A111862C-AE8E-4366-88A8-46C7DAE0A362.MOV

Source:-newzee


LGBT+ Americans moved a step closer to winning legal protection from discrimination on Thursday (February 25) as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a key civil rights bill backed by President Joe Biden.
By a vote of 224 to 206, the House passed the landmark Equality Act, which amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in addition to race, religion, sex and national origin.
The vote closely followed party lines, with only three Republican lawmakers supporting the bill.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who said she has a trans-child, said she was supporting the bill to ensure her child and others can live "without fear or risk of being fired, denied housing or refused service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity."
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people often encounter prejudice in housing, credit, jury service and public spaces, as only 22 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"This isn't a debate about whether or not you should be legally discriminated against for who you love. You won't hear that debate because they can't win on hate alone. The public doesn't agree with them," Democratic Representative Mark Pocan, who is openly gay and married to a man, said.
An estimated 83% of Americans favor laws that would protect LGBT+ people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodation and housing, including 68% of Republicans, according to a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute.
Republican opponents of the bill said they believe it infringes on religious freedom.
"We believe, as our founding document said, that God is the one that endows us with the inalienable rights that we have. They ought to be protected and respected. But unfortunately, the Democrats misguided effort here tramples all over many of those fundamental rights that God gives us the right to life, the right to religious freedom, Republican representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana said.
Johnson, a religious conservative acknowledged that the bill makes no mention of abortion but said the vague language could open the door for the "rampant taxpayer funding of abortions on demand."
"Please allow Christians that believe what Jesus said, to practice that...don't take away the rights the Constitution gave," Republican representative Louie Gohmert of Texas said.

Democrat Al Green from Texas accused Republicans of using religion as a way to justify not supporting the bill, adding that similar justifications had been used to oppose civil rights and inter-racial marriage.
"You used God to segregate me in school. You used God to put me in the back of the bus. Have you no shame?, Green said. "This is not about God, it's about men who choose to discriminate against other people because they have the power to do so."
Other opponents of the bill maintain that the bill could endanger the safety of women in shelters and prisons. They also contend that trans girls could have an unfair advantage over others girls in athletics. Since the start of the year, a dozen states have introduced or passed laws to bar trans girls from participating in girls' sports leagues.
"The parents of every daughter who's ever poured their hearts into a sport should be outraged that their daughter's dreams and hopes no longer matter to their own representative," Republican representative Tom McClintock of California said.
The House first passed the Equality Act in 2019, but it stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate during the Trump administration, which opposed the bill. The Democrats won control of the Senate in November's elections.
For the Equality Act to become law, it must win 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, where there is a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans.