Title VII’s.
"It’s broader because the religious exemption in Title VII only
allows religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of
religion," he said. But it doesn’t allow religious groups to
discriminate based on factors like an employee’s gender or race.