“I strongly support equality for all people and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. No one should be afraid of losing their job or losing their housing because of their sexual orientation,” Manchin told the press. “I am not convinced that the Equality Act as written provides sufficient guidance to the local officials who will be responsible for implementing it, particularly with respect to students transitioning between genders in public schools.”
The Equality Act, which would ensure legal protections for members of the LGBTQ community, was reintroduced in Congress on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, the Human Rights Campaign announced a 167-member corporate coalition in support of the legislation.
But a ThinkProgress review of campaign finance data reveals that, through their corporate PACs, members of that coalition have recently given more than $750,000 combined to the two biggest congressional obstacles to the Equality Act’s passage: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
While 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws specifically banning discrimination in employment and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, dozens of others do not. The Equality Act, co-sponsored by nearly every House and Senate Democrat and three Republicans, would expressly prohibit these and other types of anti-LGBTQ discrimination nationally by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal Civil Rights Act. It also would expand and enhance existing protections for gender, race, and religion.
