April 28, 2021
Following President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress, Freedom & Opportunity For All Urges Senate to Pass the Equality Act
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Freedom & Opportunity For All campaign — a national campaign advocating for the urgent passage of the Equality Act — issued the following statement following President Joe Biden’s first joint address to Congress:
“As President Joe Biden said in his address tonight, it is time for Congress to pass the Equality Act — legislation that would modernize our nation’s civil rights laws by including explicit protections for LGBTQ people, as well as improve protections for women, people of color, people with different national origins, and people of all faiths. No one should be denied basic protections from discrimination simply based on what state or zip code they call home — yet, the patchwork nature of current laws leaves millions of people subject to uncertainty and discrimination.
The Equality Act is a unifying issue for our nation, with support from an overwhelming majority — more than 70 percent — of Americans spanning age, race, religion, and partisan groups; more than 400 major U.S. businesses; faith and civil rights leaders; major statewide and national organizations; and communities in every corner of the country.
We urge the Senate to swiftly pass this historic legislation, which represents a critical step toward ensuring that America lives up to our foundational values of equality and freedom for all.”
Currently, 29 states do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. Without the Equality Act, LGBTQ people remain vulnerable to being evicted from their homes, kicked out of a business that’s open to the public, denied health care, removed from a jury, or denied government services in a majority of states simply because of who they are.
With nearly two-thirds of LGBTQ people having reported experiencing discrimination in their personal lives, the Equality Act would level the playing field for everyone, guaranteeing that LGBTQ people are extended the same federal anti-discrimination protections that others in the United States have enjoyed for decades. It would also extend protections to millions of women who aren’t covered under some existing federal anti-discrimination laws and modernize the public spaces and services that can’t discriminate against anyone based on race, color, national origin, or religion.
Broad, Overwhelming Support for the Equality Act
Freedom & Opportunity For All — co-founded and led by 16 of the nation’s leading advocates for equality — reflects the broad and overwhelming support for the Equality Act mirrored in communities across the country. Recent polling from Hart Research Associates finds that 70 percent of Americans (including 50 percent of Republicans) support the Equality Act.
To date, a majority of Americans, hundreds of members of Congress, hundreds of advocacy organizations, and more than 60 business associations — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers — have endorsed the Equality Act. More than 400 major U.S. companies — including dozens of Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, Apple, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, and Kellogg — have endorsed the legislation because they believe it is good for their employees and their businesses.
Collectively, these companies have headquarters based in 33 states overseeing operations in all 50 states and generate a collective revenue of $6.8 trillion. In total, these companies employ more than 14.6 million people across the United States. For more information about Freedom & Opportunity For All, please visit its website at www.PassTheEqualityAct.com.
Freedom & Opportunity For All
Freedom & Opportunity For All is a national campaign advocating for the urgent passage of the Equality Act — historic federal legislation that would modernize and improve our nation’s civil rights laws by including explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people, as well as women, people of color, and people of all faiths. The campaign — supported by hundreds of the nation’s top leaders in civil rights, faith, education, health care, and advocacy — is co-founded and led by 16 of the nation’s leading advocates for equality, including Center for American Progress; Equality Federation; Freedom for All Americans; GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders; GLSEN; Human Rights Campaign; Lambda Legal; National Black Justice Coalition; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; National LGBTQ Task Force; National Women's Law Center; PFLAG National; SAGE; Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund; and The Trevor Project. More information can be found at www.PassTheEqualityAct.com.