First-of-its-kind federal legislation to ban discrimination against LGBT people in a number of sectors was introduced this week, following the announcement of two pro-LGBT bills last week.
The Equality Act was submitted to both the House and Senate July 23. The House version is being led by Reps. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and the Senate version by Sen. David Cicilline (D-R.I.).
Neither Sens. Bob Casey (D) or Patrick Toomey (R) of Pennsylvania were among the original 40 cosponsors in the Senate. Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) was among the original House cosponsors; a full list of House cosponsors was not immediately available.
In a statement Thursday, Boyle said the bill will “ensure that LGBT Americans are afforded the same basic protections under the law as everyone else. I am proud to help lead this fight in the House of Representatives.”
The legislation would amend a number of federal laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, public education, employment, housing, federal funding, jury service, legal protections and credit.
The bill is a significant expansion of the long-stalled Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would outlaw LGBT workplace discrimination.
Among its aims, the Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add sexual orientation and gender identity as classes protected from discrimination in employment, leaving intact an exemption for religiously affiliated organizations hiring for positions directly connected to a religious activity.
A number of corporations publicly endorsed the legislation before its introduction, including Philadelphia-based Dow Chemical Company.
Human Rights Campaign Chad Griffin welcomed the bill’s historic introduction.
“The time has come for full federal equality — nothing more, nothing less,” Griffin said. “While America is now a marriage-equality nation, the tragic reality is that millions of LGBT Americans face persistent discrimination in their lives each and every day. In most states in this country, a couple who gets married at 10 a.m is at risk of being fired from their jobs by noon and evicted from their home by 2 p.m., simply for posting their wedding photos online. Congress must pass the Equality Act to ensure that LGBT people and their families are just as safe at work or at school as they are in their marriages. This bill will guarantee all LGBT Americans have the clear, permanent and explicit protections from discrimination that they deserve.”
Pennsylvania is one of several-dozen states that lacks discrimination protections for LGBT people.
James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT Project, called Thursday “a historic day that has been decades in the making.”
“The Equality Act would transform the lives of countless women and LGBT people,” Esseks continued. “Our country’s most basic promise of equal treatment under the law will never be real if you fear losing your job, being kicked out of your home, denied access to health care or turned away from a business because of who you are. Both the lack of clear and explicit federal protections for LGBT people and the lack of protections for women in core areas of American life are unacceptable. We urge Congress to take up this landmark bill and make our country a more just nation for all.”
The Equality Act comes on the heels of two other pro-LGBT bills submitted last week.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), along with Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), reintroduced the Restore Honor to Service Members Act July 15. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) is cosponsoring the House version; neither Sens. Bob Casey (D) or Pat Toomey are cosponsoring the Senate bill.
The legislation would allow military veterans who were discharged from the armed forces because of their sexual orientation to pursue review of their discharge characterization and amend it to “honorable” where appropriate.
HRC estimates that more than 114,000 service members were dismissed from the American military for their sexual orientation since World War II.
Also submitted last week was the LGBT Elder Americans Act, reintroduced by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) July 14. It is cosponsored by Merkley and Baldwin. The legislation would designate LGBT older adults as a population with “greatest social need” for service and program allocations, establish the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging and require data collection on the aging LGBT population, among other provisions.