Basically, it would expand the Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
This has netted some support, most notably from the Democratic Party and the Human Rights Campaign. Opposition comes (unsurprisingly) from Donald Trump and the LDS Church.
More surprisingly, opposition also comes from at least one feminist group because, well, it would tend to undermine women's privileged place in society.
And no, I'm not making that up.
Here's a few excerpts from The Real Clear Politics article on the issue:
Under this bill, men and boys will take away women’s small business grants and hard-won spots on sports teams; they will be allowed to live in women’s domestic violence shelters and use our locker rooms. And united as women, we are just not going to stand for it.
...
If the Equality Act succeeds in making “gender identity” a protected class under federal law, it will erase the protected category of “sex,” which for decades has been the foundation for securing the rights and opportunities of women and girls in the United States. Under a policy of unrestricted self-identification of “sex,” such as the act proposes, a man can simply say he is a woman, and everyone must act as if this is true.
Nothing in this bill outlines medical conditions, social processes, or steps that must be taken for an individual to be legally recognized as another sex. In fact, any conditions are seen as discriminatory. For a male who identifies as female, he doesn’t even have to change his name, the way he dresses, or see a doctor or counselor. If the Equality Act passes, he’ll also be able to sue you for violating his civil rights if you persist in seeing him for the man that he is.
Perhaps members of Congress don’t understand that the Equality Act would allow biological men to be free from prosecution for indecent exposure or harassment simply by claiming to be women. Perhaps they ignore the many female athletes who are losing hard-won competitions to transgender men. Or, perhaps, like many of their fellow Americans, they just see “gender identity” as a new way to be nice and haven’t thought deeply about the consequences to women and girls.
Or maybe the simplest and most likely explanation is that those promoting the Equality Act, LGBT Inc. and the members of Congress who support it, don’t think very much about the rights, privacy and safety of women and girls at all.
Pay attention to the powerful message conveyed by our united purpose in opposing this bill. Simply put: If Americans, activist organizations, and our representatives in government genuinely want to prevent discrimination against women and girls, they cannot erase the legal recognition of sex as biologically male and female. As women, CWA and WoLF stand united to protect ourselves and all women and girls from the injustice of the so-called Equality Act.
On the other side of the aisle, Jon Schweppe, a conservative, from the American Principles Project, a conservative think tank, goes one step further - even calling it a Men's Rights bill.
The effect of this is obvious: Title IX would become a relic of a different era, as would many other protections currently enjoyed by women. The triumph of “gender identity” would wipe out women’s private spaces, giving biological males free rein to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and showers. It would force battered women’s shelters to open their doors to any man identifying as a woman, potentially putting the abused women who truly need that safe space in jeopardy. In short, it would be a complete and utter disaster for women.
At the same time, seen from a different perspective, it would be a near-total triumph for men’s rights. Meninists rejoice! After decades of ruthless oppression at the hands of women, men will finally enjoy the equality they so richly deserve, as nearly every special legal protection for women is systematically demolished.
In an ironic way, if passed into law, the “Equality Act” may end up living up to its name after all.
While Jon thinks ironically it would live up to its name, I see that as a good thing. I do recognize the problem with women's sports - testosterone is a hell of a drug after all, and the effects don't disappear immediately just because you identify differently or even block it presently. I don't know what to do about it, but I do recognize the unfairness inherent there with MtF transwomen and female sports. That being said, the fact that they are attempting to smear the equality act as bad for women, and even go on to admit it would lead to equality, just goes to show that from their point of view women are already in a better position in society than men.
Which, to me, indicates that men need equality really badly, and the equality act is definitely badly needed.
What say ye, NSG?
