Legislation to federally prohibit LGBT discrimination was re-introduced to Congress on Tuesday.
The Equality Act was submitted to both the House and Senate with a record 240 cosponsors, 190 in the House and 46 in the Senate. The bill, first proposed in 2015, would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, public accommodations, housing, credit, education, jury service and federally funded programs. It is an expanded version of the long-stalled Employment Nondiscrimination Act.
U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) returned as lead co-sponsors for the Senate version. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is among the cosponsors.
The list of House cosponsors was not immediately available, but the 165 House lawmakers who signed onto the previous session’s measure included Pennsylvania Congressmen Brendan Boyle (D-13th Dist.), Matt Cartwright (D-17th Dist.), Michael Doyle (14th Dist.) and Robert Brady (First Dist.).
Pennsylvania is among the 31 states that lacks discrimination protections for LGBT individuals.
“No person’s fundamental rights should be determined by which side of a state line they live on,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement Tuesday. “The Equality Act will once and for all end the unacceptable patchwork of nondiscrimination laws across this country that leaves LGBTQ people at risk. Every American should have a fair chance to earn a living, provide for their families and live their lives without fear of discrimination. And at its core, that’s what the Equality Act is all about.”
Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, cited the importance of the legislation in our current political climate.
“Everyone, regardless of who they are or the person they love, deserves equal protection under the law. Despite the significant progress we’ve made toward equality in the last decade, the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people shows just how swiftly many of these hard-fought changes can be rolled back,” Carey said. “That is why we need strong federal nondiscrimination legislation for LGBTQ people.”