The Equality Act has two major goals: it would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity to the definition of sex; it would also undermine the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by allowing gay rights to trump religious rights.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act was primarily motivated by a desire to end racial segregation. It banned discrimination based on race, sex or national origin. That was it. It said absolutely nothing about sexual orientation, and it certainly didn’t address transgender rights—it wasn’t even a concept in the 1960s. Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to this law not only violates the intent of the legislation, it unduly burdens houses of worship and other religious organizations.
In order to end racial segregation, the 1964 Civil Rights Act banned discrimination in public accommodations. Blacks had historically been denied services in many public facilities, ranging from diners to hotels. The Equality Act goes way beyond this, so much so that it disfigures the meaning of this historic 1964 law.
The Equality Act not only covers homosexuals and transgender persons, it expands public accommodations to include consumer services such as healthcare. In practice this would be a disaster. It would mean, for example, that healthcare providers would be forced to provide hormone therapies and surgical procedures that are required to change the physical characteristics associated with sex changes.
One does not have to be a Catholic healthcare practitioner to register moral and religious objections to this “healthcare” initiative. Will anyone be allowed to voice objections to these procedures, pointing out the long-term physical and mental problems associated with sex reassignment? What about parents who learn that their child wants to switch his or her sex? Will their rights be respected or eviscerated?
It has become increasingly clear that the expansion of rights to transgender women—really biological males who identify as female—has come at the expense of rights for biological females. Take sports.
Boys and men would be allowed to compete in sports with girls and women, thus unfairly altering women’s athletics. Females would also lose their privacy rights. These biological males can use the locker rooms, restrooms and shower facilities that have always been reserved for females. None of this has anything to do with why the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. Similarly, rights that have never been envisioned for homosexuals are also affected by the Equality Act.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act specifically banned preferential treatment in law. Nevertheless, the courts have invoked this law to justify affirmative action for blacks. Were the Equality Act to become law, it would mean that homosexuals could now insist that they are entitled to preferential treatment. Yet it is well established that homosexuals earn more income than heterosexuals; lesbians also make more than straight women. The economic condition of gays is nothing like that of African Americans.
In 1993, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer co-sponsored the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA); it was signed by President Bill Clinton. This was a major victory for religious liberty. But now Pelosi and Schumer regret their vote, even to the point of supporting the Equality Act, knowing full well that it exempts itself from RFRA! This is perverse. There could be no more serious undercutting of religious liberty than what they are proposing.
It would mean that Catholics, evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, Mormons, Muslims and many other religious communities could not raise religious liberty objections to any of the aforementioned rights of transgender women. In effect, religious entities would be secularized.
For example, if the Equality Act were to become law, Catholic foster care programs would be shut down. They would either have to agree to allow two men to adopt children—a clear violation of Church teachings—or lose federal funding. This is the kind of “gotcha” type element that makes this bill so pernicious.
Currently, Catholic hospitals can legally refuse to perform abortions. Under the Equality Act, they would either lose federal funding or be forced to get into the abortion business. That is because refusing abortion services would be declared “pregnancy” discrimination.
Without the religious liberty protections afforded by RFRA, virtually every religious institution—from houses of worship to schools—would be expected to fall in line with this radical legislation. Catholic schools, for instance, would be expected to change their teachings on sexual ethics to suit the radical LGBT agenda.
It is hard for the public to understand, especially Catholics, why such allegedly “devout Catholics” as Biden and Pelosi would want to champion such patently anti-Christian legislation as the Equality Act.
We are contacting the entire Congress. You can help by contacting the following:
Megan Miller: [email protected] Altman: [email protected] Miller works for Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip who is organizing Republican opposition to the bill. Altman works for Sen. James Lankford; he has been a consistent critic of the bill.
The article Equality Act Is Anti-Christian – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.
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So a Doctor, as a Christian and in private practice, would be forced to “change” a person’s gender, even though it is against that doctor’s religious belief. and even though the Doctor is in private practice. Christian Churches would be forced to have homosexual marriages, even though this is against our Constitution. We now have the Constitution of the Soviet Union. Washington DC has total control of everyone’s life. How does communism suit everyone? Our Country is a total disgrace and does one notice, the Republicans In Name Only are silent. The complicit RINOS, complicit with the communist Democrats.
More like we NO LONGER have a constitution.. ESPECIALLY with the worthless wastes of oxygen and food, sitting in the scotus.
The “Socialist Democrat Party State”,
The “Socialist Democrat Party State” political officers and Gestapo are just getting started.
You will obey, be loyal and support the “Socialist Democrat Party State” or you will be classified as
“Enemies of the State”.
The U.S. Constitution means nothing to
these dishonorable, dishonest, immoral Congressional Democrats.
The U.S. Constitution just gets in the way of
these dishonorable, dishonest, immoral Congressional Democrats agendas.
Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure that Muslims will be exempted from this..
Like all anti-religion laws.. ONLY They are more correctly called ANTI-CHRISTIAN laws.
If the 1964 Civil Rights Act needs to be amended for ANYTHING, they need to add “political affiliation” to the list of things that you can’t discriminate against someone for.
The ONLY way they’d do that, is to add “Democrats” Specifically to that protected list.. Conservatives will NEVER EVER GET protection.
Just another attempt by the confused secular socialists to vote God and his designed plan out, and Vote their Demons and their fact rebellious failed self-edification ideology in. By definition a Civil Right grant only grants a right to act CIVILLY, warped Philistine designed sexual activities which result in baby sacrifices are NOT acts of American civility, Christian or otherwise, particularly when it gets to the point where the sexually confused cannot tell a hen from a rooster. The results of their failed social experiments keep coming up empty and bankrupting, because they are all waiting for and relying upon their roosters to lay and hatch all the American nest eggs, which is why American nests keeps coming up empty, requiring the importation of foreign workers. Continuous Government Free candy offerings of chocolate easter eggs just is not getting the job done.
“It is hard for the public to understand, especially Catholics, why such allegedly “devout Catholics” as Biden and Pelosi would want to champion such patently anti-Christian legislation as the Equality Act.”,,,,,,,,you think maybe they were never Christians all along, but wolves in sheep’s clothing? When in times of trouble you turn to government and fallible humans like yourself, not God, that in truth is who you worship.
I understand the outrage about the biological males in women sports but where was this much outrage when they were in women’s dressing rooms or women’s rest rooms?
There was PLENTY, just not from those in positions to do anything about it.
Leviathan, the Almighty Progressive State, is a jealous god and will tolerate no other.
The end of our constitution is at hand. The end of our free republic is at hand. Any “republican” who votes for this garbage should be removed from congress at the next available opportunity. Otherwise, there is only one option left!
America was founded by CHRISTIANS; not Jews, not Moslems, not agnostics, not atheists, not people of any other religion. As such, America was and was intended to be a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles and beliefs. Many of the people who came to America did so to avoid religious persecution and for this reason the First Amendment was adopted.
As to conflict between church (Christian people) and state (politicians); the church must always prevail.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (authority) under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved…And they (the government officials) called them (the leading Christians), and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:12,18-20.
There are a very wide variety of religious beliefs. My opinion is that many of these are either false or misguided but I wholeheartedly support the absolute right of people to believe and worship as they choose. The reality of the leftist’s “unity” is forced conformity to evil beliefs and practices totally contrary to the written Word of God.