The US Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today, March 17, 2021 at 9am CT on the so-called Equality Act. This bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal civil rights law. It has no religious exemption and in fact poses a real threat to religious freedom. The bill would give special rights and protections to those in the LGBTQ plus communities and put in the crosshairs those who believe in Biblical marriage and family and God’s creative distinctly binary order of male and female. The bill passed earlier this month in the U.S. House.
Now is the time for citizens to tell Wisconsin US Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin to vote AGAINST this proposal. Contact information for the senators is below or you can go to senate.gov. Being good stewards of the government God has given us includes letting elected officials know our opinion on important issues.
NOTE: Go to our new Action Center to shoot off an email now!
Here are some TALKING POINTS from Heritage Foundation:
- This legislation does not create equality. Equality cannot be created for one group by taking rights away from another. This bill targets people of religious faith, erodes protections for women, and would take children away from parents who refuse radical hormone therapies.
- The Equality Act endangers women and girls. By recognizing an individuals “chosen gender” instead of his or her “biological sex,” this legislation would force more women and girls to share bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and sleeping facilities with biological males who choose to identify as female.
- The Equality Act would allow biological males who identify as female to compete in and likely dominate women’s sports. Not only does this undercut the sport, but it hurts women who depend on college sports and scholarships to obtain educational and career aspirations.
- Parents’ would lose the right to decide the best medical care for a child suffering with gender dysphoria and would be stripped of custody of their children. Already, courts have sided with transgender clinics against parents who refused radical hormone therapies for their children.
- This legislation makes it harder for organizations and charities with faith-based values to operate and exist. This negatively impacts all underserved communities, including children, minorities, the unemployed, and the homeless.
- The 100,000+ American children in need of adoption each year would be hurt by H.R. 5. The numerous faith-based adoption agencies that serve these vulnerable children would be forced to either close down or violate sincerely held religious beliefs.
- Employers and businesses would face more regulation and lawsuits. Businesses with 15 or more employees would be forced to provide medical insurance for “gender transitions”, use preferred pronouns or face litigation, and open any single-sex space to both sexes including bathrooms and locker rooms.
- Free speech must be protected and preserved. H.R. 5 would silence thought and debate on important issues facing our nation, such as gender, marriage, and faith.
- Provides legal support for a radical school curriculum, teaching sexual preferences and transgender theory to elementary and pre-K children. In states where this curriculum is currently being taught, it is integrated into all subjects, and parents cannot opt their children out.