Gay groups drop support for antidiscrimination bill

A 20-year effort to protect gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination is facing a major setback after a coalition of gay rights and civil liberties groups pulled their support because of an exemption for religious groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union and four gay rights groups said they can no longer support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case over contraception coverage, which allowed some businesses to claim a religious exemption in following federal law.

ENDA, first introduced in 1994, would make it illegal to fire someone solely on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.