Senator Patty Murray (above) is a senior member (and former Chair) of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the following today:
Murray, Democrats Introduce Historic, Comprehensive LGBT and Women Non-Discrimination Legislation
Jul 24 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator
Patty Murray (D-WA) joined 40 Senators, led by Senator Jeff Merkley
(D-OR), Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in
introducing historic, comprehensive federal legislation to ban
discrimination against LGBT Americans and women.
“This year, we’ve seen major victories
for the LGBT community, but even as we take strides toward equality, we
must remember that there is more work to do,” said Patty Murray. “There
is no place for discrimination in our country. Yet, far too many LGBT
Americans and women remain vulnerable to discrimination simply because
of who they are or who they love. We need the Equality Act to protect
Americans from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, sex, or
gender identity, regardless of what state they live in. I’m proud to
support this legislation, and I look forward to building on the momentum
we’ve seen recently and deliver on our nation’s promise of equality for
all.”
Despite major advances in equality for
LGBT Americans, including nationwide marriage equality, in the majority
of states, an LGBT couple could be married in the morning and risk being
fired from their jobs or evicted from their apartment in the afternoon.
The Equality Act of 2015 would ensure full federal non-discrimination
equality by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to other
protected classes, such as race or religion, in existing federal laws.
The bill would ban discrimination in a
host of areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations,
jury service, access to credit, and federal funding. The bill would also
add protections against sex discrimination in parts of
anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been included
previously, including in public accommodations and federal funding.
The legislation was filed simultaneously
in the U.S. House of Representatives by 158 Representatives, led by Rep.
David Cicilline (D-RI).
In addition to Murray, Merkley, Baldwin,
and Booker, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators
Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom
Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich
(D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy
Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Claire
McCaskill (D-MO), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chris
Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV),
Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne
Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Warner
(D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron
Wyden (D-OR).
For further information about the Equality Act: