Political Notes: Omnibus federal LGBTQ bill dead on arrival

For the fifth congressional session in a row, Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill have introduced an omnibus federal LGBTQ rights bill. Known as the Equality Act, it is dead on arrival due to Republicans’ control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Nonetheless, the law’s backers used its reintroduction April 29 to hammer away at the myriad actions the Trump White House has taken to roll back the rights of LGBTQ Americans during Republican President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term. He and his administration have particularly focused on reversing the rights gained by transgender, intersex, Two-Spirit, and gender-nonconforming youth and adults.

“Across the country, LGBTQI+ and trans Americans are being targeted and attacked, but we refuse to be cowed or intimidated by their hate,” noted gay California Congressmember Mark Takano (D-Riverside), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Instead, we reintroduce the Equality Act as our declaration that freedom and dignity are the birthright of every American. We will not rest until full equality is the law of the land.”

Among its provisions are anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. It would amend existing civil rights laws and several laws regarding employment with the federal government so they explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics.

It explicitly clarifies that sex discrimination also includes discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes; pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; and sex characteristics, including intersex traits. The legislation also amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination in public spaces and services and federally funded programs on the basis of sex.

The House passed versions of the Equality Act in 2019 and 2021 with all Democrats voting for it in addition to a handful of Republicans. But it died in the Senate without a vote both years and has not been taken up by either chamber since, despite Democratic former President Joe Biden’s repeated pleas to be sent the bill so he could sign it into law.

Its chances in the 119th Congress are nil, as Republicans have majorities in both chambers and are unlikely to allow it to be brought up for a vote. Backers of the Equality Act in the U.S. Senate would need the support of 60 senators to overcome a filibuster of the bill in their chamber; Republicans currently have a 53-seat majority. Either way, Trump would likely veto it should the bill ever reach his desk.

Gay New York Congressmember Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) alluded to its rocky path in joining the other Congressional Equality Caucus co-chairs in reintroducing the bill this week.

“When we eventually pass the Equality Act, it will bring us closer to a future where LGBTQ+ Americans are fully and unapologetically protected from discrimination in every corner of our country,” noted Torres. “I am proud to stand with my colleagues in this historic fight for dignity, justice, and equality for all."

Torres was among Takano’s 11 Democratic LGBTQ colleagues, including gay California Congressmember Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) and queer Washington state Congressmember Emily Randall (D-Bremerton), who jointly introduced the federal bill in the House. Garcia and Randall also both co-chair the affinity group for LGBTQ House members and their straight allies.

“Queer folks deserve the same rights and protections as every American. We just want to live our lives, love who we love, and help build a brighter future for everyone,” argued Randall, a former Bay Area resident who won election to her House seat last November. "But instead of ensuring every American has the tools to build their futures, this administration is hyper-focused on taking away our rights and trying to erase our very existence. But our community cannot be written out of history – because history isn’t made without us, and the future is not built without us.”

Democratic U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced the Equality Act in their chamber. Baldwin, a lesbian, is currently the sole LGBTQ member of the Senate, while Merkley has sponsored the federal bill in the Senate over the past decade.

“The bill that we’re here to talk about could not be more straightforward or commonsense,” said Baldwin at a news conference outside the Capitol to announce its reintroduction. “The Equality Act simply puts into law what we all believe: that every American is created equal and should be treated equally under the law. This is a tenant of our nation’s founding.”

Long history for bill
The Equality Act has never been seen as having any realistic chance of becoming law over the last decade. It is the second iteration of attempts by LGBTQ advocates and lawmakers dating back decades to enshrine protections for queer and trans Americans into federal law.

The previous legislative push came under a bill known as the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which Democrats fumbled in passing when they controlled both chambers of Congress and then-President Barack Obama was in the White House in 2010. As the Bay Area Reporter editorial board noted in a 2019 editorial, ENDA failed to advance due to Obama’s signature health care bill dubbed the Affordable Care Act using up much of the political capital the party had, with its passage leading to the Democratic Party’s drubbing in the 2010 midterm elections.

“ENDA was abandoned by congressional Democrats for the successful effort to repeal the military's homophobic ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ policy during a lame duck session, which was a huge victory for the LGBT community that came at the expense of ENDA,” noted the B.A.R. editorial.

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had held up the vote on ENDA in favor of repealing DADT. It came after she had angered LGBTQ advocates for supporting the strategy to strip transgender protections out of ENDA so that the federal legislation only covered sexual orientation as a way to see it be passed on to the Senate.

The House did pass a watered down ENDA on November 7, 2007, yet it went nowhere in the Senate. By 2019, having orchestrated the Democrats' retaking of the House the previous year, Pelosi made it a top priority to pass the more expansive Equality Act.

She achieved her goal in her own chamber but never got it see the bill become law during her speakership. This week, now speaker emeritus, Pelosi joined her House colleagues in urging for passage of the Equality Act in the current Congress.

“Today, I proudly joined Congressional Democrats to reintroduce our Equality Act to strengthen the Civil Rights Act by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It's past time for these vital protections for LGBTQ+ Americans to become law,” stressed Pelosi in a Facebook post.

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