Dear Friend,

Today, the Equality Act has been reintroduced by Rep. David Cicilline (RI-1) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR). An identical bill previously passed the House of Representatives in May 2019, but disappointingly, the Senate failed to act. Now, Congress has another chance to do the right thing.

This bill would codify critical civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in areas such as housing, credit, education, federally-funded programs, and jury service.

There is currently no federal law that specifically protects members of the LGBTQ community from discrimination. In fact, many states do not include sexual orientation and gender identity in their civil rights statutes, and there are still major gaps in our federal nondiscrimination laws that would be closed by the Equality Act. The harsh reality is that many LGBTQ people face harassment and mistreatment in their daily lives, including outside of work. Additionally, LGBTQ people of color—particularly Black transgender women—face even higher rates of discrimination and, too often, violence.

The act also ensures that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) cannot be used as an excuse to disregard discrimination laws. Religious exemptions would be harmful and undermine the civil rights of LGBTQ citizens. Just as the Civil Rights Act, protects you from being forced to worship your boss' God or attend their church, the #EqualityAct would ensure they can't force you to follow their religious views on sex, marriage and family.