Garden State Equality celebrates passage of The Equality Act with broad New Jersey support

Today, the House of Representatives voted 236-173 to pass The Equality Act, which would provide explicit federal non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans. The bill has unanimous support from New Jersey’s Democratic Congressional Delegation. It is the first time in history The Equality Act has passed either chamber.

The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other related laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. The Equality Act was first introduced in 2015 and again in 2017. The Equality Act would also prohibit discrimination in credit, public education, federally-funded programs, and jury service. In previous sessions, The Equality Act had never advanced out of committee.

“While LGBTQ New Jerseyans enjoy commonsense legal protections against discrimination, 44% of LGBTQ Americans still live in states where it is legal to fire, deny housing, or refuse service to someone simply because of who they are or who they love,” said Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality. “Today’s passage of The Equality Act in the House is a historic step forward to ensuring equality under the law truly means equality for all, and I am proud that New Jersey’s congressional delegation is leading the way in championing civil rights for LGBTQ Americans across the nation.”

New Jersey’s Democratic Congressional Delegation unanimously sponsored the bill and voted “yes” today:

“We must end discrimination in all forms and I’ll fight until we achieve full equality under the law for all Americans, including members of the LGBTQ communities,” said Representative Donald Norcross (NJ-01). “No American should live in fear, and every American should have the law on their side when discrimination or harassment occurs. Diversity is America’s strength and compassion is our value; the Equality Act is a clear necessity, since it would protect millions of Americans under law.”

“Any threat to the freedom of one American, is a threat to the freedom of all Americans. Members of the LGBTQ community across our country have had their freedom denied for too long, and the Equality Act is an important step in righting that wrong,” said Representative Andy Kim (NJ-03). “For LGBTQ Americans, this isn’t a political issue. It’s an issue that impacts them personally every day. The Senate should take this bill up and give all Americans the freedom they rightly deserve.”

“At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, I worked on issues of inequality relating to our LGBTQ community and know from my constituents that discrimination is pervasive and persistent,” said Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11). “The Equality Act extends the rights of our LGBTQ community in New Jersey to states across the country and provides equal treatment under the law in housing, education, federal loans, or public accommodation regardless of sexual orientation.”

“This is a truly historic moment, and a reaffirmation of our founding principles of equality,” said Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), the author of the Customer Non-Discrimination Act which is among the provisions included in the Equality Act. “I am proud to represent a state that provides legal protections for our LGBTQ family, friends and colleagues. Sadly, in 30 states, LGBTQ people are at risk of being fired, refused housing or denied services because of who they are. The Equality Act changes that, ensuring that no one can discriminate against LGBTQ Americans anywhere, period. This is another example of the progress Democrats continue to make for the American people, just as it is a representation of the American value of fairness that I have always and will always fight for. As this bill heads to the Senate, I hope my colleagues there will recognize the need to protect the rights of all Americans and join us in a strong, bipartisan vote for equality.”

An August 2018 poll by PRRI showed that 71% of Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

New Jersey’s nondiscrimination laws were amended in 1991 to include sexual orientation and again in 2006 to include gender identity, but a patchwork of laws across the country means 44% of the American LGBTQ population have no statewide protections from discrimination:

• 28 states lack any nondiscrimination protections.
• 20 states and the District of Columbia protect LGBTQ people with nondiscrimination laws covering employment, housing, and public accommodations.
• Utah provides nondiscrimination protections for housing and employment but not for public accommodations.
• Wisconsin provides nondiscrimination protections for employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation but not gender identity.

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