Obama Issues Order Banning LGBT Bias, Declines Call to Expand Religious Exemption

President Barack Obama July 21 issued an executive order banning sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination by federal contractors, while resisting calls to carve out an exemption for religion-affiliated employers.

“America’s federal contracts should not subsidize discrimination against the American people,” Obama said shortly before signing the order.

The move amends two existing executive orders, first by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from employment discrimination under Executive Order 11,246, which applies to federal contractors. It also amends Executive Order 11,478 to explicitly prohibit gender identity discrimination by federal government agencies for the first ...