October 20, 2021
Small Business Leaders Across the Country Underscore Critical Need for Equality Act, Call on Senate to Take Urgent Action
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) Joined Small Business Leaders from Indiana, Florida, and West Virginia — Who Are Among the Thousands of Business Leaders Across the Country Rallying in Support of Equality Act — for Virtual Roundtable Event
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, small business leaders from Indiana, Florida, and West Virginia joined Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and other national business leaders to underscore the critical need for the Equality Act for strengthening small businesses. The small business leaders called on the U.S. Senate to take urgent action to pass the landmark legislation, which 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, and people of all faiths.
The virtual roundtable event — organized by the Freedom & Opportunity For All campaign, and a recording of which can be watched above — showcased just a handful of the thousands of small business leaders across the country who are rallying in support of the Equality Act, and who are increasingly calling on their Senators to vote in support of the legislation, which already passed the U.S. House in March.
“I was elected by the people of the Third District of Kansas to represent them in Washington, but I could legally be turned away from renting an apartment or seeking medical care in my home state. Increasingly, we are seeing folks not only recognize that is wrong, but also see the broader benefits of an inclusive economy,” said Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), member of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business. “Especially as we work to reach the other side of the pandemic, the Equality Act could have a major impact on the ability of businesses to hire and retain staff, lend and invest their money to spur growth, and ensure everyone is included in our recovery.”
The event featured small business leaders from across the country — including Hope Kennedy of Florida, the CEO of North Tampa Bay Chamber, Linda Bodie of West Virginia, the CEO of Element Federal Credit Union, and Bob Goodman of Indiana, the Owner of Robert Goodman Jewelers — whose voices are just several of the thousands of small business leaders across the country advocating for the Equality Act. Those small business leader voices are further bolstered by the nearly 500 major U.S. businesses — including dozens of Fortune 500 companies — and more than 60 business associations that have come out to publicly support the federal legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
“It’s shocking that 29 states don’t have protections for the LGBTQ+ community. For us here at the North Tampa Bay Chamber, we want to lead the conversation about this issue,” said Hope Kennedy, CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, who is among the many small business leaders across Florida who have called for urgent action on the Equality Act. “We are excited to put our name behind the Equality Act and help get the word out about this bill. On a personal level, people who work for these businesses are our family. We want to make sure they are protected and they feel comfortable in Florida. The Equality Act is very important to our state.”
“At Element, we’ve been a leader in our community and our state in welcoming all, respecting all, and providing our products and services to everyone who visits of us — regardless of who they are.” said Linda Bodie, CEO of Element Federal Credit Union in West Virginia, one of the many small business leaders across West Virginia urging her senators to take action on the Equality Act. “Not only is it our mission but it's our passion to make sure that everyone feels they are safe in our space and our community. Not all organizations are as safe and welcoming. Discrimination is painful and it hurts our community. That’s why I, and so many people like me in West Virginia, are supporting the Equality Act. We need this legislation to ensure our friends and families have equal access to so many human needs. It’s simply the right thing to do.”
“I’ve been in the jewelry business for 47 years. Few things have proved more important in our business than creating an inclusive space where everyone is welcome and invited in,” said Bob Goodman, Owner of Robert Goodman Jewelers in Indiana, who is among the more than 100 small business leaders across Indiana who have called for urgent action on the Equality Act. “Comprehensive protections that ensure LGBTQ+ people can walk into a public space without being harassed don’t exist in Indiana. That’s why I’m calling on Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young to support the Equality Act when it comes up for a vote. It’s time that the Civil Rights Act is updated to include protections for LGBTQ+ people.”
Nearly 70 percent of small business owners in the U.S. support the Equality Act. This support reflects the broad and growing support for the Equality Act mirrored in communities across the country. Recent polling from PRRI finds that 82 percent of Americans favor laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing (including 67 percent of Republicans).
“It’s shocking that federal law does not protect Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, immigrants and people of minority faiths from being denied service and discriminated against in retail stores, shopping malls and similar places,” said Calla Rongerude, Director of Open To All and the moderator for the event, who underscored how the Equality Act would extend protections for other communities impacted regularly by harassment and discrimination. “A recent study found that Black retail shoppers are 2.5 times more likely than white shoppers to receive unfair treatment based on their skin color, while BIPOC shoppers are 2 times more likely than white shoppers to receive unfair treatment based on their ethnicity. Updating the law via the Equality Act would both extend those vital protections and ensure that LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination in these and other areas.”
The Equality Act would ensure that businesses are open to everyone — allowing small business owners to serve their communities, recruit and retain top talent, and sustain their livelihoods. Currently, even if an LGBTQ person works for a small business that provides clear non-discrimination protections and inclusive cultures, that employee and their family members can still experience discrimination in other areas of life and have no legal recourse. In the majority of states — 29 states in total — that lack explicit nondiscrimination protections, these employees can be denied healthcare, loans, housing, and basic goods and services because of who they are.
An archived webcast of today’s event can be accessed above. To speak with one of the small business leaders urging support for the Equality Act, please contact Dani Marx at dani@precisionstrategies.com. More information can be found at www.PassTheEqualityAct.com.
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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.