The sole Republican US Senator who’d previously sponsored the Equality Act back in 2019, Susan Collins of Maine, told a Washington Blade reporter she’d “not co-sponsor” it again in 2020. Whether or not that means Collins would vote for a revised version after the bill arrives on the Senate floor, as it’s expected to do soon, remains unclear.
The Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people, is expected to pass in the House of Representatives as soon as tomorrow. It is being introduced in the Senate this week. President Biden has promised to sign it into law — if the 60 votes necessary to pass it in the Senate can be delivered. Collins’ vote, of course, is a key one of them.
Reports the Blade:
The Maine Republican said changes she had sought, but didn’t immediately specify, weren’t made to the Equality Act when she was the lone Republican to co-sponsor the legislation in the previous Congress.
“There were certain provisions of the Equality Act which needed revision,” Collins said.
Throwing some veiled criticism at the Human Rights Campaign, which declined to endorse her in 2020 as it had done in previous elections, Collins added, “Unfortunately the commitments that were made to me were not [given] last year.”
“I’m a strong believer in LGBTQ rights,” Collins concluded just before she entered the Senate elevator to head to the floor for a cloture vote on Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Collins, who has the reputation of a moderate Republican and has backed LGBTQ rights, including “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, would be needed as a supporter to claim 60 votes to end a filibuster on the bill. The Maine Republican didn’t say how she’d ultimately come down on the legislation if a vote were held.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
