U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is still reviewing the federal Equality Act, which would outlaw discrimination against LGBT people in employment, credit, jury selection, housing and other public accommodations.
His office told PGN in July, when the bill was introduced, that he would be taking some time to evaluate it before deciding whether to support it.
“Sen. Casey is currently reviewing the Equality Act and fully backs LGBT rights, including strong support of marriage equality,” said Jacklin Rhoads, Casey’s press secretary.
Casey, of Scranton, does not yet have a concrete position on the bill. He has voted to prohibit discrimination against LGBT Americans in other legislation, Rhoads noted.
Casey cosponsored the Employment Nondiscrimination Act in 2013, which would have added LGBT protections, though he was absent for the Senate vote because his wife was having surgery to repair a heart valve.
“Sen. Casey is a leader of congressional efforts to prevent bullying of LGBT youth and is the lead sponsor of the Safe School Improvement Act,” Rhoads added.
It’s not clear when Casey will make a final decision about his position on the Equality Act, which would serve as an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which does not yet include protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It covers race, color, national origin, sex and religion.
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Lehigh County Republican, is not a cosponsor of the Equality Act. His office did not return requests for comment on his position.
The bill has more support from Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives. All of the state’s Democratic representatives cosponsor the bill.
The bill has 168 cosponsors in the House, led by Rep. David N. Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat who is openly gay. There are 39 cosponsors in the Senate, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat.
There are not yet any Republican cosponsors.
“At the moment, we’re under no illusion that this is going to pass in this congress,” said Laura Durso, director of the LGBT research and communications project at the Center for American Progress, a progressive Washington-based think thank that took a leadership role on the Equality Act.
“But we’re very optimistic this won’t be a matter of decades,” she added. “We’re talking years. It is going to be passed in the very near future. It’s supported by a broad base of Americans.”
Durso said her group at the Center for American Progress recently released survey results that show millennial voters, faith leaders and small business owners favor the Equality Act. She said the center has conducted research related to a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill for over a year, especially since ENDA failed in Congress.
The center and other advocates renewed the push for a comprehensive bill after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that created marriage equality nationwide.
“We’re trying to use that momentum we’ve seen,” Durso said. “It was actually really important that we demonstrated what was next for LGBT equality. We didn’t want to mistake great progress for victory.”
Going forward, Durso said, there are two big knowledge gaps to close: First, the majority of Americans think it’s already illegal to discriminate against someone based on sexual orientation or gender identity; second, people think discrimination against LGBT people doesn’t happen that often, or if it does, it’s inconsequential.
She said her project aims to tell legislators about the real-life inequalities faced by LGBT people, like the mothers in Michigan who were denied pediatric care for their daughter this year because they are lesbians.
It’s a hard road ahead not just in Congress, but with other advocacy groups whose support is crucial.
The NAACP and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights are thought of as the gatekeepers to reopening the Civil Rights Act, which has not been amended since it passed more than 50 years ago.
The leadership conference supports the Equality Act as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act.
In July, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the leadership conference, issued this statement: “The Equality Act presents an opportunity to codify these protections into law nationwide and we look forward to working toward passage of this bill or similar legislation that helps to realize the promise of nondiscrimination and dignity for LGBT Americans.”
The NAACP has not officially endorsed the bill. Officials were unavailable for comment this week because they were marching in the annual Journey for Justice from Selma, Ala., to Washington.
The organization has a history of supporting LGBT rights, said Raquel Coombs, vice president of communications for the NAACP. The organization passed a resolution in May in support of marriage equality.
At the time of the Equality Act’s introduction, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat and cosponsor of the bill, said black leaders feel cautious about reopening the landmark Civil Rights Act for fear it might become vulnerable to efforts to scale back protections for women and minorities.
Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and an icon of the civil-rights movement who marched in Selma, has spoken about the necessity of the Equality Act.
“We’re all very focused on making sure the Equality Act does cross the finish line,” Durso said.
As Congress debates the bill at the federal level, over half the country is having similar discussions at the state level. Twenty-nine states, including Pennsylvania, do not yet include protections for sexual orientation or gender identity in their nondiscrimination laws.
Proposed legislation at the state level often boasts more bipartisan support. The Pennsylvania Fairness Act, reintroduced in August, has 83 cosponsors in the state House of Representatives, including 12 Republicans, and 25 in the state Senate with nine Republicans.
Durso said it’s important for the federal and state governments to explicitly protect LGBT people from discrimination.
“It shouldn’t be possible to discriminate with any taxpayer money,” Durso said, adding that it would “fill all those holes” to have nondiscrimination laws for LGBT people at all levels of government.