WASHINGTON (AP) – Reps. Barney Frank, Chris Shays and other supporters of a federal ban on workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender workers are reviving their push for the legislation in the Democratic-run Congress.

“This is about really protecting people,” said Frank, D-Mass., a leading proponent of the measure, at a news conference last week. “It is seeking people’s right to be able to get a job, to get promoted, to be treated on the job based solely on job performance.”

The measure, known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches and the military would be exempt.

It is legal for employers in 33 states to fire someone for being gay, supporters of the measure said.

The bill’s supporters faced an uphill climb on Capitol Hill before Democrats took control of Congress in last fall’s elections. Republicans had not permitted votes on similar measures while they controlled the House in past years. One version was defeated by a single vote in the Senate in 1996.

Some Republicans feared a federal ban on workplace discrimination could undermine the rights of people who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons. Others charged that gay rights advocates were exaggerating the extent of anti-gay discrimination to boost their political agenda.

Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative group that opposes the measure, said he’s bothered by comparisons between the bill and the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act that helped oppressed minorities.

“This is crazy,” Sheldon said. “What are they trying to prove? There’s no level of discrimination.”

Many leading corporations have already adopted policies to protect their gay, lesbian and transgender employees, Frank said. More than 85 percent of the Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, as do 17 states and many local governments.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are among states that have laws banning sexual orientation discrimination. Wisconsin passed the first such legislation in 1982, noted Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. She urged the nation to follow her home state’s lead.

“It is high time that we as a nation declare employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to be unlawful, too,” she said.

Supporters hope their bill will get a boost from another gay rights measure that supporters have high hopes for this year in Congress – a hate crimes bill targeting offenses motivated by anti-gay bias.

The House Democratic leadership has promised that the workplace discrimination bill will come to a floor vote this year, Frank said.

Frank said he was optimistic the measure would pass Congress this year, but he doubted there would be enough votes to override a presidential veto. President Bush has opposed similar bills in the past, Sheldon said.

Frank and Sheldon agreed that debate over the bill is likely to become part of the 2008 presidential campaign as candidates are asked to take sides.

“All of the candidates will have to address this issue of homosexuality,” Sheldon said.