ABOVE: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (L) and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, photos via each senator’s Facebook page.
LGBTQ organizations and advocates throughout Florida applauded the passage of the Equality Act in the U.S. House Feb. 25, turning their focus to the U.S. Senate.
The legislation passed with a bipartisan vote of 224-206. If passed in the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, who has confirmed his support, it will add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Equality Act ensures the LGBTQ+ community enjoys basic civil rights protections throughout the U.S., and bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Stephen Gaskill explained in a statement. “These protections are long past overdue.”
The caucus represents the interests of LGBTQ Floridians to the state’s Democratic Party, with 21 chapters from Pensacola to Miami.
“The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus thanks those in the Florida congressional delegation who voted in support of our community and for their recognition that civil rights should not be up for debate,” Gaskill noted. “We hope that when the U.S. Senate takes up the bill that Marco Rubio and Rick Scott will recognize the large number of LGBTQ+ Floridians who are watching. They may have a vote on our rights, but we have a vote on their jobs.”
The state’s largest LGBTQ-focused civil rights group echoed the caucus. “All eyes are on Senator Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio as the Equality Act heads to the U.S. Senate,” Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said.
“The time has come for a modernized and updated federal Civil Rights Act that recognizes where discrimination still occurs today,” she continued. “Floridians clearly support equal rights regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity and we call on our Senators to join the overwhelming public support that led to passage in the House today.”
Equality Florida subsequently called for the U.S. Senate to “stand on the side of the American people,” citing a poll conducted by the Human Rights Campaign. It asserted that 70% of the country supports the Equality Act, with more than 200 major businesses and 700 faith organizations agreeing.
Elected officials throughout the state do as well. Equality Florida cited the support of State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the state’s first openly LGBTQ Latinx lawmaker; State Rep. Michele Rayner, the first Black, openly LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, the city’s first openly LGBTQ mayor.
“I have proudly championed civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community in the state legislature and now call on my colleagues in Washington to stand with us,” Guillermo Smith said. “The impact that the Equality Act will have on millions of Americans – Floridians included – cannot be overstated. Congress must pass the Equality Act and make clear that everyone deserves a fair shot at the American Dream.”
“I see the opportunity before Congress right now,” Rayner added. “We are at a critical moment in history. We can expand civil rights protections for vulnerable communities. We can provide justice to so many who have been marginalized by our system. We can blaze new trails toward equality for all. But we need our leaders to act.”
“Passage of the Equality Act will be a historic step forward in the effort to build a more perfect union by ensuring that civil rights protections cover LGBTQ Americans,” Castor concluded. “I am proud to support this legislation.”
You can share your support for the Equality Act with Sen. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio at EQFL.org/ActOnEquality. For more information about Equality Florida or the LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, visit EQFL.org and LGBTQDems.org.
