Is the pandemic over? They says so. But we keep getting events that say differently. Martin Scott (WSWS) reports:
Last week, Australia recorded 205 deaths from COVID, the highest
seven-day total since February 10. This brings the total official death
toll to 21,463, with more than 4,400 people dying from the virus so far
this year.
Across the country, 2,340 people were hospitalised with COVID last
week, with 66 receiving treatment in intensive care units.
Hospitalisation figures for each of the past five weeks, including the
June 2 peak of 2,771, have all been higher than at any time in February,
March or April.
Health officials reported 19,767 new confirmed
cases in the week ending June 16, the first time the total has been less
than 20,000 since mid-March.
With public testing and reporting
infrastructure almost completely torn down by state, territory and
federal governments—all Labor with the exception of Tasmania—infection
numbers are, at most, only indicative of general trends.
Data
scientist Mike Honey, who has closely tracked the pandemic in Australia
and elsewhere, estimates that infections are being underreported by as
much as 14 times. This would mean that as many as 1.8 million people—7
percent of the Australia population—may have been infected in the past
four weeks alone.
Thursday, June 22, 2023. Today we focus on a Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing where a hate merchant emerges from what appears to be a
lavender marriage to preach hate and lies.
A
hearing took place yesterday in the Senate. I'm not interested in
closet cases so if it's a hearing about LGBTQ+ people and you're
lifelong closet case? You're over fifty and can't come out of the
closet we should just take that to mean you're a damn liar. There's no
other word for it. You're an elected member of Congress and you're too
scared to come out of the closet? Yeah, we're not going to waste my
time on your pitiful ass or waste my time indulging your own
self-loathing. I usually try to be fair in covering these hearings but
in this case, no, I'm not worried about FAIRNESS FOR A CLOSET CASE.
There's a lot to cover from the hearing, we'll probably have to do it
today and tomorrow and I'm not wasting my time on a closet case.
Today,
we'll mainly focus on two lying witnesses. It was the Senate Judiciary
Committee which is chaired by Senator Dick Durbin.
Chair: Dick Durbin: This weekend, cities, including Chicago, across the
globe, will host their annual pride parades to celebrate LTBGQ
families, friends and neighbors. In just a short time, relative short
time, a few decades, our nation has made remarkable progress in
protecting the rights of LGBTQ Americans. Eight years ago this month,
for instance, eight years, OBERGEFELL V HODGES which made marriage
equality the law of the land. And last year, on a bipartisan basis,
Congress codified these protections into law with THE RESPECT FOR
MARRIAGE ACT. While Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate these
milestones, today we also remember that Pride began with an act of
resistance. Back in 1970, the first ever pride parade was organized to
mark the one year anniversary of The Stonewall Uprising. It was a
protest led by gay, transgender and gender non-confirming Americans who
refused to accept an unjust system of laws and united together to change
not just America, but to change the world. Today, we draw from that
spirit to unite together in acknowledging and defending the rights of
LGBTQ Americans because right now extremist politicians across America
are targeting LGBTQ youth along with the medical professionals who care
for them and the parents who love them. I want to turn to a video that
shows the story of one of those parents and his plea for the leaders in
his home state of Missouri to stop these attacks.
At this point, a video was played
for the Senate. I'm going with the ACLU version which is slightly
different from the one he played by two sentences. HRC and others have
their videos up and, again, with one or two sentences difference in
terms of how it was edited.
And here's the father speaking in the video:
Brandon Boulware: I'm a lifelong Missourian, I'm a lawyer, I'm a
Christian, I'm the son of a Methodist minister, I'm a husband. I'm the
father of four kids -- two boys, two girls -- including a wonderful and
beautiful transgender daughter. Today happens to be her birthday and I
chose to be here. She doesn't know that. She thinks I'm at work. I
came here today as a parent to share my story. One thing I hear when
transgender is discussed is, "I don't get it. I don't understand." And
I would expect some of you to have said that and to feel the same way.
