West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin on Monday released a statement explaining why he's the only Senate Democrat not supporting passage of the Equality Act.

Re-introduced last week, the Equality Act is a federal bill that seeks to prohibit discrimination against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

(Related: Pete Buttigieg endorses LGBT protections bill Equality Act.)

In his statement, Manchin insisted that he “support[s] equality for all people and do[es] not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”

“After speaking with local education officials in West Virginia, I am not convinced that the Equality Act as written provides sufficient guidance to the local officials who will be responsible for implementing it, particularly with respect to students transitioning between genders in public schools,” Manchin wrote. “I will continue working with the sponsors of the bill to build broad bipartisan support and find a viable path forward for these critical protections so that I can vote in support of this bill.”

Manchin added that “no one should be afraid of losing their job or losing their housing because of their sexual orientation.” The senator's statement notably did not include gender identity.

The senior senator from West Virginia – considered a “deep red” state at the federal level – has a mixed record on LGBT rights and has frequently sided with President Donald Trump. Manchin scored 30 points (out of 100) on the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) latest Congressional Scorecard, a measure of a lawmaker's support for LGBT rights.

Also of note is Manchin's continued opposition to same-sex marriage, making him the only Senate Democrat to never come out in support of such unions.

GLAAD called on Manchin to reverse course and support passage of the legislation.

“While it’s easy to understand Senator Joe Manchin’s concerns about the federal government’s power over local authorities, 58,000 LGBTQ West Virginians cannot have their safety remain on the line as they wait for their state government to defend them,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. “The Equality Act presents an opportunity to protect LGBTQ people from harassment at schools, at work, or even in their homes in his home state of West Virginia – and that’s about as local as it gets.”