Why We Need To Lobby

I hear people say why bother to lobby for Equality Act it is never going to get passed in a Republican controlled Congress.

Op-ed: Why the Equality Act Is So Important
A lawyer working for transgender employees says that the proposed Equality Act remains very necessary, even with growing LGBT protections.
By Jillian Weiss
August 4, 2015

The recent introduction of the Equality Act in both the U.S. House and Senate to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from discrimination is long overdue. It is so long overdue that it may be more notable for what its absence says about our society than what its presence will do for victims of discrimination. Many federal agencies and courts have already ruled that sex discrimination includes discrimination against LGBT people. What’s missing is our political will as a country to acknowledge that such discrimination is wrong and that our civil rights laws should explicitly say so.

As an attorney whose practice focuses primarily on winning lawsuits for transgender people experiencing job discrimination around the country, I’m heartened by this action by Democratic leaders in both chambers, though the chances of passage in a Republican-controlled Congress are slim. The move nevertheless sends a strong message: Even in a post–marriage equality environment, LGBT Americans are still extremely vulnerable to being fired, kicked out of their homes, barred from accessing public places, and a host of other discriminatory ills simply for living their lives authentically. Legislation that explicitly prohibits this will make it easier to provide legal protection nationwide.

If we don’t lobby for the bill we are sending a message to our supports in Congress that we really don’t care for the bill. We have to let our legislators know that this bill is important to us, otherwise it will be like what Congressman Barney Frank said, “transgender people first need to educate others more and yours is a new movement: put in more time, pay some more dues.”

We can’t be fair weather lobbyists; we still have to lobby for the bill even if it doesn’t have a chance to pass. They have to know that we are serious about the bill.

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My laptop died and I will only be able to blog occasional when I have access to a computer.