Congressman Neguse Helps Pass the Equality Act to Provide Critical Protections for LGBTQ+ Americans

Washington D.C.—Today, Congressman Joe Neguse helped pass the Equality Act through the U.S. House of Representatives, advocating for equal legal protection for LGBTQ+ Americans.

Despite the success of the LGBTQ equality movement over the years, millions of LGBTQ Americans can still be discriminated against depending on the state they live in. In 27 states, a person is at risk of being denied housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ people are also at risk of being denied access to education in 31 states, and the right to serve on a jury in 41 states.

The Equality Act remedies these disparities by amending existing federal civil rights laws to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment education, housing, credit, jury service, public accommodations, and federal funding.

“The Equality Act guarantees that LGBTQ people can live their lives free from the fear of discrimination,” said Congressman Neguse. “To put it simply, LGBTQ people deserve to enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as all other Americans. I’m proud to join my colleagues in ushering this bill through the Congress today, and hope to see it signed into law.”

“No American should ever be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is critical that we get the Equality Act signed into law,” said Congressman Cicilline, who authored the Equality Act.

President Biden has pledged to make the Equality Act a priority of his first 100 days in office.

View Neguse’s full remarks on the Equality Act from last year here.

Specifically, H.R. 5 amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Fair Housing Act; the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; and the nondiscrimination provisions of the statute governing jury selection by either adding sex—including sexual orientation and gender identity—as a protected characteristic or, where sex is already included as a protected characteristic, by explicitly clarifying that unlawful sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also expands the list of businesses and services that would be subject to the 1964 Act’s public accommodations provisions.

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