House Passes Equality Act To Stop LGBTQ Discrimination

Topline

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in a 224-206 vote Thursday to protect LGBTQ Americans from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, though the legislation will not be able to pass the Senate without greater Republican support.

Activists carry a rainbow flag on the West Lawn of the US Capitol Building on October 11, 2009 in ... [+] Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The Equality Act would amend federal law, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act, to explicitly include anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of employment protections for LGBTQ people in June and President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to use that ruling as a basis to prohibit discrimination in other areas in an executive order, the Human Rights Campaign notes without the Equality Act, “a future administration may refuse to interpret the law this way, leaving these protections vulnerable.”

The legislation would also expand anti-discrimination protections to include all federally funded programs and public spaces and services, the HRC notes, which are not covered under the Supreme Court decision.

Only three Republicans voted in favor of the bill—Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.)—which is fewer than the eight Republicans who backed the bill when it passed the House in 2019.

Crucial Quote

“The Equality Act does no more and no less than say LGBTQ people deserve the same rights and responsibilities than all other Americans,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the bill’s sponsor, said in a speech on the House floor Thursday. “The LGBTQ community has waited long enough. The time has come to extend the blessings of liberty and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are or who they love.”

Chief Critic

A number of Republicans and right-wing groups have opposed the bill, which they fear would infringe on their religious liberties, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Thursday he planned to challenge the legislation in court. “This body, being led by Democrats, is trampling on the rights of the American people in the name of equality—in the false name of equality,” Roy said at a press conference Thursday. “This is the government using its power to tell us to bow down to the will of a cultural elite in this town who tell us what we’re supposed to believe. We’re not going to do that.”

Big Number

70%. That’s the percentage of Americans who supported the Equality Act as of Dec. 2020, according to a poll from GQR and the Human Rights Campaign. That includes 50% of Trump voters, and is up from 65% of voters who supported the legislation in 2018.

Key Background

Biden has pushed for lawmakers to pass the Equality Act and made the legislation a priority, saying in a statement last week the bill “provides long overdue federal civil rights protections” and would “[codify]

the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ+ movement into enduring law.” While the Equality Act passed the House in 2019, it ultimately died in the Senate and was not brought up for a vote.

What To Watch For

The Equality Act will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, meaning all Democrats and 10 Republicans would have to vote in favor of the bill. Whether that will happen remains a long shot: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) co-sponsored the 2019 bill but said she would not do so again, and another key moderate Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), has said he opposes the bill without religious liberty protections. Lawmakers have expressed greater optimism about the legislation this time after the bill failed last year, as Democrats now control Congress and the White House. “This time, it will be not only passed in the House, but on a path to a signing at the White House. We’re very excited about that,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a press conference Thursday.

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