It’s back! The LGBTQ “Equality Act” (H.R. 15). This dangerous bill was reintroduced in Congress on June 21, 2023.

H.R. 15 would amend the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, embedding the LGBTQ lexicon into the nation’s civil rights law.

The leftist media portray the bill as protection for oppressed “sexual minorities.” But it’s actually an attack on the rights of the majority. It would criminalize anyone who refuses to go along with LGBTQ “rights” in the workplace, public accommodations, healthcare facilities, schools, and colleges. Even churches would be affected.

The Equality Act would wipe away recent pro-family victories around the country. Some examples: States that have banned medical treatments for supposed “trans” children would be forced to allow those practices. State bans on boys’ participation on girls’ sports teams would be overturned. Challenges to pornographic LGBTQ books in school and local libraries would be considered illegal discrimination. Elective therapy for sexual issues (mislabeled “conversion therapy”) would be banned.

Freedom of religion is threatened: “The bill erases the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) protections, meaning churches, schools, shelters, day care centers, adoption agencies -- EVERYONE -- will be forced to comply with the LGBTQ agenda,” writes Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver. 

Hate speech laws would soon follow.

For years, the Left has been allowed to control the language. The Right has accepted the new LGBT lexicon without seeming to understand the power these words carried. And now sexual-radical concepts are embedded in the Equality Act.

It would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act with these fluid terms (all appear in the Equality Act): sexual orientation, gender identity, homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender, gender, nonbinary, queer, and LGBTQ. They are purposely left undefined.

Liberty Counsel explains that the “Q” is especially concerning:

Already, 212 House Democrats have co-sponsored a bill designed to force churches and every person to accept and promote abortion and the radical perversions encompassed by the “Q” paraphilias of LGBT & Q. These would become federally protected if the newly reintroduced “Equality Act” passes…. The "Q" in LGBTQ includes about 550 sexually deviant “paraphilias” -- including pedophilia -- that will become protected classes under this bill!

LGBTQ Nation wrote, “…the Q in LGBTQ can also signify other sexual orientations and genders not covered by the acronym's preceding letters. If you're gender-neutral, non-binary, agender, genderfluid, pansexual, asexual, solosexual or something else not covered by LGBT, the Q has got you covered!”

This extensive legislation will elevate privileges for LGBTQ conduct above religious freedom in every cultural arena in America -- including churches and religious colleges…. This bill will revoke the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s protections and push both the LGBTQ and abortion agendas into our homes, our schools, and yes, even our churches….

To date, conservative political opposition has avoided the underlying issues. There was no direct challenge to these absurd “LGBTQ” concepts by our politicians; rather, they were treated with respect. There was no straight talk on the moral basis of law; no opposition to the promotion of sodomy and other perversions; no mention of serious public health issues in the LGBTQ population.

Our side has failed to flay recent SCOTUS rulings -- Obergefell (2015 on “gay marriage”) and Bostock (2020, adding undefined “sexual orientation and gender identity” to federal law). Effective court challenges to the federal “gay marriage” law (2022) never materialized.

Right-leaning media has simply stopped talking about these core issues. Most conservatives were intimidated and accepted defeat.

But will the bill be allowed to come up for a vote? If we are lucky, Speaker Kevin McCarthy will keep it bottled up in committee. But 47 House Republicans voted for the federal gay marriage bill in December 2022.  Might they push for a vote on the Equality Act?

If it comes to the floor, the bill is poised to pass. Previous versions of the Equality Act in 2019 and 2021 passed the House. This time, 212 House Democrats are co-sponsoring it, so only a few RINO votes are needed to reach a majority. It would then surely win in the current Democrat-controlled Senate. Biden will sign it. He said in his 2023 State of the Union address, “Let's also pass the bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity.”

The sexual-radical advocacy organization Human Rights Campaign (HRC) states:

The nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that nationally, support for a bill like the Equality Act topped 70 percent, which includes a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The bill has been endorsed by more than 650 organizations, including civil rights, education, health care, and faith-based organizations. In addition, there is strong business support for non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The legislation has been endorsed by the Business Coalition for the Equality Act, a group of more than 530 major companies with operations in all 50 states… More than 60 business associations including the National Association of Manufacturers, National Restaurant Association, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have [endorsed] the Equality Act.

Here's HRC’s list of over 540 major U.S. corporations that now support the Equality Act.

The big pro-family groups are not alerting their followers to this danger, with the exception of American Principles Project and Liberty Counsel. Where is the American Family Association, CWA, Heritage, Family Research Council, and Eagle Forum, Concerned Women?

We can’t gamble that the Equality Act won’t come up for a vote. Check to see if your congressman is on that list of 47 turncoat House Republicans who voted for the federal gay marriage bill in December 2022. If so, tell him to oppose the Equality Act! Contact the Republican House Leadership and ask them to block it.

Amy Contrada has been with MassResistance.org since its founding in 2004. She is the author of CORRUPT BARGAINS: How Gay Marriage Began in Massachusetts (2023); The Health Hazards of Homosexuality (2017); and Passing the Trash (2020). She is currently testing Elon’s commitment to free speech @AmyContrada.

Image: Library of Congress