frankenSen. Al Franken spoke at a Senate hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) on Thursday. ENDA, which is vociferously opposed by the religious right, would make it illegal to fire somebody because of their sexual orientation. Franken sits on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee which held the first hearing the bill has gotten in the Senate since it was first introduced in 1994 (an earlier version of the bill has been offered since 1974).

“[T]oday, in 2009, in our country, it’s still perfectly legal to fire someone because they’re gay,” Franken told the committee. “You can be a hard worker, show up on time, and get exemplary performance reviews, but if your boss discovers that you’re gay or transgender, they can fire you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Franken noted that Minnesota was the first state in the nation to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the sky hasn’t fallen here.

Now, most Minnesotans attend religious services every week. Minnesota is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies. Minnesotans enjoy a very high standard of living. So it might surprise some of you that the Minnesota Human Rights Act was passed in 1993. This law protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This law has been protecting workers from discrimination for fifteen years, and Minnesota’s sky has not fallen. Minnesota is basically the same as it was before this law was passed with only one small exception—about 20 or so people per year exercise their rights under this law after they are discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Only one person spoke against the bill. Craig Parshall, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters Association, said ENDA would “impose a substantial, unconstitutional burden on religious organizations.”

Despite those concerns, the bill does state that it “shall not apply to a corporation, association, educational institution or institution of learning, or society that is exempt from the religious discrimination provisions of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

Here’s video of Franken’s remarks: