Just one week after President Obama signed into law a measure that adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under hate crime statutes, gay rights advocates were back on Capitol Hill yesterday pushing for additional civil protections. Among them was Illinois' own Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who testified in favor of the recently reintroduced Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 1584), which would finally bar most workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

To the credit of state lawmakers, Illinois' own Human Rights Act was amended back in 2006 to include both sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under anti-discrimination laws. The fact that we are one of only 12 states to put such protections on the books underscores the need for a federal response, Madigan told the Senate's Education, Labor and Pension Committee. "Through the enactment of a statewide statute prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Illinois has promoted tolerance, fundamental equality and the common humanity of all individuals in our state," Madigan said. "The benefits of such a message to the citizens of our state cannot be underestimated." Watch an excerpt from her testimony below: