On June 16th we issued an “Alert!” when Reuters reported that “President Barack Obama will sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
It has finally been announced that the President will sign such an order today as tweeted by Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the President: “This Monday, Pres Obama will sign an Executive Order protecting #LGBT workers from employment discrimination #OpportunityForAll.”
This comes in the midst of the furor over the effect of the Hobby Lobby decision of the Supreme Court on the support for ENDA by LGBT groups. More is sure to follow – soon.
12:30 pm — The New York Times reported this morning that the President indeed signed the executive order. “But Mr. Obama rebuffed requests by religious groups to exempt them. Religious groups argued that they should not be forced to go against their beliefs in order to win or keep federal contracts available to others. Advocates for religion said the order would lead to a court fight.”