President
Barack Obama may sign an executive order banning discrimination against
LGBT employees of federal contractors if Congress does not act on the
issue, the Washington Post has reported. White House Press Secretary Jay
Carney, responding to the report, said the president prefers a
legislative remedy and deflected questions about an alternate course of
action. Advocates hope the president will use his bully pulpit tonight
to press for employment protections for LGBT Americans.
"It would be
very helpful for the president to use the State of the Union to assert
his strong leadership on this issue by publicly calling on both chambers
of Congress to vote on the [Employment Non-Discrimination Act]," said
Tico Almeida, president of the LGBT group Freedom to Work.