A Republican congressional candidate in Nevada is arguing that legislation that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is segregation.
The candidate, Cresent Hardy, called the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees based on sexual orientation, a “segregation” law. The Employee Nondiscrimination Act has passed the Senate, but has yet to be taken up by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Hardy is running for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District. Hardy is a member of the Nevada state assembly.
“When we create classes, we create that same separation that we’re trying to unfold somehow,” Hardy said in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday. Mother Jones flagged Hardy’s comments on Wednesday. “By continuing to create these laws that are what I call segregation laws, it puts one class of a person over another. We are creating classes of people through these laws.”
Hardy also told the Sun that he would “always vote against same-sex marriage” because of his religious beliefs.
“For me to vote for it would be to deny the same God that I believe in,” Hardy said.
(Photo credit: Hardy for Congress)