I didn't get it either. For years, I didn't get it. For years, I would
not let my daughter wear girl clothes. I did not let her play with
girl toys. I forced my daughter to wear boy clothes and get short
haircuts and play on boys' sports teams. Why did I do this? To protect
my child. I did not want my daughter or her siblings to get teased.
And truth be told, I did it to protect myself as well. I wanted to
avoid those inevitable questions as to why my child did not look and act
like a boy. My child was miserable. I cannot overstate that. She was
absolutely miserable. Especially at school. No confidence. No
friends. No laughter. I -- I can honestly say this, I had a child who
did not smile. We did that for years. We did that against the advice
of teachers, therapists and other experts. I remember the day everything
changed for me. I'd gotten home from work and my daughter and her
brother were on the front lawn. And she had, my daughter had sneaked on
one of her older sister's play dresses and they wanted to go across the
street and play with the neighbors' kids. When it was time for dinner,
I said, "Come in." She asked can she go across the street? I said
"no." She asked me if she went inside and put on boy clothes could she
then go across the street and play? And it's then that it hit me. My
daughter was equating being good with being someone else. I was
teaching her to deny who she is. As a parent, the one thing we cannot
do, the one thing, is silence our child's spirit. My child was
miserable. I cannot overstate that. She was absolutely miserable. And
so on that day, my wife and I stopped silencing our child's spirit.
The moment we allowed our daughter to be who she is, to grow her hair,
to wear the clothes she wanted to wear, she was a different child. It
was immediate. It was a total transformation. I now have a confident, a
smiling, a happy daughter. She plays on girls' volleyball teams, she
has friendships, she's a kid. I came here today as a parent to share my
story. I need you to understand that this language, if it becomes law,
will have real effects on real people. It will effect my daughter. It
will mean that she cannot play on the girls' volleyball team or dance
squad or tennis team. I ask you please don't take that away from my
daughter or the countless others like her who are out there. Let them
have their childhoods, let them be who they are. I ask you to vote
against this legislation.
These are serious issues and Senator Durbin noted that:
Already this year, our nation has seen a wave of anti-LGBTQ bills. More
than 525 have been introduced in 41 states -- many of them specifically
targeting our transgender youth. Some bills seek to ban gender
affirming care while others are set to dictate what sports kids can play
and what bathrooms they can use. But all of them are part of the same
concerted effort: Exercising the power of government to target children.
At the same time, leaders of the far right are promoting anti-LGBTQ
rhetoric. During this year's Conservative Political Action Conference,
one speaker was applauded when he declared, and I quote, "Transgenderism
must be eradicated." We must reject this divisive and hateful rhetoric.
And at this point, I'd like to remind our colleagues: Our children are
listening and they are in danger. In fact, today transgender youth are
at the most risk of homelessness, depression and death by suicide. So
when these young people who are already struggling hear politicians
amplify hateful rhetoric that denies their very existence, what message
does it send? We have a responsibility to support all of our children
no matter how they identify. This morning across America, families are
meeting with doctors and being told that they must make critical
decisions, life and death decisions, about surgery and medical treatment
for their children. These are personal and family moments which the
parents will never forget. I know, I've been there. But increasingly,
state legislatures have decided that the decisions will be subject to
regulations and criminal punishment by the government. You saw the
video of the Missouri father. Does he sound like a radical who's trying
to experiment with his child's future? Not to me. He sounds like a
father who resisted acknowledging the real condition of his child until
he realized he was wrong. I'm sure it was a painful labored process
Immediately after a mincing person felt the need to talk about our children.
Our
children? Have some. Then come talk about our children. Until then,
you don't anything about children. It is amazing the level of control
and hatred being imposed by childless hate merchants who have never
parented. You people need to just shut up, that's all there is too it.
Just shut up.
You're not put in the position
by your own choice since you've chosen not to raise children. So stop
pretending you know how to parent because you don't. You're happy to
tell others how to parent but, again, you don't know a damn thing
because you've never done it. If you had, you'd be far less hateful and
a little more understanding of what children are and that children
include all kinds -- yes, trans children are children. No, despite what
Marjorie Taylor Greene says in one hearing after another, all children
are not straight and White.
