The House on Thursday passed the Equality Act, one of the main items on President Joe Biden’s agenda, which would ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in a 224-206 vote.
Three Republicans voted with all Democrats on the measure, which the House also approved two years ago, but faded into the Senate controlled by the then Republican Party. In 2019, eight House Republicans supported the bill.
The measure would extend the protection of the Civil Rights Act to LGBTQ Americans to block discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Representatives of Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Reed, RN.Y. and John Katko, RN.Y., voted Thursday with Democrats in favor of the proposal.
The vote followed two days of emotional and sometimes personal debate in the House between Democrats and Republicans, with some lawmakers talking about their own life experiences on the floor.
“None of us should be evicted, fired or denied accommodation and services simply for who we are and who we love,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, DN.Y., who is one of the first openly gay black men in serve in Congress.
Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., Who spoke in the House on Monday in favor of her transgender daughter, was attacked by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a conservative who told Newman on Twitter that “the your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters ’bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams,” and tried, unsuccessfully, to delay Thursday’s vote by forcing the House to vote twice on a deferred motion to adjourn.
Newman, who has the Washington office on the other side of Greene’s lobby, put a transgender flag in front of his door. Greene, in response, posted a poster that said, “There are TWO genders: male and female: trust science.”
Republicans who opposed the bill mentioned concern that it would violate their religious beliefs and irrevocably affect women’s sport across the country.
“When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they declare that God did not know what He was doing when He made them,” said representative Greg Stuebe of R-Fla. “You will individually destroy women’s sports in the name of equality, which is ironic.”
Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups condemned the rhetoric of Greene and other Republicans in opposition to the bill.
“His attacks on trans people and the transgender community are just bad and bad,” Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, DN.Y., said of the “despicable comments”.
Alphonso David, president of the Campaign for Human Rights, called the comments “dangerous and transphobic.”
“These comments really create additional stigma against the communities that need to be protected,” he said.
According to the Campaign for Human Rights, 44 transgender or non-gender-compliant Americans were killed last year, the highest figure the organization has ever recorded.
“(The attacks) are not based on fact, but on fear,” he said.
The Equality Act will have to get the support of 60 senators to get to Biden’s table to get his signature, which would require the support of at least ten Republicans, assuming all Democrats backed the package.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a critical vote that sponsored the legislation in 2020, told the Washington Blade this week that it would not do so this year, noting unspecified changes she requested were not made. He did not say what changes he had sought.
“Senator Collins supports ensuring justice and equal treatment for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and is considering all possible options to do so, including the introduction of her own project. of law, ”Collins spokeswoman Annie Clarke told the Washington Blade. .
The Senate Judiciary Committee will take action, but has not yet scheduled a meeting to do so.
Trish Turner of ABC News contributed to this report.