To the AFA, equality for all people = a violation of Constitutional freedoms

Homophobic right-wing zealots are not known for their logical thought processes, but here's an instance that really takes the cake.

In a recent action alert, Donald E. Wildmon of the American Family Association twists the intention of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) into something that he believes is a violation of the Constitution.

The ENDA would simply prohibit employment-related descrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But Wildmon apparently believes that gays and lesbians are second-class citizens and are not entitled to equal protection under the law. To treat gays and lesbians as human beings is a threat to Wildon's Constitutional rights, or so he would have us believe. And so he is calling on his sheep to tell their senators to vote for bigotry and hate.

Below is the text of Wildmon's message, along with my commentary:

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has passed the U.S. House and Senator Edward Kennedy is now leading the push for a vote in the U.S. Senate. ENDA is aimed at providing heightened protections for a particular sexual behavior - homosexuality.

This is ridiculous. It's not about allowing gays to engage in homosexual sex in the workplace. It's not about man-on-man (or woman-on-woman) trysts in the copy room. It's not about behavior. It's about who you happen to be. It's about equality in the workplace, which has nothing to do with what anyone does in the privacy of his or her own bedroom outside of office hours. It simply protects all people from discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.

It would grant special consideration on the basis of "sexual orientation" that would not be extended to other employees in the workplace.

Big myth. It's not about granting special privileges to gays. It's about treating them no differently than anyone else. It's about treating them as equals.

ENDA violates employers' and employees' Constitutional freedoms of religion, speech and association. The proposed legislation would prohibit employers from taking their deeply held beliefs into account when making personnel decisions. This would pose an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into people's lives.

So maybe we should bring back the Jim Crowe laws. After all, by this logic, the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from taking their deeply held racist beliefs into account when making personnel decisions. So wasn't that also an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into the lives of people who would prefer an all-white workplace?

Buy the way, the bill does include an exemption for religious organizations.

ENDA would approvingly bring private behavior considered immoral by many into the public square.

See above. This is not a call for public gay sexual activity in the workplace. This has nothing to do with sexual activity. It's only about treating all people equally regardless of what they do on their own time (and with whom).

By declaring that all sexual preferences are equally valid, ENDA would change national policy supporting marriage and family.

This has nothing to do with any declaration of sexual validity. It's only about the fact that all human beings are entitled to equal treatment and respect under the law. And there is nothing in the text of the ENDA legislation that threatens your heterosexual marriage or anyone else's. In fact, it specifically states: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a covered entity to treat a couple who are not married in the same manner as the covered entity treats a married couple for purposes of employee benefits." So what are you really afraid of?

It's obvious that the real agenda behind the innocuously named Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a push to enshrine homosexuality in national policy.

No, it is a push to enshrine equality and fairness in national policy.

This dangerous legislation would dramatically expand the government's reach into your work place and create unnecessary work-place conflicts and lawsuits. ENDA is a sweeping employer mandate to create special new legal protections based on "sexual orientation" (or "perceptions").

So instead let's just ban everyone from the workplace who might scare us. We'll start here with gays. Then maybe we can ban Middle Eastern people, because they might be terrorists. And of course we have to ban Mexicans and all the other brown-skinned people because they might be illegal immigrants. And then women, because shouldn't we stay at home like we used to, back in the good ol' days when we knew our place? And, as I said above, bring back those Jim Crowe laws.

Heck, look at what civil rights and women's rights have led to after all: A woman and an African American running for president! If this ENDA thing goes through, we might even end up with gays in the White House! What's a good ol' "Christian" white boy to do?

Best to nip it in the bud. Right, Mr. Wildmon?