The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act on Thursday, a major LGBTQ rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in various arenas, including employment, housing, education, public accommodation, credit and service jury.
“The LGBTQ community has waited long enough,” said Congressman David Cicilline, DR.I., who introduced the bill, to the House floor. “The time has come to extend the blessings of freedom and equality to all Americans, regardless of who they are or who they love.”
The 224-206 vote was largely along the lines of the party, with only three Republicans supporting the project. A similar measure was introduced on Tuesday in the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle, as a limit of 60 votes is needed to get around an obstruction.
The project, however, now has the support of the White House. During his campaign, President Joe Biden said that passing the Equality Act would be a priority in his first 100 days in office.
“Today’s vote is an important milestone for equality, bringing us closer to ensuring that all people are treated equally under the law,” said President of the Campaign for Human Rights, Alphonso David, in a statement. “Now, the ball is in the Senate court to pass the Equality Act and, finally, to allow LGBTQ Americans to live their lives free from discrimination.”
The law amends the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity. It has been presented every year since 2015 by Cicilline, one of nine LGBTQ representatives. It passed the House for the first time in 2019 by a vote of 236-173, including eight Republicans, but failed to win a Senate hearing dominated by the Republican Party.
Opponents say the bill infringes First Amendment rights, particularly freedom of speech and religious freedom. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, warned on its website that the Equality Act “would force employers and workers to conform to the new sexual norms or else they would lose their businesses and jobs”.
The foundation also predicted that the act’s protections for the trans community would force doctors to act “against their best medical judgment and provide transition-affirming therapies” and encourage discrimination against cisgender athletes.
“Women of all ages can expect to miss more and more opportunities … for biological men who have a natural advantage in sports and physical activities,” said the group. “The Equality Act would defeat the whole purpose of Title IX, which was intended to ensure that women had the same opportunities as men, including in sports, and would leave women vulnerable to sexual assault.”
Biden reiterated that support last week when the House bill was presented, calling it “a critical step in ensuring that the United States lives up to our fundamental values of equality and freedom for all”.
“Total equality has been denied to LGBTQ + Americans and their families for a long time,” he said in a statement. “The Equality Act provides protections for federal civil rights that have long been delayed based on sexual orientation and gender identity … encoding the courage and resilience of the LGBTQ + movement into a lasting law.”
On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to implement the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision and enforce any regulations that prohibit sex discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
But last October, Biden told Philadelphia Gay News editor Mark Segal that passing the Equality Act would guarantee “no future president will ever be able to reverse civil rights and protections for LGBTQ + individuals”.
“Many states do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ + individuals from discrimination,” said Biden. “It is wrong to deny people access to services or housing because of who they are or love.”
Follow NBC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram