By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2021(San Diego) – By a 224 to 206 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Equality Act (H.R. 5) , a sweeping civil rights bill intended to prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in both public and private places.  But the bill will face an uphill battle in the Senate.

The Equality Act prohibits discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community in the areas of employment, education, credit, housing, jury service, federal funding and more by adding gender identity and sexual orientation to existing anti-discrimination civil rights protections.