Let's start with a
liar. Matt Sharp is with the Alliance Defending Freedom -- a right-wing
hate group that spews lies automatically. Let's note one of his lies.
Now
the hearing was entitled Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights
of LGBTQ Americans. Grasp it? Matt didn't. I guess if you're stupid,
your career options are severely limited and you go with hate merchant.
In
his submitted written statement, Liar Matty wrote, "The harms go on:
Lorie Smith, owner of website-design company 303 Creative, is awaiting a
decision from the U.S. Supreme Court over whether Colorado’s SOGI law
can compel Lorie and her fellow Coloradans to speak messages they don’t
believe. Lori, who is awaiting a decision right now from the Supreme
Court is hoping the Court will uphold the freedom of all Americans[.]"
No,
she's not. Let's stop pretending. Lori is trying to pursue the avenue
that Jonathan Turley has promoted pro bono. Fortunately for America,
Turley is not as smart as he thinks he is. If we had a functioning
Supreme Court, the case would not have reached them.
Liar
Matt Sharp: For example, Colorado officials are misusing a state law
to censor Lori Smith owner of website design company [we're not
promoting her company] and require her to create designs that violate
her sincere beliefs about marriage. Lori, who's awaiting a decision
right now from the US Supreme Court is hoping the Court will uphold the
freedom of all Americans to speak what they believe without fear of
government punishment.
No law's been misused. That's a lie. Lori doesn't create website designs for marriages. That's a lie as well.
And
that lie is why her case shouldn't even be heard. There has been no
action against her, she does not do what she's suing for. She has no
standing -- no legal standing. And we have maintained that for over a
year. If you missed it recently, the Court just sent a case bye-bye
noting the plaintiff did not have standing. That's what it should
legally do with Lori as well.
We're not
talking about Matt's misguided and harmful opinion. We're talking about
facts. Matt's lying before Congress and should be punished. He knew
not to put it in writing because someone would have checked it and
corrected him when the hearing was held.
My
opinion is that Lori's hate is not excused by religion and that if she
offers a public service, she has to offer to all and not discriminate.
My opinion.
My telling you the facts that she
has no standing and has suffered no legal harm at present so she has no
case? Again, facts. Matt's a liar and can't get through his opening
statement without lying.
Let me
also be clear on another issue. I thought we'd all know this by the
time we were adults because we start out as children. Apparently, we
don't all learn basics or we just want to lie and pretend we don't.
Matty wanted you to know that freedom of speech was violated. T-shirt
wise.
You all know, I'm sure of the 27th
amendment where, in 1976, young Bradley Smith was sent home for wearing a
Farrah Fawcett t-shirt, the one of her with the red one-piece bathing
suit. The school felt that it violated their dress code. His parents
pursued the matter all the way up to the Supreme Court where, in a
five-to-seven verdict, the majority opinion written by Rehnquist, it was
decided, "The nipple shall be liberated" and there was great rejoicing
across the land as Farrah's clothed but visible nipples could be
displayed on every campus.
If you didn't get it, that's all made up. We didn't have 12 members on the court.
Now
students were sent home -- and always have been and probably always
will be -- when it's decided that their clothing is inappropriate for
their campus.
There is no real freedom of
speech on campus. That's true even of college. The strongest rights
students have in terms of free speech have traditionally revolved around
the issue of journalism -- such as the yearbook or a paper. With
regards to clothing? An item of clothing only has to be determined by
school officials to be "disruptive." Doesn't matter if it's Farrah's
lovely and athletic body (Farrah and Cheryl Tiegs should get credit for
transforming Americans notions on how women could look) or if it's a
statement -- true or false -- printed on a t-shirt. It only has to be
determined that the clothing could cause disruption on the campus. That
is what the courts have always held when it comes to student clothing.
Matty doesn't know this because he's understanding of the law is severely limited by his apparent addiction to lying.
In most hearings, he would stand out for his lying. In this one, he was rolled over by a liar surpeme.
