The House passed the Equality Act on Thursday, an important item on President Joe Biden’s agenda that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in a 224-206 vote.
Three Republicans voted with all Democrats on the measure, which the House also approved two years ago, but which languished in the Senate then controlled by the Republican Party. In 2019, eight House Republicans supported the project.
The measure would extend the Civil Rights Act protections to LGBTQ Americans to block discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Reed, RN.Y. and John Katko, RN.Y., voted with Democrats in support of the proposal on Thursday.
The vote followed two days of emotional and – sometimes – personal debate in the House between Democrats and Republicans, with some lawmakers talking about their own life experiences in the plenary.
“None of us should be evicted, fired or denied accommodations and services simply because of who we are and who we love,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, DN.Y., who is one of the first openly homosexual black men to serve in Congress. .
Representative Marie Newman, D-Ill., Who spoke on the floor of the House on Monday in support of her transgender daughter, was attacked by Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a conservative who told Newman on Twitter that “her son biological does NOT belong to my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams “, and I tried unsuccessfully to delay Thursday’s vote, forcing the House to vote twice on a delaying closing motion.
Newman, whose Washington office is across the hall from de Greene, placed a transgender flag outside his door. Greene, in response, put up a sign that read: “There are TWO genders: Male and Female – Trust Science!”
Republicans who oppose the bill cited concerns that it would violate their religious beliefs and irrevocably impact women’s sports across the country.
“When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what He was doing when He made them,” said Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla. “You will destroy women’s sports alone in the name of equality, what an irony.”
Democratic and LGBTQ advocacy groups have condemned the rhetoric of Greene and other Republicans in opposition to the bill.
“His attacks on transgender people and the transgender community are just malicious,” said Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., of the “despicable comments”.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the comments “dangerous and transphobic”.
“These comments really create additional stigma against communities that need to be protected,” he said.
According to the Campaign for Human Rights, 44 transgender or non-conforming Americans were killed last year, the highest count the organization has ever recorded.
“(The attacks are) not based on facts, they are based on fear,” he said.
The Equality Act will need to enlist the support of 60 senators to get to Biden’s table for his signature, which would require the support of at least 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats support the package.
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, a deciding vote that co-sponsored the legislation in 2020, told Washington Blade this week that she would not do so this year, pointing to the unspecified changes she requested that were not made. She did not say what changes she had sought.
“Senator Collins supports the guarantee of fairness and equal treatment for all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and she is considering all possible options for doing so, including submitting her own bill.” , Collins spokeswoman Annie Clarke told Washington Blade.
The Senate Judiciary Commission will consider the measure, but has not yet scheduled a meeting to do so.
ABC News’s Trish Turner contributed to this report.