The House passed a bill on Thursday known as the Equality Act, which would enshrine legal protections for LGBTQ Americans by amending existing civil rights laws to prevent businesses and institutions from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill passed by a vote of 224 to 206, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting "yes".
"Every American deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. With today's vote, the House has again affirmed that LGBTQ people should enjoy the same rights and responsibilities as all other Americans", said Democratic Representative David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who led the push for the bill.
The bill first passed the House in 2019, but was not considered by the then-Republican controlled Senate and faced opposition from the Trump administration. Last year, the Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that the protections guaranteed by the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the basis of sex extended to discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. The Equality Act would explicitly set those protections for people based on orientation and gender identity, as opposed to having those safeguards included under the umbrella term of "sex".
The legislation will also face an uphill battle in the Senate, which is evenly divided with a 50-50 party split. The bill will require 60 votes to advance in the upper chamber, and it is unclear whether 10 Republican senators would be willing to support the legislation. If Democrats opted to take the controversial step of eliminating the legislative filibuster, it would allow the bill to pass with a simple majority.