There's an ugly girl born every minute. Or in Hate Merchant Riley Gaines case, born again.
She's
the loser that came in sixth in a swim meet and they tried to be kind
and pretend she came in fifth but you can't be kind to hate merchants.
Beating Riley at fifth place was Lia Thomas. Lia is trans. Four other
women also beat Riley. They are not trans.
Riley is a loser and, as Ruth noted last night, appears to be married to a gay man. Oh, Riley, it's just not your decade, hon.
(As Ruth notes, Marcia has repeatedly covered Riley. If you're new to that Hate Merchant, check out Marcia's coverage.)
Yesterday,
Riley took her ugly lie face to the US Senate Judiciary Committee and
lied. No surprise. She's been lying ever since she lost to five
women. That's what liars do, they lie. Riley lying comes as easy to
her as looking ugly and flat chested.
I have neither the time nor the desire to note and debunk everyone of Riley's lies.
Let's
establish what a hateful little liar she is. Wearing more makeup than
any actress playing a whore would dare, she declared before the Committee, "I don't
believe trans athletes should be banned from sports" and that she "just
want[s] everyone to compete where it's fair and where it's safe. I
don't understand why that's overly controversial."
It is controversial. Period. Forget overly and the liar Riley is among the ones that makes it so.
She wants everyone to be able to compete, she lies. She wants everyone to be treated with respect, she lies.
"Lia
Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title.
He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking,
deserving woman."
That's her Tweet. She's got it pinned to the top of her Twitter feed.
First, that's
her sentence and her poor grammar -- no comma is needed between
"arrogant" and "cheat." Cheat is a noun and arrogant is the adjective.
Don't they teach English in KKK Hicksville?
Second,
Lia is a woman. Don't pretend you respect and love and care when you
are a hateful little _____ [use every word of choice there -- myself,
I'm going with Cher's favorite curse word].
You don't love anyone but yourself. Your a failure and a liar and you misgendered Lia.
They
let you get away with that at your MAGA rallies and the places where
you endorse Doo-Doo Ron Ron DeSantis. But, no, you don't get away with
it in the real world.
Nor do you get away with lying about feminism.
Lia,
she wanted to insist to a possible closet case on the Committee, was
'mansplaining.' And feminism, she insisted is not "a fluid term."
Yes,
feminism in the 70s had some struggling with transgender issues.
Sometimes it was the very issue of transgender and sometimes it was
someone begging to be made fun of. Such as the woman who felt the need
to play daintier than thou and got mocked by Nora Ephron for claiming
she knew nothing about cars anymore after her surgery. She seemed to
feel that, because she was born male, now being a woman she really had
to overdue it.
In fairness
to her, she grew up in a different time and probably didn't see as many
butch women as there are today. If she were alive today, she could see
Riley and grasp that dainty and feminine don't define a woman. Thanks,
Riley, for demonstrating that so well.
Life
is about growing up -- all of us. So while some feminists did have some
issues adjusting, they long ago grew up. Germaine Greer? Slut feminism
isn't feminism to must of us. Germaine was an awful woman long before
the world realized she was a TERF. Lillian Roxon was an actual
feminist. Lillian tried to be friends with Germaine, even found her
lodging when she visited the US. Nothing was ever good enough for
Germaine. And, buy a clue, feminists aren't rushing to publish in
magazines with titles like SCREW.
The feminist movement -- even Gloria Steinem -- long ago came to terms with reality and grasped that trans women are women.
Those
of us who are actually feminists don't need lies from Riley or to be
told how things should be by a greedy little ---- who never did a thing
for anyone else and seeks to pursue her own self-actualization and
self-focus and self-everything. Me me me me, says Riley, and, no, she's
not practicing her musical scales.
Riley
wants to pretend she's a feminist but she belongs to ("I am an advisor
for") the historically anti-feminist Independent Women's Forum.
Sidebar:
They're transphobes and hate merchants who are part of the attacks on
the LGBTQ+ community. I believe it was two weeks ago that I announced
sadly that I would no longer be noting Bonnie Erbe's TO THE CONTRARY.
