Yesterday the U.S. Senate passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in an attempt to assure equal rights in hiring practices and in the workplace for the LGBTQ community. The legislation now awaits approval by the House of Representatives before crossing President Obama’s desk in the Oval Office to be signed into law. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a staunch proponent in favor of the measure, couldn’t be more elated.

Prior to the Senate’s passage, Warren took to social media to help spread the message that ENDA is a must-pass and its enactment is long overdue.

Warren cited former Senate lion Ted Kennedy and his perpetual fight to pass similar legislation.

“The promise of America will never be fulfilled so long as justice is denied to even one among us,” stated Warren quoting Kennedy.

Senator Warren also conveyed a whitewashed statistic, that “80% of Americans believe already that is is already illegal to discriminate against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.” But as she continues, this is “one of the rare instances where the American people are giving Congress way too much credit because the truth is, we haven’t acted yet.”

Fellow Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey also voted ‘yea.’

According to the Senate Roll call, ENDA – which specifically aims to “prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity” – passed the Senate with 64 votes in favor, 32 against, and four abstentions.

Not a single left-winger voted against the resolution, though notable members from the right who voted against their party were former presidential candidate and current Arizona Senator John McCain, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

Be sure to check out this great collection of interactive maps courtesy of The Atlantic to see how each states’ Senators voted as well as that respective state’s general sentiment towards the LGBTQ community. All senators from New England voted in favor of the bill.

Stay tuned to BostInno for the latest developments on ENDA and its status in the House. Because, as Warren says to wrap up her speech, “we are here now, and we’re not going back.”

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