House passes LGBTQ legal safeguards
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil-rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
The bill passed by a vote of 224-206 with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.
All four members of Arkansas’ delegation voted against the measure.
The Equality Act amends existing civil rights law to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identification as protected characteristics. The protections would extend to employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations and other areas. Supporters say the measure is long overdue and would ensure that every person is treated equally under the law.
“The LGBT community has waited long enough,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who is gay and the bill’s lead sponsor. “The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all of Americans regardless of who they are and who they love.”
Republicans broadly opposed the legislation. They echoed concerns from religious groups and social conservatives who worry the bill would force people to take actions that contradict their religious beliefs. They warned that faith-based adoption agencies seeking to place children with a married mother and father could be forced to close, or that private schools would have to hire staff whose conduct violates tenets of the school’s faith.
“This is unprecedented. It’s dangerous. It’s an attack on our first freedom, the first freedom listed in the Bill of Rights, religious liberty,” said Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
The House passed the Equality Act in the last Congress with unanimous Democratic support and the backing of eight Republicans, but Donald Trump’s White House opposed the measure and it was not considered in the Senate, where 60 votes will be needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Democrats are trying to revive it now that they have control of Congress and the White House, but passage still appears unlikely in the evenly divided Senate.
This time, Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and John Katko and Tom Reed of New York sided with Democrats in voting for the bill.
The U.S. Supreme Court provided the LGBTQ community with a resounding
victory last year in a 6-3 ruling that said the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to LGBTQ workers when it comes to barring discrimination on the basis of sex. Civil rights groups have encouraged Congress to follow up that decision and ensure that anti-bias protections addressing such areas as housing, public accommodations and public services are applied in all 50 states.
Biden made clear his support for the Equality Act in the presidential campaign, saying it would be one of his first priorities.
The debate among lawmakers also become personal. Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., whose daughter is transgender, tweeted a video of herself placing a transgender flag outside her office — across the hall from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was recently blocked from serving on two committees because of past comments and tweets.
“Our neighbor, [Greene], tried to block the Equality Act because she believes prohibiting discrimination against trans Americans is ‘disgusting, immoral, and evil.’ Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door,” Newman tweeted.
Greene responded with a video of her own in which she puts up a sign that reads: “There are Two genders: MALE and FEMALE. Trust The Science!”
She also sent out a tweet invoking Newman’s daughter.
“As mothers, we all love and support our children. But your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams,” Greene tweeted over a video of Newman’s floor speech.
Taylor Greene’s attack on Newman’s daughter drew anger from members of Congress, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who was one of 11 Republicans who voted with Democrats to exile Greene earlier this month by stripping her committee assignments.
“This is sad and I’m sorry this happened. Rep. Newman’s daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs,” Kinzinger tweeted. “This garbage must end, in order to #RestoreOurGOP.”
“Thank you for speaking out against this, Adam,” Newman replied.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pointed to the exchange to advocate for the bill Thursday.
“It breaks my heart that it is necessary, but the fact is, and in fact we had a sad event here even this morning, demonstrating the need for us to have respect,” Pelosi said. “Not even just respect, but take pride, take pride in our LGBT community.”