Dear Friends of Justice,
We wish everyone L'shana Tovah, Eid Mubarak and hope you had a blessed autumnal equinox. In this week's Advocacy News, a call to action to end workplace discrimination and new resources for Standing on the Side of Love.
In faith and for justice,
Orelia, Rowan, Kat, Audra, Susan, Rob, and Meg
Act Now to Pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act!
Contact Congress today to tell your Representatives that you support the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) of 2009, which guarantees basic employment protections for bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender workers.
On Wednesday, September 23rd, the House Committee on Education and Labor held hearings on ENDA (H.R. 3017/S. 1584). Coming out as people of faith who support ENDA is crucial - it shows our elected officials that as Unitarian Universalists, we stand on the side of love for equality AND religious freedom. In over half of U.S. states, it is still legal to fire or refuse to hire or promote someone simply because of who they are or who they love. This is outrageous and unacceptable, especially during the current economic and employment crisis.
ENDA's opponents say that it interferes with their religious freedom, but we know that this is not true. ENDA respects the protections for religious institutions afforded by the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act while ensuring that bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender people are protected from baseless discrimination in the workplace.
Tell your members of Congress that protecting all workers equally is a matter of justice. Ask them to co-sponosor and support the Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2009.
Contact Congress today!
New Congregational Resources for Standing on the Side of Love
The Standing on the Side of Love Congregational Toolkit is here!
It includes suggestions for how to: Organize Your Congregation; Build Community Partnerships; Take a Public Stand; along with key messages, media tips and more! A downloadable PDF is posted on the site.
Join the Weekly SSL Calls!: Friday, 1 PM EDT
Standing on the Side of Love Campaign and UUA Staff will be holding weekly 45 min. web-cast conference calls to share resources and best practices with people coordinating Standing on the Side of Love activism in their congregations. Calls will include how to get your congregation involved, how to develop a local campaign, how to use new media, how to bring SSL to interfaith colleagues and allies, and more.
The first call will be Friday, Sept. 25th.
To join the call(s): register here.
