On Wednesday, November 7th, Peter Roskam once again gave his rubber stamp of approval to anti-gay bigotry by voting against the passage of H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The bill, if signed into law, would provide federal protection of workers against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In doing so, Roskam remained in lock-step with President Bush, who is also opposed to equal rights for gay people and has previously threatened to veto the measure.

The measure passed 235 to 184. The bill’s future in the Senate is uncertain and, even if passed, would likely be vetoed by Bush. Still, it’s passage on Wednesday was something of a triumph for civil rights. Democratic legislators had been trying to pass similar legislation for over 30 years but have been blocked by Republicans like Roskam who who are opposed to allowing gay people the same rights that other citizens enjoy under our Constitution.

Roskam’s corporate clientele are largely ok with protecting gay people in the workplace, many large corporations having established policies that ban discrimination and, in some cases, even confer benefits on same-sex domestic partners. Roskam’s vote, therefore is best viewed as an attempt to obtain the votes of Christian extremists, many of whom believe that interference with their persecution of gay people is a violation of their religious freedom.

Sadly, the final version of ENDA which passed in the House lacked protections for transgendered persons.