Malcolm Rivera
The Equality Act seeks to legally protect individuals from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status. It was first introduced in 1974 and has been reintroduced several times since, most recently in 2025. While the Act has not yet been added to the Constitution, it has gained significant support, with over 600 organizations endorsing it. The Act aims to update public spaces and services covered by current laws to include retail stores, banks, legal services, and transportation services, strengthening protections for everyone. Despite the lack of federal non-discrimination laws, various states have taken steps to protect the rights of their citizens, with three-fourths of U.S. states having ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, which is considered by many to be the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To legally protect individuals from discrimination |
| Year of introduction | 1974 |
| Developers | U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Ed Koch |
| Areas of protection | Employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, jury service |
| Prohibited grounds of discrimination | Sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth, intersex status |
| Support | 75% nationally, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents |
| Opposition | Religious leaders, Law professor Douglas Laycock |
| Related laws | Civil Rights Act of 1964, Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) |
| Related court cases | Bostock v. Clayton County, Reed v. Reed, Frontiero v. Richardson, United States v. Virginia |
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What You'll Learn
- The Equality Act's purpose is to protect individuals from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status
- The Equality Act seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- The Bostock v. Clayton County decision ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- The Equality Act was reintroduced in the 119th Congress in April 2025
- The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has been ratified by three-fourths of US states and is considered the 28th Amendment to the Constitution
The Equality Act's purpose is to protect individuals from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status
The Equality Act is a bill in the United States Congress that aims to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include explicit protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and intersex status. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour, national origin, and, in most cases, sex, disability, and religion, it does not explicitly include sexual orientation or gender identity.
The purpose of the Equality Act is to fill this gap and provide comprehensive federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. This is particularly important as, despite various similar bills being proposed since the 1970s, LGBTQ+ Americans continue to experience discrimination across the country. The bill seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring that LGBTQ+ people are afforded the exact same protections as other groups under federal law.
The Equality Act broadly defines sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This definition ensures that individuals are protected from discrimination not only in employment but also in other areas of life, such as housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.
By explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status, the Equality Act would strengthen existing protections for everyone. It would also update the definition of public spaces and services to include retail stores, banks, legal services, and transportation services, ensuring that individuals can access essential services without fear of discrimination or harassment.
The Equality Act has been reintroduced in Congress multiple times, most recently in 2025, and has received support from a wide range of organisations and corporations. However, it has also faced opposition and has not yet been passed into law.
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The Equality Act seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Equality Act was reintroduced in the 119th Congress on April 29, 2025, and seeks to address the patchwork nature of state non-discrimination laws and the lack of comprehensive federal legislation. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation that prohibited discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, and national origin, it did not initially include strong enforcement powers. Over the years, Congress has supplemented these powers and continued to address civil rights issues, such as by passing the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which prohibited wage discrimination based on sex.
The Equality Act of 1974 sought to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include prohibitions of discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and marital status in federally assisted programs, housing, and other areas. This was developed by U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Ed Koch. While various similar bills have been proposed since the 1970s, a modern version of the Equality Act was first proposed in the 114th United States Congress. It passed the House of Representatives on May 17, 2019, but did not advance further at that time.
The Equality Act seeks to build upon the protections established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation by providing explicit and comprehensive protections for LGBTQ+ individuals across a wide range of areas. By doing so, it aims to address the ongoing discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals and ensure equal rights and opportunities for all.
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The Bostock v. Clayton County decision ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
The Equality Act, first introduced in 2019, seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include explicit protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While the Act did not pass in the Senate in 2019 and was reintroduced in 2021 and 2025, it is yet to be added to the Constitution.
In the meantime, the landmark Bostock v. Clayton County case in 2020 ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Gerald Bostock, an employee of Clayton County, was fired after expressing interest in a gay softball league. He sued, alleging that Title VII protected workers on the basis of sexual orientation. The lower courts disagreed, citing past precedent that Title VII did not cover employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The case was consolidated with Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda, which involved apparent discrimination due to sexual orientation, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a case concerning transgender discrimination. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Bostock, stating that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
Justice Gorsuch's textualist interpretation of "sex" in Title VII was pivotal to the ruling. He defined "sex" as the biological gender of a person at birth but concluded that the statute's plain language prohibited discrimination against homosexuality and transgender status. Gorsuch emphasised that Title VII protects individuals, not groups, from discrimination. This decision was welcomed by LGBTQ+ rights advocates, who reaffirmed their support for the passage of the Equality Act to extend protections beyond employment.
