Opinion | We need the Equality Act
Angelina Hicks, Politics Editor
Three major modern headways have been made for LGBTQIA+ Americans: the passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, the repeal of the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” ban on LGBTQIA+ people in the military in 2010 and Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 that ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.
One final push, the Equality Act, would complete the four-part series that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi claimed the United States must pass in order to respect, defend and take pride in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2019, the act didn’t make it through the then-Republican majority Senate. The House passed the act again Feb. 25 with a 224-206 vote. Now, with a Democrat majority in the Senate, there’s a chance the Equality Act could stick.
The Equality Act would provide anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQIA+ people across key areas including employment, housing, education, public spaces and federally funded programs. Additionally, it would amend civil rights laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics.
In preparation to vote on the Equality Act, Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) delivered a floor speech about her transgender daughter. Newman also placed a transgender flag outside of her office to voice support of the bill. To this, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) mocked Newman with a transphobic poster that she hung outside of her own office directly across the hall from Newman’s.
Even our federal government has made it clear: We need the Equality Act now to stop these acts of discrimination and hate. Yet some politicians, like Greene, are leveling baseless accusations about the act. Let’s dispute them.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): “This bill is about power and control. This is about this institution being run by Democrats who want to tell the American people how to live their lives ... That they need to give up their closely-held beliefs and their values, and they need to bow down to the altar of the people here and the cultural elites at Washington, D.C.”
The Equality Act is nonpartisan. It has nothing to do with putting one group of people above another. It’s about ending discrimination and giving people protections they desperately need to thrive in this country. Nobody needs to change their values, and nobody needs to “bow down” to the “cultural elites at Washington, D.C.” What people do need to do is learn basic respect toward the LGBTQIA+ community, who exist just like everyone else and who are just trying to live happily without fear.
This bill is not about power. It’s about respect and equal opportunity in the United States, a sentiment the country was founded on.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL): “In his wisdom, God intentionally made each individual uniquely either male or female. When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making the statement that God did not know what he was doing when he created them … This bill speaks directly against what is laid on in scripture.”
Before Chapman, I had attended Catholic school my entire life as an individual in the LGBTQIA+ community. I know the Bible and scripture better than a majority of Americans. I will fight for the rights of people to worship the way they choose and align their values with religious teaching. However, Christian teaching has no place in federal public policy — especially when the United States prides itself upon the freedom to practice any religion.
Biblical influence should never and will never be used to control people’s personal decisions and expression. Rights are impeded on when people cannot live freely because of a religious entity. The way LGBTQIA+ people express themselves and the need for their rights has nothing to do with religion. There is no room for a biblical or religious argument in this issue.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX): “The so called ‘Equality Act’ is not about giving rights. This is about taking away rights … This is saying that part of the First Amendment — ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’ — that’s got to go.”
The Equality Act is not going to remove or contradict the First Amendment. No “rights” will be stripped from the passing of the Equality Act, unless you consider the act of firing transgender individuals because of their gender identity a “right.” LGBTQIA+ youth in public schools and adults navigating the job industry have enough difficulties on a daily basis and sitting in fear about personal identities should not be one.
No one’s identity should force them to lose their job, housing or education. We deserve the opportunity to live and thrive to the same degree as the straight, white, cisgender male.