The Time Boehner Wanted Someone Fired for Supporting Gay Rights

In the U.S., there are 29 states where you can fire someone just because they're gay. The entire nation thinks this is unacceptable. And yet, House Speaker John Boehner, the guy who could fix this by allowing a vote on the Employment Non Discrimination Act, sees "no basis or need for this legislation." Boehner made that comment while talking to reporters on Thursday and he was asked whether or not Republican leadership would allow the Senate-approved measure a vote in the House. Boehner painted a bleary picture for the measure, because he doesn't believe there's a specific "need" for it. Here's his full quote:

... People are already protected in the workplace. I’m opposed to continuing this. Listen, I understand people have differing opinions on this issue, and I respect those opinions. But as someone who’s worked in the employment law area for all my years in the statehouse and all my years here, I see no basis or no need for this legislation.

Boehner telling you there's no need for discrimination protection is like watching a horror movie where the calls are coming from inside the house. To say there's no need for that kind of legislation would be to ignore all his party has done to say gay people aren't equal. He'd also have to ignore himself. 

In 2009, President Obama appointed Harry Knox, who is gay, to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Part of the council's job is to identify "best practices and successful modes of delivering social services."  The council was first started by President Bush, and its main responsibilities include dealing with federal grants and advising the White House on social policy. Each member serves a one-year term, which Knox completed.

At the time, Knox was the director of the Human Rights Campaign's religion and faith program and was a former pastor of a United Methodist Church in Georgia. The HRC, of course, is one of the largest and most visible gay rights advocacy organizations. "The [gay and lesbian] community is eager to help the administration achieve its goals around economic recovery and fighting poverty, fatherhood and healthy families; inter-religious dialogue; care for the environment; and global poverty, health and development," Knox said at the time of his appointment. He had also taken public stands against the Vatican's views on condoms and the AIDS crisis. After Pope Benedict XVI had said that the use of condoms "aggravates" the AIDS crisis, Knox said that type of logic was "