{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fcfcaaf7-f7e1-49e4-8816-911364dd9fd8", "Murkowski Votes to Protect Alaskans From Discrimination", "2013-11-07", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.07.13\n\t\t\t Murkowski Votes to Protect Alaskans From Discrimination \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Senator: Judge Workers on Merits, Performance\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 Senator Lisa Murkowski today cast her vote in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that protects Alaskans from discrimination.\u00a0 Murkowski also supported an amendment to the bill protecting religious freedom in implementation of the law.\u00a0 Moments ago, the legislation passed the Senate by a count of 64-32.\r\nOn the floor of the Senate, Murkowski expressed the view that employees should be judged solely on the basis of ability or skill:\r\n\r\n\r\n(Murkowski makes argument for ENDA: \u201cNo discrimination\u201d \u2013 11/6 \u2013 Click image for excerpt.)\u00a0\r\n\u201cCurrent law\u00a0protects against discrimination\u00a0in the workplace for many\u00a0classes of individuals.\u00a0Many of us have been involved in\u00a0working to refine these laws\u00a0that protect against\u00a0discrimination affecting\u00a0employment practices not on the\u00a0basis of one's merits or\u00a0qualifications but on the sole\u00a0basis of factors unrelated to an\u00a0individual's work experience,\u00a0such as race, ethnicity,\u00a0national origin, religion, age,\u00a0disability, and sex or gender.\r\n\u201cWe have made sure to\u00a0put protections in place against discrimination in\u00a0the workplace for these classes,\u00a0these categories of individuals.\u00a0But for those in the LGBT community for\u00a0whom discrimination on the basis\u00a0of sex does not apply, ENDA bridges that\u00a0gap.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time that that gap\u00a0is resolved.\u00a0 In fact, the separation that\u00a0has been in place would be eliminated.\u00a0Discrimination should never be accepted in any workplace or anywhere for that\u00a0matter.\u00a0It's just pretty simple -- just\u00a0no discrimination.\u00a0I am a strong, strong believer\u00a0that individuals should be\u00a0judged on their merits and not\u00a0how they look or how they are\u00a0perceived to be.\u201d\r\nABOUT ENDA: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 currently protect employees from unlawful employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin.\u00a0 The Employment Non-Discrimination Act extends employment non-discrimination protections to individuals on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.\u00a0 Other employment discrimination protections currently exist for individuals with disabilities and pregnant workers.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t  \n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=fcfcaaf7-f7e1-49e4-8816-911364dd9fd8"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.117754891514778, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}