It's a great show that focuses on women's issues. It features a wide
range of women's voices. That I was okay with. I stated two weeks ago
that I had learned more and I was not going to platform the show
anymore. Bonnie was not the problem. But her guests from Independent
Women's Forum. They lie and they deceive. They use Bonnie's show to
portray themselves as normal. While behind the scene, they're plotting
and focused on destroying LGBTQ+ rights. This is a cabal far bigger
than the one that tried to take down Bill Clinton. They have various
people fronting as something other than hate merchants who are under
orders not to speak of LGBTQ+ issues but instead appear reasonable and
reasoned to get media access. They have attorneys who present as left
-- even though Lawrence Tribe, for example, can't stand them -- but
they've cultivated long standing relationships with the extreme
right-wing Federalist Society. This is kept hidden from the American
people. So much is kept hidden because like most crooks, they work in
darkness. Lawrence Tribe is right to especially hate one of them. This
did not just suddenly happen. It was plotted in secret and planned for
years.
That's why I'm
being very clear that I am not platforming people if they're not
defending LGBTQ+. I don't know who to trust. See "" for that
discussion. Sam Seder grates on my nerves. I'm not trying to insult
him right now. But I posted him Tuesday. And will post him again.
He's defending LGBTQ+. If you're not, you're probably not going up
here. Probably? One YOUTUBER e-mailed that he's gay. I actually
already knew. I am confused as to why a grown man on the left can't say
the words -- "Why can't I say the word?" as Ellen DeGeneres' character
asked in "The Puppy" on ELLEN -- but he's still young. It's not like
he's a certain elderly Texan who still can't come out. 80 years and
counting and never married but we're never supposed to point that out
or, as Molly Ivins like to point out, there's not an LGBTQ+ bookstore in
Texas that doesn't have autographed books by him despite the fact that
he's not doing book events at those stores because he's that deep in the
closet.
I trust BLACK
POWER MEDIA, THE KAREN HUNTER SHOW, even THE VANGUARD, for example
because they've already gone on record by what they address on their
programs. But if you're being silent -- after all these attacks this
year alone -- then I'm not going out on a limb for you or telling others
to trust you. You better represent or you better get used to people
concluding that you're an enemy to LGBTQ+ people.
Back
to liar Riley. She didn't tie with Lia. She lost to Lia. I don't
care about her qualifier of "one hundredth of a second." You were after
her. You lost to her. You're a loser. I can't imagine that concept
is new to you -- you grew up with a mirror, right?
Taking
time out from what appears to be a lavender marriage, Riley wanted to
insist to the Committee, "Having only one trophy, the NCAA handed it to
Thomas and told me I would go home empty-handed because Thomas needed to
hold the trophy for photo purposes. I was shocked. I felt betrayed and
belittled, reduced to a photo-op. But my feelings did not matter.
What mattered to the NCAA were the feelings of a biological male."
Oh, the horror.
Riley,
are you lying now or were you lying then -- you know, when you first
spoke to the press and before you became a hag for right-wing media? Because your story keeps changing.
And I
checked with NCAA friends. That's not what you were told. Lia beat
you. They were being kind because you were a big baby. They told that
they only had five trophies and they were kind enough to say they'd send
you one. You told them that was "perfectly fine." Remember that,
Riley? Because they do.
You render that and everything else that took place with a skewed meaning because you do love to play the victim.
I
guess that makes sense. You can't play the winner and you can't play
the beauty so I guess the only role left for you is victim.
No,
your feelings don't matter. You came in sixth. That's reality. They
shouldn't have babied you. They should have just said, "Riley, you know
how you're ugly and hoped you could make up for it by focusing on
sports? Well maybe you can find another interest to focus on?"
She
further testified that it was awful for her to share a locker room with
Lia due to Lia's male genitalia. I'm so glad, Riley, that you appear
to have married a man who is not going to show you his genitalia.
Should keep you sane. Or what passes for sane when it comes to you.
She did not give consent!!!! She did not give consent!!!! And it was not a safe space for her!!!!
