All week long, President Obama has been working several angles to push Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would band workplace discrimination over gender and sexuality nationwide. Now, President Obama is taking time to handle another equality issue as it’s been revealed that he plans to extend family and medical leave rights to gay married couples across the nation.
According to Reuters, The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical purposes. Married same-sex couples can currently only access those benefits if they live in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage.
However, President Obama is directing the Department of Labor to propose a change to the Family and Medical Leave act that would give married same-sex couples rights to those benefits in all 50 states, including states where there is no marriage equality.
With all of this progress being made on a federal level, Obama is definitely making good on his promise to secure the legal rights of LGBT people across the nation. And we hope he continues to bring about more changes for equality throughout the rest of his term. – nicholas robinson
