Vice President Joe Biden: ‘No downside’ to an executive order banning anti-gay discrimination

Vice President Biden has said there would be ‘no downside’ to an executive order banning anti-gay workplace discrimination, despite Obama’s spokesman labelling it ‘redundant’.

Obama has been under pressure to sign an executive order, as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is being blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

White House press secretary dismissed the calls for an executive order last week, labelling the move ‘redundant’ due to the potential passage of ENDA.

However, Vice President Joe Biden today appeared to contradict the official line, stating there would be ‘no downside’ to issuing such an order.

When asked about an executive order by Huffington Post, he said: “I don’t see any downside.”

Biden quickly back-pedalled his comment, saying: “The way to do this is to pass ENDA. That ends it everywhere.”

Vice President Biden caused ‘chaos’ in the White House in 2008, by supporting same-sex marriage before the president, forcing his hand on the issue.

The bill would outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender expression for all, while an executive order would increase protection against discrimination for federal contractors.

Fred Sainz, vice president of communications for the Human Rights Campaign said previously: “Even if ENDA passed tomorrow, we’d still want the Executive Order.

“What [Carney] is s asserting is the equivalent of saying that if ENDA passed tomorrow, we wouldn’t need non-discrimination laws in the majority of states that still don’t have them. That’s absolutely not the case.”

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