The Equality Act- What's The Need?
Last week, the hotly-contested Equality Act came back under the purview of political officials. Conversations about the Equality Act, an extension of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, have been like a game of table tennis between Democrat and Republican officeholders. President Biden serves as the face of the pro-equality act team while the bill passes through the senate. Variations of the bill have been proposed since the 1970s to fill the gaps in the original Civil Rights Act, but none have been passed through the house until 2021. The 2021 passage was ignited by a SCOTUS case in 2020, where justices affirmed that discrimination based on sexuality or gender is illegal and unconstitutional. This concept is left unclear in the initial act, but, with the steady incline of individuals identifying as LGBTQ+, the distinction is necessary. Congress members identified this grey area as a need to define protections for women and the LBGTQ+ community. As of 2023, LGBTQ+ and women's rights have be...