Democratic presidential nominee Joe
Biden has reiterated his promise to make the Equality Act a
legislative priority.
The bill cleared the House earlier this
year but stalled in the Senate. President Donald Trump has signaled
his opposition to the bill.
(Related: Melania
Trump defends husband's LGBT record; says he treats gays, lesbians
“equally.”)
The Equality Act seeks to add
protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity to existing civil rights laws.
“I will make enactment of the
Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days –
a priority that Donald Trump opposes,” Biden told the Philadelphia
Gay News. “This is essential to ensuring that no future
president can ever again roll back civil rights and protections for
LGBTQ+ individuals, including when it comes to housing.”
Biden added that he would vigorously
enforce the legislation across the federal government.
“Too many states do not have laws
that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination,” he
said. “It’s wrong to deny people access to services or housing
because of who they are or who they love.”
Biden also promised he would as
president address violence against transgender women. According to
the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights
advocate, at least 33 transgender or gender non-conforming people
have been murdered this year. The majority of the victims were Black
and Latinx transgender women.