KEY VOTE: “NO” ON THE “EQUALITY ACT” (H.R. 5)

This week, the House will be considering H.R. 5, the “Equality Act.” This legislation would modify the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in federal anti-discrimination law. Although titled the “Equality Act,” the policies within this bill would create more inequality and profoundly impact all Americans.

H.R. 5 would force schools (both public and private), churches, hospitals, businesses, and other institutions to recognize an individual’s “chosen gender” instead of their “biological sex.” As a result, more women and girls would be forced to share bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and sleeping facilities with biological men who “identify” as women.

The “Equality Act” would also crowd women out of female athletics by forcing them to compete against biological males who identify as female. In Connecticut, two biologically male runners crushed the female competition at the state track championships because state law allows biological boys who identify as girls to compete in girl’s sports. Not only is this unfair, but it diminishes women and girl’s access to collegiate scholarships and leaves fewer opportunities for them to advance in athletics, in education, and professionally.

H.R. 5 would further hurt children and minors, particularly those suffering from gender dysphoria. Medical professionals would be pressured to provide gender-affirming treatments like puberty blockers and hormones—these are irreversible decisions that have not been shown to help mental health while creating a litany of permanent physical health problems. Subjecting children to such radical procedures is even more dubious when one considers that 80 to 95 percent of children with gender dysphoria no longer feel distressed by their bodies after puberty.

The “Equality Act” would also affect the way that parents can make decisions regarding their children. Under this legislation, if a parent chooses against allowing their son or daughter to receive life-altering hormonal treatments, they could lose custody. In Ohio, the state terminated parent’s custody of their teenage daughter when they chose not to provide her with male transition hormones. Not only is this wrong, it flies in the face of public opinion, where 73 percent of Americans oppose the government taking children away from parents in these situations.

Parents would also lose control over their child’s education. H.R. 5 could force public schools across the nation to incorporate transgender theory and sexual preferences into the school curriculum.