When the Democrats took over the House earlier this year, they immediately slammed through a series of bills to implement their left-wing agenda. Checking off the box on the LGBTQ community, with zero input from equality-minded conservatives, the Equality Act was introduced with much fanfare from the gay left.
The problem was that the bill steamrolled over religious freedom.
Since then, our friends at the American Unity Fund along with our allies in the House and thought leaders on this issue of religious freedom have worked diligently to craft a piece of legislation, known as the Fairness for All Act (FFAA). This piece of legislation, introduced last Friday, is great effort to show that it’s possible to protect members of the LGBTQ community and religious freedom at the same time.
The FFAA would ban discrimination against gay and transgender Americans in a wide array of areas in public life. But it also spells out several exemptions for religious organizations ensuring that people of faith don’t face retaliation if they hold beliefs on marriage and family life.
Check out this article in the Deseret News that dives deeper into the bill and discusses its impact.
FFAA is sponsored by Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) and has a number of co-sponsors from across the conservative spectrum, including some that originally endorsed the Equality Act.
A true litmus test in Washington for common-sense legislation, the FFAA is already under attack from both the HRC/Equality Caucus and the Heritage Foundation. Go figure.
Log Cabin Republicans is proud to stand along with our colleagues working to advance FFAA and know that when we bring both equality advocates and religious freedom experts together, we can craft meaningful solutions that don’t sacrifice the rights of one group for another.