{"id":6581,"date":"2021-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/2021\/07\/01\/bill-protects-the-vulnerable\/"},"modified":"2021-07-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T00:00:00","slug":"bill-protects-the-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charming-bohr.160-238-31-172.plesk.page\/index.php\/2021\/07\/01\/bill-protects-the-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Protects the Vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dignity, Respect, and Protection from Discrimination<\/strong><\/p>\n

Public opinion in America around LGBT civil rights has undergone something of a revolution over the past decade. It\u2019s a shift that has been driven in large part by heightened awareness of the legal vulnerabilities faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. According to recent polling data, 83 percent of Americans agreed with President Joseph Biden\u2019s January 2021 executive order prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.1<\/sup> Currently 21 U.S. states and several large cities ban such discrimination; however, the majority of LGBT Americans still lack clear recourse when they are evicted or refused service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). <\/p>\n

\u201cEnforcing basic civil rights for everyone should not be controversial,\u201d maintains Stanley Carlson-Thies, founder and senior director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance. \u201cGovernment has a responsibility to ensure protection from unjust treatment to all, including LGBT persons.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n

The Equality Act<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last summer\u2019s Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County<\/i> provided a major victory for LGBT rights advocates. The Court ruled 6-3 that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. In his majority opinion Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, \u201cToday we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear.\u201d3<\/sup> <\/p>\n

In February of this year the U.S. House of Representatives sought to build on the SOGI protections affirmed in Bostock<\/i> by once again passing the Equality Act,4<\/sup> a LGBT civil rights bill President Biden has often referred to as one of his top legislative priorities.5<\/sup> If enacted, the Equality Act would amend existing civil rights laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, to explicitly ban LGBT discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. The legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where key lawmakers have voiced concern over its absence of religious liberty protections.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

Problems With the Equality Act<\/strong><\/p>\n

Proponents of the Equality Act claim the legislation maintains our nation\u2019s historic religious freedom protections.7<\/sup> In reality, the bill as drafted includes a number of areas troubling to religious freedom advocates. <\/p>\n

In its statement responding to the House\u2019s passage of the Equality Act, the National Association of Evangelicals identified some of those concerns. \u201cReligious charities and institutions that believe marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman play indispensable roles in our social safety net\u2014feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, healing the sick and educating disadvantaged children\u2014as well as other valuable contributions to the well-being of all Americans. The version of the Equality Act passed by the House of Representatives would pressure institutions to change their religious beliefs or withdraw from the public-private partnerships that make our charitable sector so dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its current form, the Equality Act would:<\/p>\n