House passes sweeping LGBTQ rights bill
"The LGBTQ community has waited long enough. The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are or who they love."
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:00 PM UTC By Dan Avery
The House on Thursday passed the Equality Act, a landmark LGBTQ rights bill that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in numerous arenas, including employment, housing, education, public accommodations, credit and jury service.
"The LGBTQ community has waited long enough," Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who introduced the bill, said on the House floor. "The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are or who they love."
My remarks on the #EqualityAct a few minutes ago, "The LGBTQ community has waited long enough. The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are or who they love." pic.twitter.com/SKFaQkZCFS
— Cicilline Press Office (@RepCicilline) February 25, 2021
The 224-206 vote was largely along party lines, with just three Republicans throwing their support behind the bill. A similar measure was introduced Tuesday in the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle, as a 60-vote threshold is required to bypass a filibuster.
The bill, however, now has the support of the White House. During his campaign, President Joe Biden said passage of the Equality Act would be a priority in his first 100 days in office.
"Today's vote is a major milestone for equality bringing us closer to ensuring that every person is treated equally under the law," Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement. "Now, the ball is in the Senate's court to pass the Equality Act and finally allow LGBTQ Americans the ability to live their lives free from discrimination."
The act amends the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity. It's been introduced every year since 2015 by Cicilline, one of nine LGBTQ representatives. It first passed the House in 2019 by a 236-173 vote, including eight Republicans, but failed to get a hearing in the GOP-dominated Senate.
How the Equality Act will expand LGBTQ protections
Feb. 25, 202103:07
Opponents say the bill would impinge on First Amendment rights, particularly free speech and religious liberty. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, warned on its website that the Equality Act would "force employers and workers to conform to new sexual norms or else lose their businesses and jobs."
The foundation also predicted the act's protections for the trans community would force doctors to act "against their best medical judgment and provide transition-affirming therapies" and would fuel discrimination against cisgender women athletes.
"Females of all ages can expect to lose more and more opportunities … to biological males who have a natural advantage in sports and physical activities," the group said. "The Equality Act would defeat the entire purpose of Title IX, which was meant to ensure that women would have the same opportunities as men including in sports, and would leave women vulnerable to sexual assault."
Biden reiterated that support last week when the House bill was introduced, calling it a "a critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality and freedom for all."
"Full equality has been denied to LGBTQ+ Americans and their families for far too long," he said in a statement. "The Equality Act provides long overdue federal civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity ... codifying the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law."
On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to implement the Supreme Court's Bostock ruling and to enforce any regulations banning sex discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well.
But last October, Biden told Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal that passing the Equality Act would ensure "no future president can ever again roll back civil rights and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals."
"Too many states do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination," Biden said. "It's wrong to deny people access to services or housing because of who they are or who they love."
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For most of this, I'm amazed that it's still controversial. We should be able to be decent to each other regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, especially since those things don't typically impact other people.
The only aspect of any of this that is ever of concern to me is trans girls, who developed as boys, competing in girls' sports. But that particular discrimination has never been arbitrary. It's based on actual differences that directly impact other people's lives.
I read about this. I am not sure they will have the sixty votes in the senate.
You would hope you could get a measly 10 Republicans to vote for something like this. Although less Republicans voted for this in the House than the last time it was offered.
Also the weird fight going on with the two congresswomen.
I think it will get a couple, just not sure if enough to get over the hump.
Weird to me as things like this shouldn't really be that controversial.
Republicans are associated with conservatives, conservatives by nature are reluctant of and to change.
IMO: That is why Both political parties are important.
Cons resist change and slow it Down,
Libs encourage change and expect it quickly.
Many time the combination of the two parties takes us forward at a careful, responsible, reasonable rate.
The GQP of today is marching backwards Tacos. I wish I could clone you a dozen times over to replace as many current HoR republicans. While we don't agree often, you at least bring a sense of reason and rationality to the discussion. More than I can say for those that still want to follow Trump and QAnon down the rabbit hole.
You and Liz Cheney could keep each other company.....
The text of the Equality Act can be found HERE so we can all see what is in it and what is not. For the most part it covers reasonable areas of improvement to ensure that LGBTQ individuals are afforded the same rights privileges that anyone else has. Most of it is a no-brainer, and I don't understand why any American citizen who enjoys those rights and privileges would want to deny them to other citizens. This should have been done long ago and I'm not sure what kind of case could possibly be made to not pass it now.
I don't understand why any American citizen who enjoys those rights and privileges would want to deny them to other citizens.
Because their religious leaders have told them so...... Science, truth and facts exposes the lies of religion.
Or they think their god has told them so.
Or the delusion of religion.