The Bostock v. Clayton County decision has had a significant impact on LGBTQ+ civil rights, with potential implications for laws that target people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It has also faced criticism from some religious groups and conservatives, who argue that it infringes on religious freedoms and affects faith-based employment.
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The Equality Act was reintroduced in the 119th Congress in April 2025
The Equality Act, which seeks to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status, was reintroduced in the 119th Congress in April 2025. This was not the first time the Act had been proposed; it was first introduced in 1974 and similar bills have been proposed since. The modern version of the Equality Act was first proposed in the 114th United States Congress, and it passed the House of Representatives in 2019 with a bipartisan vote of 236-173. However, it did not advance further as the Senate did not act upon it, and then-President Donald Trump indicated he would have vetoed it anyway.
The Equality Act was reintroduced in the 117th Congress in February 2021 and passed the House with a vote of 224-206, with support from three Republicans. However, it once again failed to advance, as it did not overcome a filibuster in the Senate. Despite these setbacks, the Act was reintroduced in the 119th Congress in April 2025, by Rep. Mark Takano in the House of Representatives and Sens. Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin, and Cory Booker in the Senate.
The Equality Act aims to provide explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. It seeks to update the public spaces and services covered in current law to include retail stores, banks, legal services, and transportation services, strengthening protections for everyone. The Act also adds sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity to the sections of the Civil Rights Act that do not currently prohibit sex discrimination, including federally funded programs and public spaces and services.
The need for the Equality Act is underscored by the fact that, as of 2020, 29 states had not outlawed anti-LGBT discrimination, leaving members of the LGBTQ+ community with little protection at the national level. Additionally, two-thirds of LGBTQ+ Americans reported experiencing discrimination in their personal lives. The Equality Act has broad support, with over 600 organizations and hundreds of major corporations and business associations endorsing it.
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The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has been ratified by three-fourths of US states and is considered the 28th Amendment to the Constitution
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has had a long journey to ratification by three-fourths of US states, and while it is considered the 28th Amendment to the Constitution by some, this is a matter of contention.
The ERA was first placed before the state legislatures on March 22, 1972, with a seven-year deadline for ratification. Within a year, a majority of states had ratified the proposed amendment, with Hawaii becoming the first state to do so. By 1977, 35 states had ratified the ERA, but the approaching deadline of March 22, 1979, caused concern among advocates. Despite efforts to extend the deadline, 38 states were not reached by the deadline, and several states rescinded their ratification.
In the mid-1990s, supporters of the ERA began a new push for ratification, arguing that Congress could remove the deadline. This strategy was completed when Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia belatedly approved the ERA, with Virginia becoming the 38th state to ratify on January 27, 2020. However, the National Archives has stated that they do not intend to certify the amendment as part of the Constitution, citing legal and procedural reasons.
Despite this, on January 17, 2025, President Biden declared that the ERA was the law of the land, stating that it guaranteed equal rights and protections for all Americans regardless of sex. The ERA seeks to provide explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in key areas of life, including employment, housing, education, and public spaces.
While there is ongoing debate about the ERA's legal status, it is clear that a majority of states and the President support its ratification and the principles of equality that it embodies. The ERA represents a significant step towards ensuring equal rights and protections for all Americans, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
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Frequently asked questions
The Equality Act is a bill that seeks to legally protect individuals from discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status in a wide variety of areas including public accommodations, employment, housing, credit, education, federally funded programs, and jury service.
The purpose of the Equality Act is to provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.
The Equality Act was reintroduced in the 119th Congress on April 29, 2025, in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and in the Senate by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
The Equality Act seeks to protect individuals from discrimination in public accommodations, employment, housing, credit, education, federally funded programs, jury service, and public spaces and services.
There is currently no definitive answer to when or if the Equality Act will be added to the Constitution. The bill has faced opposition and has not been passed by both the House and the Senate.
