LGBT Rights Groups Withdraw Support For ENDA Over Religious Exemptions

US News reported yesterday that a number of LGBT and civil rights groups have decided to withdraw their support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act  (ENDA), now believing that the religious exemption in the version that has passed the Senate (S. 815) is too broad. The shift in attitude has been prompted by increased assertion of religious beliefs as a basis for discriminating against gays and lesbians. Among the groups withdrawing their support are the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Transgender Law Center.