The House of Representatives has passed the Equality Act. This bill would give members of the LGBTQ community the same rights that other Americans have. It would prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in areas such as employment, housing, education, public accommodation, credit, and jury service. Only three Republicans voted for the bill.
Most Republicans voted against it. They claimed it violated First Amendment rights (such as freedom of religion). Of course, that argument is ridiculous. No religion mandates the breaking of federal or state law, and if it does, then it's not the religion of love (as christians and other religions claim). Any religion that permits discriminating against others is a religion of hate -- not love.
The House passed this bill in 2019 also, but Mitch McConnell was the Majority Leader in the Senate at that time and he refused to allow the bill to be debated or voted on. He's no longer in charge in the Senate, but the bill may still have a tough time in that body. It will require 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster -- which means that 10 Republicans will have to support it.
It seems it should be a given to me that all Americans should enjoy the same rights under the Constitution. But Republicans (and the evangelicals that support them) don't agree. They feel they should have the right to force other people into following their own weird version of morality. But that's not freedom. And the primary goal of this nation is the freedom of its citizens -- all of them.
Bigotry is Un-American -- even if you claim its basis is religion.
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