Nevada Sen. Dean Heller (R) Will Support Gay Non-Discrimination Bill 'ENDA' So It Can Go Die In House

Good news! Nevada Senator Dean Heller, a Republican, announced today that he will support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, likely giving the bill the 60 votes it needs to pass the Senate. After that, it will go to the House of Representatives, where it faces the same fate as immigration reform, the budget, and the Barack Obama Loves Motherhood and Apple Pie act of 2013. Still, maybe there's a chance that if the Senate passes it, the House will, too? Yeah, we like to think nice thoughts on Monday morning.

Heller said that he'd concluded that passing ENDA was "the right thing to do," and also praised Nevada's state legislature and Republican Governor Brian Sandoval for passing anti-discrimination laws in his home state.

“This legislation raises the federal standards to match what we have come to expect in Nevada, which is that discrimination must not be tolerated under any circumstance,” Heller said in a statement Monday.

Senate support for ENDA was also boosted by the swearing-in last week of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, another enthusiastic vote for the bill, even though its impact on vegan strip clubs is expected to be minimal.

While there is substantial support for the House version of ENDA, Speaker of the House John Boehner said today that he will not allow it to come to the floor, because what part of "Speaker of the House John Boehner" did you not just read? Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was hopeful that some of the tactics used to shame the House into finally reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act could be used to secure passage of ENDA.

With VAWA in mind, we'll wait for the House version of ENDA to ban job discrimination against straight white Christian males.

[ Politico / MetroWeekly / HuffPo ]