The House voted Thursday to pass the Equality Act, a Democratic-backed bill that aims to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill was passed by 224 votes to 206 according to party lines. Three Republicans joined the Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation.
“The LGBT community has waited long enough,” said Congressman David Cicilline, DR.I., who is gay and co-sponsored the bill, before the vote. “The time has come to extend the blessings of freedom and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are and who they love.”
The Equality Act updates existing civil rights and labor laws to strengthen protections for the LGBTQ community. The protections would apply to a wide range of categories, from education to housing, credit and other areas.
The House passed the same measure in 2019, but was not passed in the Senate controlled by the Republican Party. Republicans and religious groups widely opposed the bill, arguing that the changes could infringe on some people’s religious beliefs.
Opponents also raised concerns about the bill’s potential impact on women’s sport. Critics of the Republican Party argue that allowing transgender youth to participate in women’s sports would be detrimental to competition.
The tenuous vote indicates that the bill will face difficulties to pass the Senate, even with Democrats holding an effective majority. At least 60 senators would have to vote in favor of the measure to circumvent a legislative obstruction.
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The House vote marked the victory of President Biden, who took executive action on his first day in office to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in federally funded institutions. In June 2019, Biden identified the approval of the Equality Law as one of his main priorities if elected president.
“The Equality Act offers protections to long-held federal civil rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring essential safeguards in our housing, education, utilities and loans systems – and encoding the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ + movement into lasting law, “Biden said in a statement last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.