Exclusive: Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay

[applegrove]

Exclusive: Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay

By Adam Peck and Scott Keyes at Think Progress

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/06/13/2153451/rubio-enda/?mobile=nc

"SNIP.........................

"KEYES: The Senate this summer is going to be taking up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which makes it illegal to fire someone for being gay. Do you know if you’ll be supporting that?

RUBIO: I haven’t read the legislation. By and large I think all Americans should be protected but I’m not for any special protections based on orientation.

KEYES: What about on race or gender?

RUBIO: Well that’s established law."



.........................SNIP"

[TomClash]

1. It's not special protection

It means LGBT people can go to the EEOC, like everyone else.

[yardwork]

4. Gay people aren't protected by EEOC. That's the point. Maybe you didn't know that.

Lots of people think that EEOC protects people from being fired just because they are gay, but in fact it does not. That's the whole problem. EEOC doesn't protect gay people. It protects most other people but not gay people. That's what we're trying to change.

Rubio understands. He says he doesn't care that gay people can be fired for being gay.

[TomClash]

7. What part of my post gave you the impression I didn't know that?

Rubio said the propsed bill gives LGBT special protection. I said it gives them rights everyone else already has.

I brought a multiple discrimination claim last year before both the state human rights commission and the EEOC against one of the largest nonprofits in the world only because the EEOC does not have jurisdiction over LGBT discrimination claims. In many states there is no remedy at all because there is no EEOC jurisdiction.

[yardwork]

8. My apologies. I misunderstood your post.

You were responding to Rubio's statement. I misunderstood your post to be a message to gay people that we can go to EEOC just like everybody else. Where I live, in the southeast, I'm used to people saying that gays don't need special rights. A lot of people think that EEOC protects us, so why are we asking for "special rights."

Thank you for your work on behalf of equality. Can you give more details or link to something without violating your privacy here? I'm interested in reading more.

[longship]

2. They really are trying to piss everybody off, aren't they?

The GOP is seemingly intent on alienating all "minorities" except for their warped vision of the ruling majority, old white hetero guys.

Good luck with that, GOP.
NOT!

Regardless, please proceed, GOP.

[applegrove]

3. And hey! if you can fire someone for their sexual orientation can't you

fire someone for being straight? So everybody could be fired. Those old, white, heterosexual, males could be fired too. How does that feel Marco?

[LostOne4Ever]

5. Talk about code language

Its equal rights not special rights.

They are trying to make all the bigots in the country think that homosexuals have rights that they don't, when all we are asking for is that homosexuals have the same protections everyone else has. It is one of the most despicable tactics the right uses.

[applegrove]

6. Ding! Ding! Ding! we have a winner!

[yardwork]

9. The "special rights" lie had more resonance before the fight for equal marriage.

I've noticed that the "special rights" smokescreen gets trotted out less often now that it's really obvious to everybody that the right wing has no intention of giving equal marriage rights without a big fight.

[closeupready]

10. Rubio sets off my gaydar, FWIW.

I might be the only one here for whom that happens.

[One_Life_To_Give]

11. Fire someone for being Straight and watch the howl. nt