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Congress Must Step Up and Pass the Equality Act Now
It’s been three years since marriage equality became law of the land, yet there is still no federal law explicitly protecting the LGBTQ community from discrimination.
In most states in this country, LGBTQ people who get married at 10 a.m. are at risk of being fired from their jobs by noon and evicted from their homes by 2 p.m. simply for sharing their wedding photos on social media. It’s long past time for Congress to pass the Equality Act.
Currently, 50 percent of LGBTQ Americans live in states where they are at risk of being fired, denied housing, or refused service because of who they are or who they love. The Equality Act would extend existing civil rights protections to LGBTQ people by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally-funded programs and jury service.
Thirty states still lack fully-inclusive non-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community. Passing this vital piece of legislation would not only protect thousands of LGBTQ people from losing their jobs, but will help our community to further succeed in the workplace and in society.
Earlier this year, HRC staff embarked on a road trip to discover the patchwork of non-discrimination laws and LGBTQ-inclusive polices across several states.
In 2017, Congress reintroduced the Equality Act with bipartisan and unprecedented corporate support. As momentum for full equality continues to grow, Congress must act to combat and extinguish LGBTQ discriminaiton once and for all.
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