Logo

Action Center

Protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination
Currently, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming (LGBTQ+) people face discrimination in a wide variety of areas. Most states do not have laws protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination and sexual orientation and gender identity are not explicitly protected classes under federal civil rights law, leaving the LGBTQ+ community vulnerable to discrimination in housing, education, credit, public accommodations, and federal funding.

The Equality Act (H.R. 15/S.5) was reintroduced on June 21, 2023. Urge your members of Congress to support the Equality Act. 

Background

The Equality Act (H.R. 15/S.5) will address discrimination against LGBTQ+ people by amending existing civil rights laws to include protections based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. By building upon decades of civil rights legislation that have tangibly reduced discrimination, the Equality Act will significantly reduce the amount of discrimination LGBTQ+ people face and will provide an avenue for recourse for victims of discrimination. This bill will provide the same protections to LGBTQ+ people that are provided to other protected groups under federal law and will strengthen existing civil rights laws by expanding the definition of public accommodations and ensuring that people are protected from sex discrimination in public accommodations and federal funding. 

In June 2020, we celebrated the Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, GA that no employer can discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. While this decision is a great victory, there is more work to be done to ensure that all forms of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people are explicitly prohibited by federal law.  

Jewish Values

Judaism teaches that all human beings are created b'tzelem Elohim, in the Divine image (Genesis 1:27). The belief that the stamp of the divine is present in all humans is fundamental to Reform Judaism and teaches us that we cannot tolerate discrimination against any person because of their identity.

For more information on this issue, visit the RAC’s LGBTQ+ rights issue page or contact Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Sammy Angelina at sangelina@rac.org.

 

By submitting this form, you are agreeing to receive emails from the RAC and URJ. You can manage your preferences at any time.

Most elected officials with online contact forms require a prefix to submit a message, so this requirement is part of the VoterVoice platform. For most offices, you may submit any prefix or title up to 30 characters (including gendered, professional, religious, and non-binary prefixes), but a small number of offices only accept certain prefixes. Learn more about this requirement, which is not controlled by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

A small number of Capitol Hill offices impose a strict character limit for incoming constituent emails. If you receive an error notification that your message is too long or cannot be sent, please manually shorten the message. This character limit is not controlled by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism or the VoterVoice platform. 

    Subject
    Message Body
    Post
    Suggested Message
    Post
    Remaining: 0
  • Hide
    • Please call this number:

      Please do not close this window. You will need to come back to this window to enter your code.
      We just sent an email to ... containing a verification code.

      If you do not see the email within the next five minutes, please ensure you entered the correct email address and check your spam/junk mail folder.
      Enter Your Info