Washington, DC, January 20, 2016—U.S. Senator Mark Kirk and U.S. Rep. Bob Dold are being praised by the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund for their leadership in becoming the first Republican co-sponsors of the Equality Act. The landmark legislation seeks to secure strong and explicit protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, publicly funded programs, access to credit, and jury service. The act would also include protections against sex discrimination in laws regarding public accommodations and federal funding.
“Leadership often means standing-up for core principals in the face of opposition, even from your own political party. Senator Kirk and Congressman Dold may be the only two Republicans so far to co-sponsor the Equality Act, but they are on the right side of history. They know that discrimination is wrong and one of the biggest remaining obstacles to full freedom, justice and equality for all LGBTQ people. We encourage all members of Congress to follow their lead and support the Equality Act,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund.
In 28 states, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people still lack explicit non-discrimination protections in employment, housing and public accommodations—and transgender people lack explicit non-discrimination protections in 31 states. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, ninety percent of transgender people have experienced discrimination, harassment and mistreatment in the workplace.
For decades, the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund has been advocating for nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. In 1975, the organization was instrumental in the introduction of the first comprehensive nondiscrimination bill in Congress by legendary New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug; continued to push hard for more protections in the states, through the courts, and through important agency rulings; advocated for executive actions to provide more protections for both federal employees and the employees of federal contractors, and will continue to push for local, state and federal non-discrimination legislation.
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CONTACT:
Jorge Amaro
Media and Public Relations Director
213-842-7564
jamaro@thetaskforce.org