U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto Cosponsors Civil Rights Invoice to Defend LGBTQ Individuals

By Last updated Mar 1, 2021

Details Last updated: Monday March 01, 2021 5:50 AM Published: Monday March 01, 2021 5:50 AM

March 1, 2021 – Washington, DC – Last week, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) Was sponsoring U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) the Equal Opportunities Act, a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against members of the LGBTQ + community in the areas of employment, education, credit, jury service, federal funding, housing and public housing.

“LGBTQ + Americans have been fighting vigorously for social and political equality for decades, but they continue to face discrimination in a variety of areas. No American should be excluded from fair opportunities to get housing, education, employment, or anything because they are or whom they love. I am proud to support the Equality Act, and I will continue to fight for the fundamental rights of communities in Nevada that face harmful and unjust obstacles. “

BACKGROUND::

Senator Cortez Masto is a strong advocate of LGBTQ + rights for Nevadans. Last year, the Senator endorsed legislation to direct the State Department to continue its efforts to defend the human rights of LGBTQ people around the world. She also urged the U.S. Department of Health to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data to ensure the needs of the LGBTQ + community are understood and met during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the third time Senator Cortez Masto has endorsed the Equality Act.

In particular, the Equal Opportunities Act would do the following:

Codify protection to ensure compliance: Apply the Bostock Supreme Court ruling v Clayton County prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace to all areas of civil rights that prohibit gender discrimination, including education, housing, healthcare, credit and Jury service.
Adding gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity to gaps in existing civil rights law: Expand Titles II, III, and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect Americans from discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity in both public housing and federal government-funded programs.
Expand the scope of public housing for all protected features: Update the law to ensure that key providers of goods and services such as retail stores, accountants, transportation companies, daycare and geriatric care centers, salons and banks do not discriminate based on proprietary characteristics.
Address the application of the Restoration of Religious Freedom Act to the Civil Rights Act: Ensure that Religious Freedom Restoration Act cannot be used by businesses, property owners, and other entities covered by federal civil rights laws to defend acts of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ + community.
Ensure protection when an employer, school, owner or service provider discriminates on the basis of false perceptions: Protect anyone who is discriminated against because of their misperception as a member of the LGBTQ + community and provide an opportunity to eliminate the discrimination.
Source: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto