Urge your members of Congress to support the Equality Act (H.R. 15/S.5 in the 118th Congress).
Background
The Equality Act (H.R. 15/S.5 in the 118th Congress) 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 Mason Purdy at mpurdy@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.