Obama's Anti-Bias Order Won't Exempt Religious Groups

President Obama is expected to sign an executive order today that bars federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The executive order is not expected to exempt religious organizations, as some Christian colleges and other Christian organizations have sought, The New York Times reported. Other religious organizations have said that no exemption is needed -- and many gay rights groups encouraged the president to proceed without an exemption. Within higher education, much of the impact may be symbolic as the largest federal contractors tend to be research universities that, public or private, are secular institutions.