Title: ELCA Backs Employment Non-Discrimination Act ELCA NEWS SERVICE NEWSBRIEF August 21, 1996 ELCA BACKS ENDA The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has endorsed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and has encouraged the U.S. Senate to support it also. "ENDA would extend federal employment discrimination protections currently provided based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability to (cover) sexual orientation," Kay S. Dowhower, director of the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington, D.C., wrote in a July 30 letter to U.S. Senators. "Core commitments" of the ELCA -- "advocating dignity and justice for all people" and "joining with others to remove obstacles of discrimination and indifference" -- have inspired the church's "support for legislation, referendums and policies to protect the civil rights of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation and to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment, and public services and accommodations." Dowhower called ENDA "one step toward fulfilling these commitments." LOGA is the federal public policy advocacy office of the ELCA. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955