After years of fighting for what they believe in, gay, lesbian, and transgender citizens have received the protection in the workforce necessary for all, to an extent. On Thursday, November 7, the Senate, passed the law, 64 to 32.

“I’m happy about it…people like me or anybody else really will be able to feel comfortable in the workplace,” Rocklin senior Cole Wheeler said, “I actually feel I got my job because I am gay.”

Ten Republican Senators joined 52 Democrats and two Independents in signing the bill while four Senators did not vote. This law is to provide and protect the same rights as guaranteed for race, religion, and gender.

“People don’t choose to be gay…so it’s like ‘Why would it not be in legislation that people be equal regardless of gender and sexuality?’,” said senior Tucker Gandy.

ENDA’s pursuit began in 1994, making it 19 years that this group has been fighting for gays, lesbians, and transgenders to have the same rights as the majority of straight individuals. In 1996, they tried to pass a law through Congress that protected sexual orientation, that did not include gender identity but it had failed to pass by one vote.

This subject had not been brought up again until 2007 when the House passed a less inclusive version. By the time the year 2009 had approached, Ted Kennedy, an aging Democratic Senator from Massachusetts asked newly elected Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon to make sure that this issue will not fall aside. Since then, the Senate has been fighting hard to represent the gays, lesbians, and transgenders, however the House will not take up the idea.

There is controversy on protecting those who are not straight, (mainly from groups who are extremely religious and cannot see that people should love and be with who they want to love and be with), and do not see anything wrong with discriminating against gays, lesbians, and transgenders. However, this is no different than discrimination against African-Americans, Mexicans, or Asians.

Why treat someone unfairly because of who they are? It all comes down to this question. Yet there will always be someone who will fight against equality, a war between who is right and who is wrong. It is the Senate vs. the House, and if the House can be persuaded to protect gays, lesbians, and transgenders, that is just one more step to realizing that they are still human, the only difference is their preference in gender, and there should be no criticism for who they want to be with, especially in a place where being professional is mandatory?

The workforce is a place where all should be equal; everyone is working the same labor, for the same amount of money. Women, for a long time, were discriminated against for their gender and now it has transitioned to controversy against what gender a person is interested in. Where will this lead to next? Discrimination against if a family member is gay/lesbian/transgender? This is all one big cycle and it can only stop if we realize that small steps will lead to the big picture, that people are going to be interested in what they are interested in, and there should not be any discrimination against that.

“One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do,” President Obama said in a statement.

“Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it. I urge the House Republican leadership to bring this bill to the floor for a vote and send it to my desk so I can sign it into law.”

This law passed by Senate may just be one small step towards true equality for all.