The so-called “Equality Act” (H.R. 5) being debated in Congress is quite possibly one of the most dangerous pieces of federal legislation that I have encountered in my lifetime. It would wreak havoc on religious freedom, free speech, churches and faith-based hospitals, as well as undercut all the gains made on behalf of women.
Many aspects of our daily lives – public accommodations, employment, housing, counseling, and more – would be impacted. Here are just a few samples of its likely impact if it ever becomes law:
- Force young girls to dress and shower in front of boys;
- Allow men onto women’s athletic teams and to compete against women in Olympic-style sports;
- Require religious hospitals to provide sex-change operations;
- Compel women’s shelters to allow men into their facilities and share housing with females who have already been subjected to trauma; and
- Prevent couples who believe in God’s design for marriage and sexuality from adopting or caring for a foster child.
While variations of this legislation have been introduced in Congress before, this particular version would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes all throughout the federal code. The architects of this legislation claim it would protect people from discrimination, but in reality it forces people to deny basic biological realities and to compromise their deeply held beliefs and religious convictions in order affirm a person’s sexual behavior or preferred gender status.
Don’t just take my word for it. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), insists that “we cannot allow claims of religious freedom to be used to discriminate against an LGBT individual.” This legislation is so radical that even Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (D – WV) and Gregory Angelo, former leader of the “Log Cabin Republicans,” have publicly opposed it.
While upholding justice and human dignity are essential to any thriving society, and reflective of our core American beliefs, this so-called Equality Act offers no meaningful protections for individuals, but especially none for Christians. Instead, it removes time-honored decency protections for women and girls, violates privacy, regulates speech, and threatens the ability of every American to exercise their religious liberty – even expressly declaring that The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 cannot be used as a claim defense or claim against it!
We cannot allow the government to push people with strong religious convictions into compromising their beliefs – like they tried to do with Peter Vlaming, a teacher at West Point High School in Virginia who was recently fired for simply refusing to use male pronouns for a biological female student. (For a brief account of what happened you can read a post from our sister organization (Family Foundation of Virginia) about it here.)
CLICK HERE to contact your Members of Congress today, and urge them to OPPOSE H.R. 5, the Equality Act. You can also reach your Congressman and Senators at (202) 224-3121. Don’t delay, the House Democrats are pushing to hold a vote on this bill this week!
Thank you!
