SFGate.com – Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Washington – The House passed a landmark civil rights bill on Wednesday that had been sought for three decades by the gay community, but the celebration was muddied by miscalculations by Democratic leaders and recriminations among many of those the bill is intended to help.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would ban job discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals, but not against transgender people. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the only openly gay man in the House, and Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, argued strenuously that if gender identity were kept in the legislation, as proposed initially, it would fail.
The House vote was largely symbolic, however, because the legislation stands little chance of enactment in this Congress. It faces daunting odds in the Senate, where it has not even been introduced, and President Bush has promised a veto.