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LGBT RIGHTS
Cory Epstein
Hello. My name is Cory Epstein and I am from Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel.I am eighteen years old and a senior at Columbia High School in Maplewood.Today I will be speaking to you about equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, andTransgender,
L G B T
, Americans.
Let’s imagine that I’m looking for my summer job. I won’t have to worryabout being a man when I’m looking for the job, the Civil Rights Act of 1964protects me from employment discrimination based on my sex. And being a whiteJew is no problem at all, this law protects me from discrimination based on mycolor and religion too. However, as of this moment, I could
not
be hired in thirtystates because there is no federal law that fully protects me from employmentdiscrimination. I am a gay American and this is a perfectly legal reason for anemployer to not give me a job in these thirty states.
Clearly, equal rights for LGBT Americans is a deeply personal issue for me.This is also an issue of deep national importance. Equal protections for LGBTAmericans is a matter of civil rights. When Thomas Jefferson wrote theDeclaration of Independence, he stated that all men are created equal. This ideahas been heard in our country’s many battles for civil rights, and it’s time that weapply this cherished ideal to LGBT Americans too. In two thousand and seven, theHouse voted two hundred and thirty five to one hundred and eighty four in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but the Senate never brought thislegislation to a vote. I am urging you to encourage Senator Lautenberg to support
AND
co-sponsor this legislation when it is introduced in the current legislativesession.
This legislation is
vital
. It would protect the civil rights of gay Americanswith regards to a most important right, the one to work. This right provides allAmericans with financial stability, something immensely important during thesetough economic times. It is completely
unfair, unjust, and un-American
to denythis right to
anyone
.
As a Jewish American, LGBT rights, any civil rights in fact, are of muchimportance to me. For centuries, my people, Senator Lautenberg’s people, havebeen oppressed and given unequal rights and protections under the law. We are apeople that believe greatly in equal rights for all. Exodus chapter twenty-three,
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