Message from National NOW President Christian F. Nunes
April 19, 2024
Greetings Feminists,
LGBTQIA+ rights are one of NOW’s six core issues and NOW is committed to fighting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody, and military policies.
All people deserve to be treated with dignity—with no regard for gender, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or sexuality. We all know what’s missing from the phrase, “all men are created equal” and it’s not just women. Our society will remain incomplete until constitutional equality exists for LGBTQIA+ as well, and NOW remains committed to this fight.
The ERA, of course, is part of our mission, because adding the ERA to the Constitution would secure the rights currently enjoyed by LGBTQIA+ people that are increasingly vulnerable to being rolled back by the Supreme Court.
The Dobbs decision, for example, ruled that the concept of “due process” and “equal protection” is not protected by the Constitution when it comes to abortion rights. According to this analysis from Columbia University,
“To the extent that the Supreme Court has recognized constitutional protections for LGBTQ communities, they too rested on the Court’s reading of substantive due process. The weakening, if not elimination, of abortion rights under the Constitution thus has the potential to undermine previous Supreme Court decisions finding that states may not criminalize same-sex sexual conduct and that states may not deny the right to marry same-sex couples.”
NOW members support the work of the Congressional Equality Caucus, whose agenda includes the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the improved health and well-being for all regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or sex characteristics.
For the 118th Congress, the Equality Caucus has identified the following legislative priorities:
- H.R. 15, the Equality Act
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H.R. 1833, International Human Rights Defense Act of 2023
- H.R. 3850, Pride in Mental Health Act
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H.R. 3970, LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act
- H.R. 4326, PRIDE (Promoting Respect for Individuals' Dignity and Equality) Act
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H.R. 4422, Global Respect Act
- H.R. 4432, LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2023
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H.R. 5685, Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2023
- H.R. 6301, Safe Schools Improvement Act
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H.R. 6652, LGBTQI Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act
These priorities underline the urgency of NOW’s multi-faceted, intersectional mission. Constitutional equality is at the root of so many of our most intractable problems—which is why NOW is working so hard to enact it.
In solidarity,
Christian
