--- title: Jeb Bush Says Laws on the Books Already Ensure Equal Pay description: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush indicated he thinks existing laws are sufficient to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work canonical: https://time.com/3961603/jeb-bush-equal-pay-lgbt-discrimination/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-17T00:47:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:45.128Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeb Bush Says Laws on the Books Already Ensure Equal Pay og:description: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush indicated he thinks existing laws are sufficient to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work og:url: https://time.com/3961603/jeb-bush-equal-pay-lgbt-discrimination/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43efefb486da922f/69885b572dce01836c9e4aca/jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, gestures while speaking to employees at Thumbtack, an online startup on July 16, 2015, in San Francisco. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeb Bush Says Laws on the Books Already Ensure Equal Pay twitter:description: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush indicated he thinks existing laws are sufficient to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43efefb486da922f/69885b572dce01836c9e4aca/jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeb Bush Says Laws on the Books Already Ensure Equal Pay > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years [Watch (HLS stream): See Jeb Bush's Political Career Through the Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3nRIB78f.m3u8) (2:37)  _Published 2015-06-12. From his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 1994 through his decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, here are some of the top moments from Jeb Bush's political career._ by [Zeke J Miller / San Francisco](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / San Francisco Jul 17, 2015 12:47 AM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, gestures while speaking to employees at Thumbtack, an online startup on July 16, 2015, in San Francisco. Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, gestures while speaking to employees at Thumbtack, an online startup on July 16, 2015, in San Francisco. Eric Risberg—AP by [Zeke J Miller / San Francisco](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / San Francisco Jul 17, 2015 12:47 AM UTC Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush indicated Thursday that he thinks existing laws sufficient to ensure men and women are paid equally for the same work, but that he would back legislation in the states to prevent workplace and housing discrimination against LGBT Americans. Speaking to employees at San Francisco tech startup Thumbtack, Bush faced questions from the audience about a range of issues where Republicans break with the city’s largely liberal and libertarian ethos, including equal pay legislation, LGBT issues and gun control. The first question to Bush came from a former Floridian and gun owner who praised Bush’s record on education, but said he disagreed with his position on gun control legislation. “That should be driven by the states,” Bush said in reply, adding that he and the questioner would likely have to agree to disagree on the question. “Wages should be equal, and there are laws to make it so, and they should be enforced,” Bush said in response to a subsequent question from one female employee, implying he thought that existing statutes were effective at making it so. The employee cited the oft-used statistic that by some measures women are paid 79 percent of what men make for the same work. Bush interrupted her to ask whether that was the case at the startup. She replied, “Not in this office,” prompting Bush to proclaim, “Thank goodness.” An employee who identified himself to Bush as being gay asked about Bush’s position on legislation to ban discrimination of LGBT Americans. “I don’t think you should be discriminated because of your sexual orientation. Period. Over and out,” he replied. Bush continued: “The fact that there wasn’t a law doesn’t necessarily mean you would have been discriminated against.” He added that in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, the country must work to carefully balance the rights of those seeking to marry and the religious beliefs of those who oppose those unions. Citing the frequently-used example by religious freedom advocates, Bush said that in the case of a florist approached by a gay couple, “you should be obligated to sell them flowers, doing otherwise would be discriminatory.” But he said that the objecting florist should not be required to participate in the wedding, a fine line that he hopes will appeal to all sides of the debate. When the employee followed up to ask specifically whether he would support anti-discrimination laws for LGBT Americans for their housing and employment—the next target for gay rights marriage advocates—Bush said he would at the state level. “I think this should be done state-by-state, I totally agree with that,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3961603/jeb-bush-equal-pay-lgbt-discrimination/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3961603/jeb-bush-equal-pay-lgbt-discrimination/"},"headline":"Jeb Bush Says Laws on the Books Already Ensure Equal Pay","datePublished":"2015-07-17T00:47:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:45.128Z","description":"But backs new anti-discrimination measures for LGBT Americans","url":"https://time.com/3961603/jeb-bush-equal-pay-lgbt-discrimination/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43efefb486da922f/69885b572dce01836c9e4aca/jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke J Miller / San Francisco"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43efefb486da922f/69885b572dce01836c9e4aca/jeb-bush.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican presidential candidate, former Florida Gov. 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