Tag: Equality Act

Judd Deere is a gay Republican who has served as Trump’s deputy press secretary since January. He often speaks for Trump on domestic issues and, in a recent interview with Buzzfeed News defended Trump’s many anti-LGBTQ policies. Along with his “high-profile responsibilities,” Deere is tasked with “briefing reporters this month on Trump’s call about ICE raids with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, NATO, a summit on social media, affordable housing, the congressional picnic, Trump’s golf schedule, and more,” according to Buzzfeed...

Buried in a a recent Hill-YouGov poll is this interesting nugget: 33 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t be surprised if something like the Stonewall riots happened in America today. Perhaps that’s an indication of how bad things have gotten under Trump? TheHill.com reports that only one-third to one-fifth of Americans from every generation reported knowing anything about the Stonewall uprising, the June 28, 1969 rebellion against police harassment that helped kick off the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement. But here’s the kicker:...

The Equality Act is a federal bill which seeks to add protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to existing civil rights laws.The bill cleared the House last month and President Donald Trump has signaled his opposition to passage.When Gallup asked, "Do you think new civil rights laws are needed to reduce discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people, or not?" 53 percent of respondents answered yes, while 46 percent answered no.In 2017, 51 percent...

A plurality of Americans believe that federal law already bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 45% of people believe that the federal government has already passed a law banning discrimination against LGB people, something that never actually happened. 23% correctly stated that there is no such federal law and 31% said they didn’t know. When it came to gender identity, 31% of respondents said that there is already a federal law banning discrimination against...

Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) had an amazing clap back at Donald Trump and his terrible record on transgender equality. Yesterday, Trump claimed at a press conference that he was “the most transparent president” in the history of the U.S., despite refusing to release his tax returns and White House visitor logs and suing Congress to stop their subpoenas of his administration. Jayapal had simple response to that brag, and she wrote it in an official letter to the President. Yesterday, you stated...

A group of gay Republicans – including the former head of the Log Cabin Republicans – have launched a petition to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell demanding that he squash any attempt to give LGBTQ people equal rights. That’s right, they’re literally opposing their own civil rights. Republican and religious right opposition to the Equality Act has been focused mostly on so-called “religious freedom” excuses for discrimination. Both groups have specifically highlighted protections for transgender people and women as problematic for...

Eight Republicans joined Democrats to approve the bill by a vote of 236-173.The Equality Act seeks to add protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to existing civil rights laws.On Monday, the Trump administration said that the president is opposed to the legislation.Out Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island called passage "truly historic.""The American people think it's time to protect the LGBTQ community," Cicilline said. "There is nothing more central to the idea of America than the...

Lipinski, the only House Democrat to not co-sponsor the Equality Act, made the announcement in a speech on the House floor."All Americans deserve equal treatment under the law and should have these rights protected, including individuals in the LGBT community," Lipinski said. "At the same time, the free exercise of religious belief is a core ideal of our country, protected in the Constitution and through federal law.""It is critical to ensure that religious freedom stands a chance to be fully...

A conservative LGBTQ organization just held a fundraiser for several anti-LGBTQ politicians last week. The $250 per person fundraising event, hosted by the leadership of the American Unity Fund (AUF), was held last week at the D.C. office of Hogan Lovells, a law firm. AUF is an organization “dedicated to advancing the cause of freedom for LGBTQ Americans by making the conservative case that freedom truly means freedom for everyone,” according to their website. Three U.S. Representatives and three U.S. Senators were...

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives has just passed the groundbreaking Equality Act, legislation designed to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ Americans. If signed into law, discrimination against queer people would become illegal nationwide. The bill passed with a vote of 236-173 with most Democrats voting in favor. Legislators had sought to pass versions of the bill as early as 1974. At the time, that version included only language prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation....

Democrats reintroduced the Equality Act in Congress today that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections for LGBTQ people. The bill, if passed, would include protections from discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, jury service, and public education. The bill was first introduced into Congress in 2015, and is reintroduced by sponsored Rep. David Cicilline, and Senators Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin, and Cory Booker, as well...