The House passed the Equality Act on Thursday, a major agenda item for President Joe Biden that would outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ Americans in a vote of 224-206.
Three Republicans voted with all Democrats on the measure, which the House also passed two years ago, but languished in the then GOP-controlled Senate. In 2019, eight House Republicans backed the bill.
The measure would expand Civil Rights Act protections to LGBTQ Americans to block discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Reed, RN.Y., and John Katko, RN.Y., voted with Democrats in support of the proposal on Thursday.
The vote followed two days of emotional and sometimes personal debate in the House between Democrats and Republicans, with some lawmakers speaking from their own life experiences on the floor.
“None of us should be evicted, fired, or denied accommodation and services simply because of who we are and who we love,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres, DN.Y., who is one of the first openly gay black men to serve in Congress.
Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., Who spoke on the House floor Monday in support of her transgender daughter, was attacked by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Conservative who told Newman on Twitter that “your biological son DOES NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams,” and tried unsuccessfully to delay Thursday’s vote by forcing Parliament to shut down twice. vote on a delaying suspension motion.
Newman, whose Washington office is opposite Greene’s, hung a transgender flag on her doorstep. In response, Greene put up a poster that read, “There are TWO genders: male and female – trust science!”
Republicans opposing the bill expressed concern that it would violate their religious beliefs and irrevocably affect sport for women across the country.
“When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they make a statement that God didn’t know what he was doing when he made them,” said Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla. “In the name of equality you are going to single-handedly destroy women’s sport, how ironic.”
Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups condemned the rhetoric of Greene and other Republicans in opposition to the bill.
“Their attacks on transgender people and the transgender community are just plain mean,” said Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., of the “despicable remarks.”
Alphonso David, the chairman of the Human Rights Campaign, called the comments “dangerous and transphobic”.
“These comments actually create additional stigma against communities that need to be protected,” he said.
Last year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, 44 transgender or gender nonconforming Americans were killed, the highest number the organization has ever recorded.
“(The attacks are) not based on facts, they are based on fear,” he said.
The Equality Act will have to get the backing of 60 senators to come to Biden’s office for his signature, which would require the support of at least 10 Republicans, assuming all Democrats support the package.
Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, a critical voice who co-sponsored the legislation in 2020, told the Washington Blade this week that she wouldn’t do this this year, pointing to unspecified changes she’d asked not to pass . She didn’t say what changes she’d been looking for.
“Sen. Collins supports ensuring fairness and equal treatment for all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and is considering all possible options for doing so, including submitting her own bill,” Collins spokeswoman Annie Clarke told the Washington Blade.
The Senate Judicial Committee will adopt the measure, but has not yet scheduled a meeting for it.
Trish Turner of ABC News contributed to this report.