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Frisco, Colorado

Congressman Neguse Votes to Pass Historic Equality Act to End Discrimination Against All LGBTQ Americans

May 17, 2019

Washington D.C – Today, Congressman Joe Neguse voted to pass H.R. 5, the Equality Act, to ensure that all LGBTQ Americans are granted the full protections guaranteed by federal civil rights law. The Equality Act extends anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans regarding employment, education, access to credit, jury service, federal funding, housing and public accommodations.

“It is long past time that we end discrimination against those in the LGBTQ community in our country and that is why I am so proud to support the Equality Act. Fairness, equality these are core American values. And yet, today in many states across the United States, Americans can be fired, can be denied a mortgage, or obtain housing. All because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That ends with the passage of the Equality Act. Every American is equal under the law,” Neguse stated on the House Floor Friday.

View his full remarks here.

Only 21 states currently have explicit laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations, and only 20 states have such protections for gender identity. In most states, a same-sex couple can get married one day and legally denied service at a restaurant, be fired from their jobs or evicted from their apartment the next. The Equality Act amends existing federal civil rights laws to create a nationwide standard that explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.