This is an amazing advancement for LGBTQ people with the US Supreme Court landmark ruling finally making it illegal to discriminate against our community because of gender identity or sexual orientation in this country but our work will continue until the United States Congress passes The Equality Act which will ensure full protections into federal law. The Equality Act will amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation & gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit & the jury system. It passed the United States House of Representatives on May of 2019 in a bipartisan 236-173 vote but the GOP Majority led Senate refuses to address it. This is never going to happen in this administration as Trump’s Justice Department fiercely argued & fought that Title VII didn’t cover discrimination based on sexual orientation & gender identity & they're still trying to take away marriage equality as well. It’s in Trump’s 2020 reelection platform stating, “Institution of traditional marriage is the foundation of society”. During this pandemic, historic unemployment, healthcare limitations & civil unrest to end systemic racism & white supremacy let’s hope that our LGBTQ community will continue to fight for equality especially with the fact that since 2013 over 170 transgender women & men have been murdered in this country with over 70% being of color. This is another stark reminder that all civil right leaders must be LGBTQ inclusive who are speaking out against systemic racism & hate violence. So HAPPY PRIDE & let’s celebrate this mammoth victory for our LGBTQ people but it’s not a time for complacency. It’s a time to vote these backward white supremacists out of Washington.
LISTEN: Matthew Todd Talks New LGBTQ Pride Anthology
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