Friday, January 11, 2019

Tell Congress: Pass the Equality Act

 There is still no federal law protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.
The petition to Congress reads:
"It’s long past time for LGBTQ people to have full civil rights. Pass the Equality Act."
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
Despite hard-fought progress in recent years, LGBTQ people have no explicit legal guarantee of their civil rights. That would change if Congress finally passes the Equality Act.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently said that passing the Equality Act is a top priority for her, but many in Congress have not yet committed to voting for the bill.1 We need every member of Congress to stand up for full, equal rights under the law for everyone.
The attacks on LGBTQ people are relentless. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit just upheld Trump's ban on transgender Americans serving in the military.2 While other courts are blocking the policy for now, the vicious effort to exclude transgender people reflects the pervasive discrimination the community faces.
In far too many states, people can be fired from their jobs, evicted from their apartments, or denied services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and presentation. Now, with a bigot in the White House who stacked his administration with opponents of LGBTQ equality, anti-LGBTQ Republican legislators have the federal government backing them up.
The Equality Act would affirm that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to LGBTQ people, banning discrimination in education, employment, housing, credit and federal jury service.3 The majority of Americans in every state support equal protection under the law for LGBTQ people,4 but with Republicans controlling the Senate, passing the Equality Act will be an uphill battle.
We need to send a strong message now that the vast majority of Americans support equal protection under the law for LGBTQ people and expect our elected officials to stand with us. Can you help demand that Congress use its power to stand up for LGBTQ people now?
Tell Congress: Pass the Equality Act and extend civil rights protections to all Americans. Click the link below to sign the petition:
Add your name:
Sign the petition ►
References:
  1. Jacob Ogles, "Pelosi Prioritizing LGBTQ Equality Act as Speaker," The Advocate, Jan. 4, 2019.
  2. Ann Marimow, "Restriction on transgender troops serving in military can stand for now, D.C. federal appeals court rules," The Washington Post, Jan. 4, 2018.
  3. Sen. Jeff Merkley, "Historic, Comprehensive LGBT Non-Discrimination Legislation Reintroduced in Congress," May 2, 2017.
  4. Brian McBride, "Major National Survey Finds Majority of Americans in Every State Oppose LGBTQ Discrimination," Human Rights Campaign, May 2, 2018.

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