“The Equality Act” sounds like a great bill. Who would be against equality? But, it’s not really about equality.

The Equality Act is really about using the full weight of the federal government to impose the ever-evolving sexual revolution on the American people, under threat of punishment or loss of federal funds.

Rather than allow a national debate on the issues of human sexuality and gender, the Act shuts down the debate and, in essence, labels as bigots those who will not bow the knee to the sexual revolution.

As Andrew Walker writes, “For progressives, the Equality Act is the rallying cry that would forever cement the legitimacy of sexual-revolution ethics into federal law.”

So What is the Equality Act?

The Equality Act— to be introduced by House Democrats in Congress—adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of protected classes under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  This means that almost no area of American public life—including education, employment, public accommodation, housing, medical care, non-profits, and federal funding for example—will be left untouched.

Obviously, invidious discrimination is wrong, but that is not what the Equality Act is addressing. Americans are not being denied employment, housing, or public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Rather, these types of laws have been used throughout the country to punish those that believe that marriage is only between one man and one woman, and believe that there are only two genders, male and female, both rooted in biology.

Some Problems with the Equality Act:

1. It threatens the fundamental freedoms of speech and religion

• • It could force faith-based charities, non-profits, and schools to operate contrary to their religious beliefs concerning human sexuality, or risk punishment or loss of federal funding.
  • Creative professionals— especially in the wedding industry— could be compelled to communicate messages about marriage that violate their conscience or be forced out of the wedding industry altogether.
  • In the language of the bill, it overrides the religious protections found in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This means that when alleged cases of discrimination involve religious beliefs, religious freedom loses.
  • It would force faith-based foster care and adoption agencies to shut down or change their policy of only placing children with a married husband and wife.

2. It threatens privacy, safety, and opportunities for women and girls

• • Biological men claiming to identify as women will have access to women-only intimate spaces like locker rooms, bathrooms, showers, and women’s shelters—giving easy access to sexual predators.
  • Title IX, which is supposed to make sure women have the same opportunities as men, including in sports, would be gutted as men identifying as women could claim these opportunities. It is already happening around the country where boys identifying as women are displacing women in sex-specific sports in high school and college.

3. It would undermine parental rights

• • Parents could lose custody of their gender-dysphoric child if they do not support their child’s desire to take puberty blocker and cross-sex hormones.
  • Public education would be legally required to teach and operate in line with transgender ideology, regardless of parental opposition.

4. It would codify transgender ideology into federal law

• • As Ryan T. Anderson points out, the Equality Act “could impose a nationwide transgender bathroom policy, a nationwide pronoun policy, and a nationwide sex-reassignment health care mandate.”
  • It could force hospital facilities, medical professionals, and insurance plans to provide gender-transitioning services, or be found guilty of unlawful discrimination.

Although proponents of the Equality Act are trumpeting equality as their cause, the effects of the bill would be devastating to American society.

As Ryan T. Anderson eloquently states, “Instead of treating disagreement as if it were discrimination, Americans of all walks of life must strive to peacefully coexist even when we don’t see eye to eye.”

Human sexuality and gender are best left open as matters of national debate. The federal government should stay out of the business of imposing a newly imagined and ever-evolving sexual ethic on the entire nation.

For more analysis on the Equality Act, see:

• “The Equality Act Accelerates Anti-Christian Bias” by Andrew Walker at The Gospel Coalition
• “Pelosi’s Top Legislative Priority Would Punish Dissenters on LGBT Issues” by Ryan T. Anderson at The Daily Signal
• “Equality Act Would Create Inequality for Women” by Emilie Kao at The Washington Times
• “The Equality Act and the Threat to Religious Freedom” a conversation with John Stonestreet and Andrew Walker
• “The Equality Act vs. Religious Freedom: Equality For Me, but not for Thee” by John Stonestreet at BreakPoint
• “Nancy Pelosi’s ‘Equality Act’ Would Be Disastrous. Here Are 5 Likely Victim Groups” by Monica Burke at The Daily Signal
• “‘Equality Act’ profoundly intolerant, deceptively named” press release from Alliance Defending Freedom.

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