he U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in a 224-206 vote Thursday to protect LGBTQ Americans from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, though the legislation will not be able to pass the Senate without greater Republican support.
The Equality Act would amend federal law, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act, to explicitly include anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans.
Though the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled in favor of employment protections for LGBTQ people in June and President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to use that ruling as a basis to prohibit discrimination in other areas in an
executive order, the Human Rights Campaign
notes without the Equality Act, “a future administration may refuse to interpret the law this way, leaving these protections vulnerable.”
The legislation would also expand anti-discrimination protections to include all federally funded programs and public spaces and services, the HRC notes, which are not covered under the Supreme Court decision.
Only three Republicans voted in favor of the bill—Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.)—which is fewer than the
eight Republicans who backed the bill when it passed the House in 2019.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“The Equality Act does no more and no less than say LGBTQ people deserve the same rights and responsibilities than all other Americans,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the bill’s sponsor,
said in a speech on the House floor Thursday. “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.”