As
she herself admits, "you're undressing quickly in front of one
another." Exactly, so look the other way or, better yet, don't be
sneaking peaks at one of your competitor's genitals. What kind of perv
are you, Riley? Everyone else was there to swim but you're apparently
slack jawed, open mouthed gawking at the bodies of people around you.
That must have made them very uncomfortable.
Riley wants you to know there were tears from unnamed "from finishers who missed being named an All-American by one place."
Huh?
By one place?
Don't you mean you? Why are you referring to yourself in the plural?
She
wanted the Committee to know she hears agreement from "gay, lesbian,
and trans-identifying Americans." Oh, Riley. Is Caitlyn Jenner trying
to groom you? That might happen. Self-loathing Republican and all.
But
most healthy gay, lesbian and trans Americans -- not 'identify,' just
trans -- are not agreeing with you. In fact, you saw what the LGBTQ+
community thinks of you when you showed up in San Francisco to preach
your hate, remember?
And
where is that lawsuit because you never filed it. I know why. You
weren't physically assaulted. Campus police told me that.
But again, you suck at sports and you're butt-ugly so victim really is the only role left for you.
She
wants to talk about "the science." Don't you love it when a jock on a
scholarship wants to lecture others. So we're talking science. Where
do you stand on COVID? I know where your buddies at TPUSA stand. How
much are they paying you, Riley? Or are they just covering the cost of
travel and housing for your Hate Tour? Be honest when it's time to
file with the IRS.
In December 2017, The New Yorker published an article by Jane Mayer showcasing
interviews with former minority members of TPUSA. Former staff members
said they witnessed widespread discrimination against minorities in the
group, and stated "the organization was a difficult workplace and rife
with tension, some of it racial."[26][133] One
former employee, an African-American woman, said she was the only
person of color working for the organization at the time she was hired
in 2014; she then said that she was fired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The article also revealed text messages sent by Crystal Clanton – who
was a leading figure in the organization and served as the group's
national field director for five years – to another Turning Point
employee saying "i hate black people. Like fuck them all ... I hate
blacks. End of story." Kirk responded to the revelations by saying that
"Turning Point assessed the situation and took decisive action within 72
hours of being made aware of the issue."[26] The article also noted that Kirk had explicitly praised Clanton in his book Time for a Turning Point,
saying that she had been "the best hire we ever could have made", and
that "Turning Point needs more Crystals; so does America."[26]
In an April 2018 article titled "Turning Point USA Keeps Accidentally Hiring Racists", HuffPost reported
that the woman hired to replace Crystal Clanton had a history of using
racial slurs, particularly against African-Americans, on Twitter before
deleting her account. In response to the reports, Kirk referred to the
individual in question as "a former employee" in his official statement
(without clarifying when she had been fired), and Turning Point issued
an internal memo announcing that all current and new staff would face
social media background checks.[134]
In the Hillsdale CollegeCollegian,
opinions editor Kaylee McGhee wrote an article titled "Charlie Kirk and
TPUSA aren't conservative, as real conservatives already knew". In the
article, McGhee referred to TPUSA as a "reactionary cancer" rather than a
group supporting real conservatism that is "supposed to preserve the
timeless principles of liberty and equality for all".[135] In June 2018, conservative radio talk show host Joe Walsh resigned from the TPUSA board because Kirk was too closely tied to Donald Trump.
Walsh said: "It's so important to not be beholden to politicians, but
to be beholden to the issues ... When Charlie went to work for Trump,
that crossed that line. You can't advance Trump and advance these
issues."[136]
During
October and November 2019, Kirk launched the Culture War college tour
of speaking events with appearances from many conservatives such as Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle.
These events were frequently targeted by homophobic and antisemitic
members of the alt-right and far-right who consider TPUSA to be too
mainstream and not sufficiently conservative. Concerted efforts were
made by this group to ask leading questions during the Q&A sections
on controversial topics such as Israel and LGBTQ issues in order to
challenge the extent of the speakers' views.[137]
In November 2019, the Dartmouth Review called
TPUSA an organization that promoted Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump
first, rather than conservative values. The article added "True
conservatives must eventually outgrow TPUSA and devote their efforts
elsewhere. We must challenge ourselves by pursuing an environment of
rigorous inquiry, instead of being coddled by the intellectually devoid
echo chamber of TPUSA, compromising our values for recognition."
Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center[edit]
In 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called TPUSA an alt-lite organization.[143] Both the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center have criticized TPUSA for affiliating with activists from the alt-right and the far-right.[144] The
ADL has also reported that the group's leadership and activists "have
made multiple racist or bigoted comments" and have links to extremism.[5]
Let's
note Martina Navratilova quickly. She's a TERF. She's an idiot.
Riley testified repeatedly about the 'threat' that a trans woman
presents to her in the dressing room. Many of you may remember when
these hate merchants tried to say that of lesbians. Now they go for the
trans women and idiots like Martina rush to help them out. Again, the
same argument was once used against lesbians.
We'll pick up on the hearing tomorrow. Today, we'll wind down with this from Senator Tammy Baldwin's office:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today joined Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Corey Booker (D-NJ) in introducing the Equality Act
– historic, comprehensive legislation to ban discrimination against
LGBTQ+ Americans, just as religious, racial, and ethnic discrimination
are illegal everywhere in the United States.
“If we want to live up to our nation’s ideal of true equality, we
must address the fact that we have been coming up short. It is wrong
that in a majority of states, LGBTQ+ people can be denied an apartment,
cut from a job, thrown out of a store, or face other forms of
discrimination just because of who they are or who they love,” said Senator Baldwin.
“And that’s why I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing the
Equality Act to protect LGBTQ+ Americans against discrimination and live
up to our nation’s ideals of freedom and equality.”
The Equality Act would amend the landmark federal
anti-discrimination laws to explicitly add sexual orientation and gender
identity to longstanding bans on discrimination in employment, housing,
public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, federal funding,
and more. It would also add protections against sex discrimination in
parts of anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been
included previously, such as public accommodations and federal funding.
“Generations of Americans have marched, voted, organized, and raised
their voices to move us closer toward a more perfect union with freedom,
equality, and opportunity for all,” said Senator Merkley. “We
all go to work and school, go home, and go shopping, and none of us
should have to keep our families hidden or pretend to be someone we’re
not to do those things. Yet in some states, Americans can still be
evicted, be thrown out of a restaurant, or be denied a loan because of
who they are or whom they love. To realize the vision of America as a
land of freedom and equality, we must be willing to take the steps to
bring that vision closer to reality, and that’s exactly what the
Equality Act does.”
“The flood of legislation in state after state seeking to undermine
the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans is antithetical to our nation’s
fundamental ideals and only serves to foster more hate, division, and
prejudice,” said Senator Booker. “Congress must act to
ensure that no person is discriminated against based on their gender
identity or who they love. That is why I am proud to join again with
colleagues to reintroduce the Equality Act, landmark legislation that
will guarantee that LGBTQ+ Americans are protected under federal law and
move us one step closer to having a nation that truly lives up to our
ideals of liberty, freedom, and justice for all.”
LGBTQ+ equality received a huge boost across the nation last year when President Biden signed Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act
into law, enshrining federal protections for same-sex and interracial
marriages. Further, in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that
workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity is prohibited as a form of sex discrimination under Title VII
of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. However, this court ruling has
not yet been nationally applied to other areas of potential
discrimination—including housing, public accommodations, jury service,
access to credit, and more.
LGBTQ+ Americans around the country are facing an uptick in
discrimination and dangerous state-sponsored legislation. State
legislatures have introduced nearly 500 pieces of legislation that target LGBTQ+ rights. Despite Americans’ increasing support of LGBTQ+ rights
and protections, the majority of states currently do not have
fully-inclusive non-discrimination laws for members of the LGBTQ+
community.
U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA-39) led the introduction of the Equality Act in the House.
The full text of the Equality Act can be found here as introduced in the Senate, and here as introduced in the House.
