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 The White House has been pressing Congress to pass legislation to
ban employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) people and has resisted issuing an executive
order in favor of pursuing a broader, legislative solution.
But Obama has spent the year taking executive action on other
domestic priorities where Congress has failed to make legislative
headway, and activists have pressed him to do the same on gay
rights.
A White House official who spoke condition of anonymity said Obama
had directed his staff to prepare the executive order on gay rights.
Since coming into office, Obama helped end the "don't ask, don't
tell" policy that prohibited gays from serving openly in the
military, and, after what he described as an evolution in his
thinking, gave backing to gay marriage during his 2012 re-election
campaign. Pursuing the executive order is a shift for the White House, which
has said since last year that such a move would carry far less
weight than broader congressional action. The Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the Democratic-controlled U.S.
Senate but has languished in the Republican-controlled House of
Representatives.
 Activists lauded the White House move.
“The president will not only create fairer workplaces across the
country, he will demonstrate to Congress that adopting federal
employment protections for LGBT people is good policy and good for
business," said Chad Griffin, president of the gay rights group
Human Rights Campaign.
Gay rights activist Richard Socarides, a former official in the
Clinton administration, also praised the executive order, saying it
would send a clear message that the "U.S. government does not do
business with those that discriminate."
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ENERGIZING THE BASE
An order barring discrimination by federal contractors would apply
to about 20 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to HRC. It
would make it illegal for companies with U.S. government contracts
to fire or avoid hiring employees based on sexual orientation and
gender identity, just as it now is with race.
Federal protections are necessary because state laws vary, activists
say. In 29 states, it is legal to fire someone or deny employment
because of sexual orientation, HRC said.
The White House official declined to say when Obama would sign the
order. Obama returns to Washington on Monday after a weekend
get-away in California.
The move may energize gays and young people, two groups that make up
an important part of Obama's political base, ahead of congressional
elections in November that could shift control of the Senate to
Republicans.
The order could increase pressure on the White House to take
executive action on immigration. Similar to the non-discrimination
order, Obama has resisted such a move while holding out hope that
the House would advance broad legislation.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Susan Heavey, Caren Bohan and
Bernadette Baum)
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