Political Notes: Padilla pledges to push for Equality Act if given full term
With omnibus federal LGBTQ rights legislation unlikely to be brought up for a vote in the U.S. Senate this year, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) is pledging to continue to fight for what is known as the Equality Act if elected to a full six-year term this November.President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he will sign the bill into law if it gets to his desk.
He reiterated his call for passage of the Equality Act in his first State of the Union speech in March, telling members of Congress "and for our LGBTQ+ Americans, let's finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk."Among its provisions are anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.
It would amend existing civil rights laws and several laws regarding employment with the federal government so they explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics.The legislation also amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination in public spaces and services and federally funded programs on the basis of sex.
Gay Congressmember David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) introduced the Equality Act in the House, while Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, a lesbian, did so in the Senate.The House of Representatives passed it last year with a bipartisan vote of 224-206, but due to the filibuster in the Senate, which means the support of 60 senators is required in order to bring a bill up for a vote, the legislation is all but dead this congressional session.
