URGENT ACTION: Tell Your Senators to Vote for the Equality Act!

The Equality Act (H.R. 5) would prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, credit, education, public accommodations (things like restaurants, hotels, and theaters), and jury service. It would also prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in programs receiving federal funding. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the last Congress in May 2019 with a bipartisan vote of 236 to 173 but was blocked from consideration in the Senate by then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The bill was reintroduced by Rep. David Cicilline (RI-1) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR) in the 117th Session of the United States Congress on February 18, 2021. A vote is expected in the House shortly, with action following soon after in the Senate.

NCLR has played a leading role in drafting the Equality Act and working for its eventual passage. We have partnered with Black and Pink and others to educate Congress and the public on the Act’s potential to reform the U.S. criminal legal system for LGBTQ people and people of color.

Currently, only 22 states have non-discrimination protections that fully protect LGBTQ individuals. According to the Center for American Progress, more than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans have reported facing some form of discrimination within the past year, with the number increasing to 3 in 5 for transgender individuals. This discrimination often causes substantial harm to the psychological and economic wellbeing of the LGBTQ community and creates undue difficulties for many LGBTQ people in accessing medically necessary healthcare – most dramatically for the transgender population and people of color.

The most recent polling from the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) shows that more than 80 percent of all Americans (including a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans) support comprehensive nondiscrimination protections that include LGBTQ individuals. FiveThirtyEight has also similarly found that President Biden’s executive order mandating that federal agencies implement the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County in nondiscrimination policies was the most popular of his early executive actions, with the support of an overwhelming 83% of Americans.

More than 600 national, state, and local organizations have signed on to urge the swift passage of the Equality Act, in addition to a broad coalition of faith-based groups and 335 major corporations, showing the breadth of support the legislation has maintained since its passage in the House in 2019. NCLR is a member of the Freedom and Opportunity for All coalition (along with 16 other partner organizations) advocating for the urgent passage of the Equality Act.

NCLR partners with Ceres Policy Research on the “Whole Youth Model,” an approach to serving youth in the justice system that prioritizes health and well-being over punishment and surveillance. Project staff provide training and technical assistance to participating jurisdictions, emphasizing the importance of collecting and analyzing data on the sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and race/ethnicity of each youth, among other aspects of their identity. The model is based on the premise that public safety is furthered by authentic conversations with young people and individualized responses tailored to their unique strengths and needs.

NCLR and Ceres Policy Research partner with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University to present an annual certificate program, “Supporting the Well-Being of Systems Involved LGBTQ Youth.” Multidisciplinary teams from jurisdictions across the country participate in a week-long intensive program designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to implement a Capstone Project in their communities to improve outcomes for LGBTQ youth.

NCLR and the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) are founding members of the Equity Project, a national initiative to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of LGBTQ youth in the justice system. In 2009, the project published its seminal report entitled “Hidden Injustice,” documenting widespread discrimination against LGBTQ youth by law enforcement, probation, courts and institutional staff. Through training, technical assistance and development of agency policies and professional standards, the Equity Project has increased professional awareness and competence and improved the outcomes of countless LGBTQ youth involved in the justice system.

NCLR is a partner in the getREAL (Recognize. Engage. Affirm. Love.) project, a national initiative sponsored by the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The getREAL collaborative works to transform child welfare policy nationally to promote the healthy development of LGBTQ and gender expansive youth through working intensively with sites, supporting a national professional network and developing research-based knowledge in the child welfare field.

NCLR is a partner in getREAL (Recognize. Engage. Affirm. Love) California, a collaboration with the Center on the Study of Social Policy, Family Builders by Adoption, and the RISE Initiative of the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center. The focus of the work is to integrate sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE) into the state’s Continuum of Care Reform and the state law requiring child welfare agencies to collect SOGIE data.

NCLR is working with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs in Santa Clara County, California to implement “Support OUT,” a multi-year initiative designed to promote the health and well-being of the LGBTQ youth living in the county. This public health initiative seeks to address the risk factors that jeopardize LGBTQ youth – especially low-income LGBTQ youth of color – and contribute to their overrepresentation among homeless youth and in child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The vision of the initiative is that all LGBTQ and gender nonconforming children and youth in the county thrive in their homes, schools, and communities, and successfully transition to adulthood.

NCLR partnered with the Ruth Ellis Center and the Michigan Center for Youth Justice to create a justice system in Wayne County, Michigan that prevents the criminalization of LGBTQ youth, addresses their unique needs in community-based settings and prevents harms associated with detention and incarceration.

NCLR co-sponsored AB 2119, a bill to give California foster youth the right to access gender affirming health and behavioral health care. The legislation, which amended the Foster Care Bill of Rights, was the first of its kind in the nation and ensures that transgender youth receive health care consistent with national standards of care. Governor Brown signed the bill in September 2018, and the California Department of Social Services issued guidance in May 2019.

NCLR served on a workgroup to revise the Title 15 regulations, which govern county-run youth detention facilities, ranches and camps in California. Convened by the Board of State and Community Corrections, the process included input from probation officials, youth advocates and community-based organizations serving currently and formerly incarcerated youth. This inclusive process resulted in several new protections for youth, including LGBTQ youth. NCLR worked with other advocates to create a resource that clearly spelled out new rights for youth in custody.