Legislation: Equality Act

Objective	Pass federal legislation protecting the civil rights of LGBTQI+ people
Due date	April 30, 2021
Key outcomes	Equality Act passed in the House and Senate and signed by President Biden, amending the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system.
Status	In progress

In progressin review Approved published

Problem Statement

As of 2020, 29 states have not outlawed anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination, with members of the LGBTQI+ community being given little protection at federal level. In 27 states, a person can be denied housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ people can also be denied access to education in 31 states, and the right to serve on a jury in 41 states.

Two-thirds of LGBT Americans in the USA report facing or having experienced discrimination in their personal lives.

While the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock ruling said that the Civil Rights Act protects sexual orientation and gender identity in matters of employment, the other areas remain undefined.

The Equality Act seeks to remedy this lack of protection, applying anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination laws nationwide.

Reference materials

LGBTQI+ Equality Issues Action deck https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13aDDX9NN9YBwdsLAysp6fPI3egdc66RljN1kPvD9wxY/edit?usp=sharing

Full text of the Equality Act: http://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5/text?r=1&s=1

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/02/united-states-still-needs-equality-act