Congressional Democrats reintroduced the Equality Act on Tuesday, reviving a long-running effort to enshrine federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Mark Takano of California, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, are leading the bicameral push for the landmark bill. They were joined by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi of California, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, and other pro-equality lawmakers determined to defend LGBTQ+ rights amid mounting political assaults.

The legislation would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, jury service, and federally funded programs.

Lawmakers send a defiant message: “We will not stop"

At a Tuesday press conference under blue skies on the Senate side of the Capitol, Merkley emphasized the urgency of this moment.

“We’re here today to fight for equality, to fight for opportunity, to fight for freedom,” Merkley said. “Freedom is the right to live as your authentic self without fear of harassment, discrimination, or violence."

Noting that more than 850 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been filed in state legislatures this year alone, Merkley called out the Trump administration’s role in fueling hate. “Since day one of this administration, our authoritarian president and his lackeys have been trying to erase and endanger LGBTQ+ Americans by greenlighting discrimination in every aspect of daily life,” he said.

Merkley said the Equality Act sends a message to LGBTQ+ Americans: “You are not alone. This is your country too."

Takano, the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress, said the Equality Act is not just a bill but a declaration of fundamental dignity. “We demand not just the right to survive, but to thrive,” Takano said. “We demand the same right as any other American to live freely in this country without being forced to justify our existence or prove our worth."

Takano recalled his own experiences with discrimination — from being publicly outed during his first congressional run in 1994 to growing up as the grandchild of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. “We were born for this fight and forged in resistance,” he said. “We will not stop until the Equality Act is the law of the land."

Schumer spoke personally about why the fight matters. “It’s hard to believe that in 2025, in so many states — not New York, but many others — my daughter and her wife could be told, ‘You can’t rent this apartment. You’re lesbians,’” Schumer said. “A doctor could say, 'I don’t want to treat you."

Schumer noted that in 29 states, LGBTQ+ Americans still face legal discrimination. “We must have a national ethos that bigotry is outlawed,” he said. “I’m committed to the cause personally, politically, and morally, and we will do everything we can to pass the Equality Act."

In one of the morning’s most impassioned speeches, Booker framed the Equality Act as a fight for the nation's soul.

“We reintroduce this bill against the backdrop of a president who, in his very campaign, singled out the trans community with opportunistic bigotry,” Booker said. “We stand here at a time when LGBTQ Americans are being targeted and singled out for heaped upon more injustice."

He called on all Americans to recognize that silence is complicity. “There are no bystanders in history. When injustice is in our midst and you say nothing, do nothing, you are part of the perpetuation of that injustice,” he said.

The long fight for equality

The Equality Act was first introduced in 1974 by New York Reps. Bella Abzug and Ed Koch as a measure to address discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2015, Merkley and David Cicilline, a former congressman from Rhode Island who is gay and previously chaired the Congressional Equality Caucus, expanded it to explicitly include gender identity and broader areas of public life.

Although the House of Representatives has passed versions of the Equality Act in previous Congresses, it has repeatedly stalled in the Senate — and now faces even steeper odds under Republican control of both chambers and the White House.

The Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda

The renewed push for the Equality Act comes amid an unprecedented assault on LGBTQ+ rights by the Trump administration.

Just hours after his second inauguration in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring that the federal government would no longer recognize transgender or nonbinary people. The sweeping directive, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” redefined sex as strictly male or female based on birth characteristics — ignoring decades of medical science and legal precedent.

The order mandates that federal agencies erase references to gender identity, restricts passports and social security records to assigned sex at birth, and strips Title IX protections for transgender students. It also rescinds funding for gender-affirming health care and directs prisons to house transgender women with men, regardless of their safety.

In addition to targeting transgender Americans, Trump’s administration has moved to reinstate the ban on transgender military service, cut funding for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention efforts, and censor LGBTQ+ content in schools and government communications.

“We know we belong”

Speaking Sunday at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s Champagne Brunch in Washington, D.C., ahead of the reintroduction, McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress and a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, reflected on the importance of the Equality Act.

“I hoped to be entering into a Congress that was passing the Equality Act to provide clear and undeniable protection from discrimination for the entirety of our community in every corner of this country,” McBride said. Instead, she said, she and her colleagues are serving in a Congress “controlled by a majority that has sought the divide of our nation and given a blank check to authoritarian wants.”

McBride warned that right-wing attacks on transgender people are not just political theater — they are inflicting real harm. “These are deeply unserious people, but the consequences of their actions are serious,” she said. She pointed to recent incidents where even cisgender women have been harassed because of anti-trans rhetoric.

“But the thing is,” she added, “we know we belong. We belong in workplaces, we belong in the military, and yes, we belong in the halls of Congress.”

On Tuesday, McBride told The Advocate, “In 2019, I helped pass the Equality Act as an advocate — with support from both Democrats and Republicans. Today, as a member of Congress, I’m proud to help lead its reintroduction — because no one should be denied safety, dignity, or opportunity because of who they are. The Equality Act is not about politics; it’s about ensuring freedom and fairness for every American.”

Defending the dream of equality

Under the Equality Act, LGBTQ+ Americans would gain comprehensive protections currently missing in much of the country. While the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision confirmed that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it left gaps in areas like housing, education, and public spaces that the Equality Act would finally close.

The Human Rights Campaign’s chief of staff, Jay Brown, told The Advocate that action is urgent.

“Everyone, no matter who they are or who they love, deserves the right to live free from discrimination and harassment,” Brown said Tuesday. “But LGBTQ+ people, who go to school, run small businesses, raise kids, and work hard to put food on the table just like everyone else, still don’t have the federal nondiscrimination protections that others have enjoyed for decades.”

Democrats do not currently control the House, Senate, or White House, and the Equality Act faces steep odds in a hostile Congress. But lawmakers and advocates say the reintroduction is essential — both to defend LGBTQ+ Americans under attack and to lay the groundwork for future victories.

At the champagne brunch, Takano called on LGBTQ+ Americans and allies to fight back at every level. “We need more LGBTQ+ members on school boards, on city councils, as attorneys general, and in Congress,” he said. “Federalism is important — it’s a bulwark against the concentration of power in the hands of one individual.”

Equality PAC: “Progress doesn’t happen by accident”

Following the bill’s introduction, Equality PAC—an organization that works to elect LGBTQ+ lawmakers and pro-equality allies—praised the measure and renewed its commitment to the fight.

“Passing the Equality Act is not just about LGBTQ+ rights—it’s about affirming the fundamental American promise of equality, dignity, and fairness for all,” Equality PAC Co-Chairs Takano and gay Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York said in a joint statement.

“Equality PAC has been there every step of the way—helping elect the pro-equality majorities that passed it in previous sessions and mobilizing the support needed to move this critical bill forward. We know that progress doesn’t happen by accident; it happens because leaders and advocates refuse to give up.”

The PAC also noted that while the Equality Act has previously passed the House—once in 2019 and again in 2021—it has never received a vote in the U.S. Senate. With Trump once again in the White House, Equality PAC said the legislation is more vital than ever. “The time for full equality under the law is long overdue,” the group said

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Original story HERE.