A gay couple will use the traditional White House Easter Egg roll Monday to lobby President Obama to sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Jarrod Scarbrough and Les Sewell of New Mexico, partners for 18 years, will bring their eight-year-old daughter to the event to try to influence Mr. Obama on the proposed order that would cover federal contractors.
“I work for a federal contractor, and there’s a piece of paper sitting on President Obama’s desk that would give me a little more security for my family,” Mr. Scarbrough, who works for United Healthcare, said in a written statement. “As so many families gather on the White House lawn next week, I hope that the First Family takes a moment to reflect on how hard gay families like mine work to ensure that we have the stability and security that so many others take for granted.”
A group of 72 House Democrats sent a letter to Mr. Obama Monday urging him to sign the proposed order, which would require companies doing business with the federal government to have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity.
“This order would extend important workplace protections to millions of Americans, while at the same time laying the groundwork for Congressional passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a goal that we share with you,” the lawmakers wrote to Mr. Obama.
