US House of Reps blocks LGBT rights vote less than three days after Orlando shooting
Less than three days after a mass shooting in Orlando which killed 49 people, the US House of Representatives has blocked a vote on a measure to protect gay federal workers against discrimination.
Despite many house Republicans having stood up in support of the victims of the Orlando Pulse mass shooting which killed 49 and injured another 53, the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives blocked the vote on the measure on Tuesday.
The amendment would have ensured that federal contractors couldn’t discriminate against people in their employment based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Despite calls of support for the LGBT community, the Republican House leaders at the House Rules Committee ensured that the amendment never reached the floor for a vote.
The proposed amendment came from out gay Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, who attached it to a Defense Department spending bill which was to go for a vote this week.
“It’s hard to imagine any act that is so horrific could lead to anything positive. But if we were going to do anything, it would be a very positive step to say that discrimination has no place in our law and to reaffirm the president’s actions in this area,” Maloney said, reports the Hill.
“Hate has no place in our flags, in our workplace, or in our country,” Maloney added. “And it should have no place in federal law.”
49 people were killed and 53 injured on Sunday in the shocking terrorist hate crime attack, which saw a gunman open fire inside The Pulse gay bar in Orlando, Florida.
ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attack, which was perpetrated by US citizen Omar Mateen. The majority of the victims were Latino.
In a statement, President Obama mourned the victims of the homophobic hate crime attack and called for greater restrictions on arms sales.
In response, Republican nominee Donald Trump said Obama should resign for failing to rally against Islam in his comments.
The attack has been condemned by American Muslim leaders, who addressed ISIS in saying: “You do not speak for us.”
But millions of people around the world have showed solidarity with the victims of the shooting and the community in Orlando,
A GoFundMe page for victims of the Orlando gay club mass shooting on Sunday, was the fastest ever page to reach $1 million, and now stands at more than $4 million.
