Tammy Baldwin has, in the past, remained a relatively quiet member of the U.S. Senate, and her speech on the floor of the chamber yesterday was not a firebrand’s. The first openly gay senator spoke in favor of a Senate bill banning discrimination against gay and lesbian employees, which is expected to come to a final vote later this week. House Speaker John Boehner opposes the bill, saying it will lead to unnecessary lawsuits.
“The speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small-business jobs,” a Boehner spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.
Some 33 states lack similar legislation; Wisconsin isn’t one of them. The first law of this type was passed under Wisconsin Gov. Lee Dreyfus, and the Journal cites figures from 2012 showing that 2 percent of the employment discrimination grievances filed in this state in 2012 related to sexual identity.
Baldwin released the video below.
