If passed by the full Congress and signed by President Biden, the Equality Act would be the most sweeping federal LGBTQ civil rights legislation ever to become law.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system. The bill will now move to the Senate, where it stalled after House passage in 2019.
“Treating all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should not be a partisan issue. The Trevor Project applauds the U.S. House for passing this historic bill and urges the Senate to act swiftly to protect LGBTQ youth from discrimination,” said Amit Paley (he/him pronouns), CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project. “When LGBTQ young people are turned away from a business, told they cannot enter a space or participate in a program simply because of who they are or who they love, it can be incredibly harmful to their mental health and sense of self. The time is now for the federal government to grant these long-overdue protections and to bring us one step closer to true LGBTQ equality.”
According to The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, 60% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing discrimination due to either their sexual orientation or gender identity — and those who experienced discrimination attempted suicide at more than twice the rate of those who did not in the past year. Further, a recent survey by The Trevor Project conducted between October and December of 2020 found that over 90% of LGBTQ youth said that recent politics negatively influenced their well-being.
