The Equality Act and the End of Incrementalism on Progressive Goals
As a gay woman who has devoted a large part of my career to advance the cause of LGBTQ equality, I have seen firsthand that advancing civil rights is often a slow and steady process. When I was a young girl, Congresswoman Bella Abzug from my hometown of New York City helped champion the Equality Act of 1974 — the first piece of federal legislation in American history to address discrimination based on sexual orientation. And while the LGBTQ community has made undeniable progress over the past 45 years, the spirit of Congresswoman Abzug’s bill remains unfulfilled.
That is why I am proud to join advocates in every corner of our nation in applauding the introduction of the Equality Act of 2019, which was introduced this week in Congress by Senators Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin, and Cory Booker, and Representative David Cicilline. It’s bold and sweeping — a law that would honor Bella Abzug’s legacy by breaking down barriers facing LGBTQ people across our society.
Up until this point, for every major triumph LGBTQ Americans have celebrated, we have suffered many more setbacks and abuses from the forces of discrimination. In the summer of 1995, while serving as political director for the Human Rights Campaign, I personally witnessed Jesse Helms — a notorious crusader against LGBTQ rights — state on the Senate floor that he opposed funding treatments for HIV/AIDS because doing so would support people who engaged in “deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct.” In 2006, as I worked on the campaign to achieve marriage equality, then-Congressman Mike Pence declared that allowing same-sex couples to wed could cause a collapse in American society. Pence, of course, would later go on to enact a destructive anti-LBGTQ agenda as Governor of Indiana.
To be sure, the cause of LBGTQ equality made tremendous strides during the presidency of Barack Obama — from the legalization of marriage for same-sex couples, to the signing of an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against roughly 28 million Americans based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
But that doesn’t mean intolerance against LGBTQ people has been eliminated. Far from it. These days, the opponents of equality are attempting to relitigate their past prejudice through much subtler practices than the kind of language Jesse Helms used back in 1995.
Today, these activists are trying to exploit and subvert the First Amendment to prevent LGBTQ Americans from being treated with dignity and basic respect. They argue that a doctor may turn away an infant because she has lesbian parents, or that we should turn a blind eye when a transgender woman leaves her long-time job because she is afraid of experiencing discrimination.
It should come as no surprise that the Trump administration has only intensified these kinds of attacks on the LGBTQ community — such as banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, and rescinding guidelines introduced by the Obama administration to safeguard transgender children in our schools. And in a recent action involving a South Carolina-based adoption agency, the Department of Human Service has opened the door for federally-funded organizations to discriminate against religious minorities, single parents, and same-sex couples based under the guise of religious liberty.
Currently, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans depend on a patchwork system of legal defenses that often vary from one state to another. And in the face of a coordinated offensive against LGBTQ people taking place on so many fronts, our country must send a resounding message that discrimination has no place in any segment of our culture.
The Equality Act of 2019 would ensure that receiving equal treatment does not depend on living in the right zip code. It would update a series of major existing federal laws — including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — to defend the liberties of LGBTQ people and expand protections for all Americans.
Under this legislation, landlords would be barred from denying someone the ability to lease an apartment based solely on sexual orientation, and lenders could no longer deny a mortgage application because of gender identity. The bill would also apply these safeguards toward a wide range of spaces and services Americans use on a daily basis, including department stores, public bathrooms, and transportation services. Furthermore, it would also enhance federal nondiscrimination protections for people of color, women, and people of many different faiths.
It is true that progressive movements have often been largely been halting journeys — whether it was the campaign to give women the vote, or to rid our country of legal segregation. The fight to win equality for the LGBTQ community — one of the defining civil rights movements of our time — has been no exception.
But if we have learned anything from the rise of Trump, it is that we live during a moment in history which demands bold political change. Since the 2018 midterms, the new House of Representatives has already approved several pieces of landmark legislation that advance core progressive values — including a plan to dramatically reform and renew America’s democracy and the first major gun violence prevention bill in decades.
Now, it is time to apply that same approach toward the LGBTQ rights movement. The era of incrementalism in our politics should be over — and passing the Equality Act can serve as a vital step in the beginning of this new age.
Winnie Stachelberg is Executive Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress.
