Issue: H.R. 5, Equality Act. Question: On Passage.
Result: Passed in House, 220 to 212, 0 not voting. Democrats only scored.
Freedom First Society: The so-called Equality Act is a continuation of the revolutionary assault on the religious and commonsense foundations for a free society. For example, if H.R. 5 became law, states would be forced to allow transgender men to use women’s public bathrooms – absurd. No, not absurd — evil!
Yet that is just one part of the radical legislation that passed the radical House of Representatives on February 25. All Democrats voted in favor. We do not score the Republicans for their easy “no” vote (only three voted in favor).
We have assigned (good vote) to the Nays and (bad vote) to the Yeas. (P = voted present; ? = not voting; blank = not listed on roll call.)
Bill Summary (by Congressional Research Service):
Shown Here: Passed House (02/25/2021)
Equality Act
This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation.The bill expands the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services.The bill allows the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity.The bill prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual’s gender identity.
Analysis (FFS): Here are six reasons why the misnamed Equality Act should have been defeated in the House and why, if it comes before the Senate, senators should vote no:
- H.R. 5 is an unconstitutional federal intervention in matters that belong to the states. Despite previous so-called “civil rights” legislation, the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to prohibit the types of discrimination listed in H.R. 5.
- The Equality Act violates religious freedom by forcing organizations to act in violation of their consciences on matters such as marriage and adoption.
- The Equality Act allows for taxpayer funding of abortions. The vast majority of Americans oppose such funding.
- The Equality Act would pressure most schools to implement gender-identity policies that violate privacy rights such as bathrooms exclusive to women.
- The Equality Act jeopardizes women’s school sports by forcing them to compete against biological males.
- The Equality Act is part of a revolutionary organized attack on the religious foundations for a free society.
Rep. Chip Roy (Texas) was one of several Republicans to express his outrage over this Democratic assault. Here is part of Rep. Roy’s remarks on the floor:
“It is an absolute abomination and flies in the face of the very principles upon which this Nation was founded. We know that. We see that. We can go through the list. We are all going through it.
“The definition of sex in H.R. 5 inserts the right to abortion into the Civil Rights Act. The Equality Act can be used to force a universal right to abortion until birth. It forces medical professionals to conduct or assist in performing abortions; forces medical professionals to perform certain surgeries and administer hormone blockers, even if it is against their medical advice; forces employers to cover sex reassignment surgeries; forces schools, churches, hospitals, and businesses to recognize a chosen gender.
“I could go down the list. But this is about power and control. It is the same thing about having a fence with razor wire around the people’s Congress, around this Capitol building. It is an absolute affront to who we are.
“In the Declaration of Independence, where we are talking about rights, government is instituted among men to secure those rights.
“And the House of Representatives, supposedly the people’s House, is using the power of this body to step on the rights of the American people. And it is our obligation to defend those rights. And I can tell you this: We are going to stand up in defense of the Constitution, our liberties and the Bill of Rights, and the consent of the governed matters.
“You do not have the consent of the governed, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. You don’t. And you are pretending that you have got power that you do not have, and it will not end well if you pull this republic apart, thread by thread, and you have to look in the mirror and tell your kids and grandkids that this republic died on your watch.
“It is not going to because we are going to stand on the wall, the same wall that our Founders stood on, the same wall that those men at the Alamo stood on, and we are going to defend this Constitution in the name of the Declaration of Independence and the Lord that gives us the rights that we protect.”
The best defense of the Constitution, however, is to organize the grassroots to build an informed electorate that will throw the power-grabbing revolutionaries out.