If colleagues never know an employee’s sexuality, there’s no opportunity to discriminate, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told Think Progress this week.
“If you don’t know anybody’s sexuality you can’t discriminate against them,” King said in a discussion about sexual orientation in the workplace. Private businesses need the freedom to operate, King said. “I would think that, unless somebody makes their sexuality public it’s nobody’s business. Neither is it our business to tell an employer who to hire,” he added.
That sounds kind of like a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” policy for the workplace, Think Progress’ Scott Keyes said.
“How do you know somebody’s sexual orientation?” King asked in the interview. “I don’t know how you discriminate against somebody because of their sexual orientation. That’s their business.”
So, Steve King suggests, just keep that sexual orientation stuff to yourself.
Watch the interview:
David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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