Georgians stick to party lines on Equality Act

Every Democrat in the U.S. House, including all six from Georgia, voted in favor of a bill to extend federal civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community.

The Equality Act passed on a mostly party-line vote with just three Republicans in favor. The final vote was 224-206, and all eight Georgia Republicans opposed the measure.

The bill would expand the reach of the Civil Rights Act, banning discrimination based upon a person’s gender identity and sexual orientation. The Democratic-led House first passed the Equality Act in 2019, but at the time the Senate was controlled by Republicans who refused to take up the bill.

Now, the Senate and White House are both in Democrats’ hands. However, Republicans could still use the filibuster to derail a vote in the Senate.

Several Democrats, including U.S. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, brought up the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis during a press conference ahead of the vote. Lewis was a champion of gay rights during his nearly 34-year tenure in Congress and lent crucial support to the Equality Act in previous attempts at passage.

Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slowed down action on the measure by forcing votes Wednesday and Thursday on adjourning the House. The Rome Republican said the bill discriminates against women and violates religious freedoms, but she was unsuccessful in preventing a vote on the measure.

U.S. Rep. Marie Newman, whose office is located across the hall from Greene’s, decided to send a message to Greene on Wednesday by displaying a light blue, pink and white flag in the corridor. Newman, a Democrat from Illinois, has a transgender daughter.

“Our neighbor, @REPMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes prohibiting discrimination against trans Americans is ‘disgusting, immoral, and evil,’” Newman wrote on Twitter. “Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door.”

Greene responded by putting up an anti-trans sign outside her door, and she also posted transphobic comments on social media about Newman’s daughter and the legislation.

LGBTQ advocates in Georgia applauded the vote. “The harsh reality is that discrimination is a real and persistent problem for LGBTQ people across the country, especially in Georgia,” Georgia Equality’s executive director, Jeff Graham, said in a statement. “The Equality Act passing the House of Representatives is a huge step...”

STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE AJC/2017 Atlanta is home to an active and highly visible LGBTQ community, as evidenced by the annual Atlanta Pride Parade, which draws supporters to march down Peachtree Street with rainbow flags.