Banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity may be added to an amended version of the landmark 1964 Civil Right Act if the Obama administration has its way. According to White House press secretary Josh Earnest, the administration strongly supports a bill called the Equality Act, which, he describes as “historic legislation that would advance the cause of equality for millions of Americans.”
According to a recent Washington Post report:
Although there is little chance that this Congress will approve the legislation — which was introduced in July by Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Cory Booker (N.J.), and Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) — President Obama’s support elevates the question of whether lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans need greater legal safeguards. …
With Republicans now in control of both chambers of Congress, there is little chance that the Equality Act, which has the support of 37 Democrats and two independents in the Senate and 170 Democrats in the House, will become law before Obama leaves office.
Still, the decision by the nation’s first African American president to back the measure is significant. Some leading civil rights groups — including the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — have been slow to endorse the legislation.
Although those groups support the idea of a broad LGBT anti-discrimination bill, they have been skeptical about reopening the landmark 1964 law for revisions.
Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in an interview that the civil rights community has “supported the concept of the Equality Act from its very inception.”
“It recognizes, however, there are questions that could benefit from further analysis,” he added. “Before it moves forward, there’s hope that those can be addressed.”
A majority of Americans, including Republicans, say in public surveys that they back civil rights safeguards based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Over the past six months, for example, the Public Religion Research Institute has found overall support at 68 percent or higher.
After Earnest’s announcement Tuesday, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement that “the White House sent a strong message that it’s time to put the politics of discrimination behind us once and for all.”
