John Boehner to Take Down ENDA

It was revealed Monday morning that the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a proposed federal bill that would ban LGBT workplace discrimination, had enough votes secured to pass the Senate as Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller announced he'd back ENDA. But as the good news came in, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Monday that he would oppose the law, claiming that it could be financially destructive for businesses across America, the Huffington Post reports.

"The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs," Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said in a statement.

The Senate will vote on ENDA and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will be able to avoid a filibuster attempt by Republicans as Heller announced he'd support the measure, saying it was the right thing to do and discrimination should not be tolerated anywhere. Heller's announcement makes him the 60th member to back ENDA. If the Senate passes the measure, it would be the first time the chamber approves of ENDA.

If the legislation does move through the Senate, it's unlikely that the House will approve ENDA, especially after Boehner's announcement. When he was asked about ENDA last year, Boehner said he hadn't thought much about it but said there should be some kind of protections for LGBT people as the country becomes more accepting of the LGBT community, the Washington Blade reports.

President Barack Obama wrote a Huffington Post blog post on Sunday about the importance of ENDA, urging the Senate to pass it and said work place discrimination "needs to stop, because in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense."