On Monday, President Obama signed an executive order which amends Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), prohibiting federal contractors and federal branches from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
ENDA had already previously banned the federal government from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation, but the order signed on Monday included gender identity, and the ban is also now placed on federal contractors in addition to federal branches.
Religious or faith-based groups will not be exempt from this order.
Civil rights and LGBT groups thanked President Obama and applauded his decision, as they feared that there would be a religious exemption in the order. One such group is Americans United for Separation of Church and State, whose director is actually a reverend.
"Faith-based groups that tap the public purse should play by the same rules as everyone else and not expect special treatment. No forms of discrimination should be supported with the taxpayer dime, period," said Reverend Barry Lynn, the executive director, in a statement.
However, according to Todd Starnes from Fox News, this order shows that "this administration believes gay rights trump everyone else's rights"”including religious rights."
He goes on to explain that the order "would prevent Christian and other religious organizations with federal contracts from requiring workers to adhere to the tenets of their religious beliefs."
Earlier this month, a group of religious leaders wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to include a religious exemption. The religious leaders ask that "an extension of protection for one group not come at the expense of faith communities whose religious identity and beliefs motivate them to serve those in need."
"An executive order that does not include a religious exemption will significantly and substantively hamper the work of some religious organizations that are best equipped to serve in common purpose with the federal government. In a concrete way, religious organizations will lose financial funding that allows them to serve others in the national interest due to their organizational identity. When the capacity of religious organizations is limited, the common good suffers," they added.
However, the signed order does not affect a 2002 executive order signed by former President George W. Bush, which allows religious groups to consider potential employees' faith in their hiring decisions.
A CNN report quotes Stephen Schneck, who is the director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.
"I believe the administration has left open a path that religious groups can work with," he said.
