New Hampshire Representative Chris
Pappas, a Democrat, is the latest politician to join the Human Rights
Campaign's (HRC) Americans for the Equality Act.
The Equality Act, which
cleared the U.S. House last month, seeks to add protections
against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity to existing civil rights laws.
President Donald Trump has signaled
that he's opposed to the legislation.
(Related: LGBT
groups respond to Trump's opposition to Equality Act: “We're
Disgusted.”)
In a 90-second video, Pappas, who is
openly gay, called on Congress to approve the bill.
“We have seen an unfortunate rise in
hate crimes and violence against the LGBTQ community around this
country over the last several years,” Pappas said. “There are
people who still risk their lives and risk their health and safety by
coming out.”
“And it's really important that we
make a strong statement from the hall of Congress to each and every
community across this country that love is love, that people can be
who they are, and they can have the protection of the laws.”
“Opposing the Equality Act means that
they're on the wrong side of history.”
“It's not a matter of if this passes;
It's a matter of when we're going to get the political courage to
pass it. And I don't think we should delay this at all. We should
pass it this year, enact this into law, make sure everyone has the
fundamental protections. People have waited way too long for the
Equality Act to be on the books,” he concluded.