The Equality Act

You probably have heard that the bill has made it out of committee, so what is the opposition says about the bill?

The Equality Act Is about Coercion
The National Review
By The Editors
April 11, 2019

Conservatives have traditionally been opposed to legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. They have believed that market pressures, changing social views, and sub-federal legislation could adequately address problems of wrongful discrimination, while federal legislation would create potential harms to religious freedom. But the Equality Act now gaining steam in Congress goes considerably further than that, and deserves determined opposition.
[…]
Under the bill, all federally funded entities, from educational programs (college sports teams, school bathrooms) to public accommodations (women’s shelters, locker rooms), would be forced to interpret “sex” to include “gender identity.” In other words, to treat men as women if they identify as such, and vice versa.
[…]
Another troubling section of the Equality Act is its finding that “conversion therapy” is a form of discrimination. This is worrisome because the term “conversion therapy” (originally used to describe the controversial practice of trying to change a gay person’s sexual orientation) is increasingly misapplied to tried, tested, and ethical treatments for gender-confused youth that range from counseling to watchful waiting. The Equality Act would set a dangerous precedent that could be interpreted to mandate doctors and therapists to pursue “gender affirmation” therapy, under which American girls as young as 13 and 14 have had their healthy breasts removed.

Then in the Washington Examiner they had this to say about the bill…

There's no evidence at all that the Equality Act will help the economy
By Peter Sprigg
April 30, 2019

A free market economy — the freedom of willing employers and willing employees, willing vendors and willing customers, to contract with each other — has made our country prosperous. There is a role for government in the economy, but government intervention to dictate how American businesses operate should require the most compelling justification.

Unfortunately, that standard seems to have been abandoned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Their slogan is, “Standing Up for American Enterprise.” Their website declares, “We advocate for pro-business policies that create jobs and grow our economy.” They list “regulatory relief” as a priority issue.

So it seems odd that such a group sent a letter to Congress asking, in effect, “Please regulate us more!” Yet that is what the Chamber did this month by writing to endorse the Equality Act. This bill would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as special protected categories in virtually every federal civil rights law, treating discrimination based on those characteristics as the exact equivalent of racial discrimination.

And BuzzFeed had this to say,

Republicans Are Trying To Kill An LGBT Bill In Congress By Arguing It Hurts Women
“Women, lesbians, and families become the collateral damage.”
By Dominic Holden
April 2, 2019

An LGBT rights bill needs to die — to help women.

That was the message Republicans brought to a rowdy congressional hearing on Tuesday, when conservative lawmakers and think tanks denounced the nondiscrimination bill with increasingly uniform charges of sexism.

The bill’s protections for transgender people, they contend, advance a “radical gender ideology” that will erase and victimize women.

“Women, lesbians, and families become the collateral damage of identity politics,” said Republican Doug Collins of Georgia, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Collins argued the Democrat-sponsored bill “codifies stereotypes and sexism,” and, “If the Democrats are determined to move this legislation forward anyway, we must recognize that it prioritizes the rights of biological men over the rights of biological women.”

But because it bans discrimination based on a person’s gender identity, Collins and other Republicans contended Tuesday it creates an arbitrary distinction that lets men pretend to be women, blurring the line between sexes, and defines gender by mannerisms and attire. Or, as Collins put it, the bill “nullifies women and girls as coherent categories worthy of civil rights protection.”

So the opposition are using the old tired arguments…

• Men will dress-up as women to rape our young girls in bathrooms
• It will infringe on religious freedom to discriminate
• We can’t beat the girls out of boys
• It will cost businesses money putting money ahead of human rights

It is important that we understand the opposition because then we will be able to better block their message.

Here in Connecticut I read the opposition emails and blogs on a regular bases (I do it after taking my blood pressure meds), the so called “Family” organization is concentrated on the bill to require truth in advertising for abortion clinics; they are against the bill they think that they should be able to lie.

One of the tools to develop an effective strategy is what is called a “Message Box” is divided into four boxes, two boxes on the top row and two boxes on the bottom row

Top row…
What We Say About Us: The reasons people should vote for you
What We Say About Them: The reasons people should vote against your opponent
Bottom row…
What They Say About Us:  The reasons people should vote against you
What They Say About Them: The reasons people should vote for your opponent

So knowing the opposition is an important step in countering the opposition. That means reading conservative news article, signing up for their emails (I use a special email account for their emails), and reading their testimonies for hearings on the bill.

To learn more about activism visit the website “Community Tool Box”

This page lists 46 Chapters through which you can obtain practical, step-by-step guidance in community-building skills. See also our related Toolkits, which offer short outlines for key tasks.