The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would outlaw workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender workers.
According to The Associated Press, 55 Democrats and 10 Republicans voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The total vote was 64-32.
Chief sponsor Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said before the vote, "We are about to make history in this chamber."
Though the bill passed the Senate, few see any chance of it making it through, or even coming to a vote, in the Republican-led House. Speaker John Boehner has long been against the bill saying it leaves businesses open to frivolous lawsuits.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's spokesperson Rory Cooper said there were no plans to look at the bill, NBC News reports. Cooper said, "The bill is currently not scheduled in the House.
He added, "I hope Majority Leader [Harry] Reid soon addresses the dozens of House-passed bills that have been ignored in the Senate that create jobs, improved education and create opportunity while Americans struggle to find a good-paying job."
President Barack Obama said that the bill is a step towards "realizing the rights and freedoms that are our birthright as Americans."
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