June 18, 2021
Freedom & Opportunity for All Coalition Statement on Fulton v. City of Philadelphia Supreme Court Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Freedom & Opportunity for All coalition – the national campaign advocating for the urgent passage of the Equality Act – released the following statement on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia:
“While the Supreme Court ruled against the city of Philadelphia in this case, it did not create a broad new license for discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. In fact, the ruling preserves the ability of governments to enforce nondiscrimination laws so long as they do them fairly and consistently. This decision applies strictly to the contract at issue in Philadelphia, and will not have implications beyond this specific case – it’s important to recognize that the Supreme Court could have gone further in this ruling and did not.
However, this decision does not end the disproportional discrimination faced by LGBTQ Americans across the country. Currently, 29 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ people from being evicted from their home, kicked out of a business that’s open to the public, denied health care, or denied government services. It’s past time for our civil rights laws to catch up to our nation’s values and treat every American equally. Congress must pass the Equality Act to ensure all people can be treated with respect and dignity in our country.”
About the Equality Act
Currently, 29 states do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. Without the Equality Act, LGBTQ Americans remain vulnerable to being evicted from their homes, kicked out of a business that’s open to the public, denied health care, or denied government services in a majority of states simply because of who they are. The Equality Act would provide clear, consistent non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across critical areas, including housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. The Equality Act also extends protections to millions of women — who aren’t covered by some existing federal anti-discrimination laws — to ensure they don’t have to live in fear of harassment or discrimination. In addition, it modernizes public accommodations law to provide increased protections to people of color and people of all faiths.
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.