Ready to Do This?

Last Monday, Senator Harry Reid (D) pulled an interesting surprise when he announced plans to bring ENDA to the Senate floor. Later that week, the bill targeting anti-LGBTQ discrimination at work secured the support of the entire Senate Democratic Caucus while also attracting a few more Senate Republicans. And finally last Thursday, Senator Reid signaled that cloture was near.

So how did this come about? Basically, we've seen an aggressive campaign from workplace equality this year. Over the weekend, President Obama said that ENDA "ought to be the law of the land". At the same time, global business leaders like Apple and Nike were reaffirming their commitment to workplace equality. And on top of all this, a host of prominent big money Republicans have been encouraging more Republican members of Congress to come out in favor of LGBTQ equality.

And just today, they managed to snatch another one. Earlier this morning, Senator Dean Heller (R) announced he will be the 60th vote to pass ENDA.

After listening to Nevadans’ concerns about this issue from a variety of viewpoints and after numerous conversations with my colleagues, I feel that supporting this legislation is the right thing to do. Under the leadership of this Governor, as well as the legislature over the past several years Nevada has established a solid foundation of anti-discrimination laws. 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.

No wonder why Senator Reid has sounded so confident this morning.

MT @SenateDems: We stand united to #PassENDA. Every American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law.

And now, all Senators will have the opportunity to match their rhetoric of "equal treatment under the law" with real action. Senator Heller is finally realizing this. Who else is ready to do this?

Even though Senate passage of ENDA is now assured, the House is still looking uncertain... At best. Will a Senate vote in favor of workplace equality change the game on Capitol Hill? Who else is ready to do this?