Congressman Steven Horsford, D-Nev., waits for the start of an event with President Joe Biden sat UNLV Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
Thursday, June 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Nevadan in Congress
U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., has a question for his Republican colleagues about the latest effort by House Democrats to update the nation’s civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Equality Act, which aims to update the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws to bar prejudice toward LGBTQ people in the realms of employment, housing, education, jury selection, credit and other public accommodations, was introduced last week with all 214 House Democrats, including Horsford, signing on as co-sponsors.
To advance the measure to the Senate, Horsford told constituents Tuesday night at a roundtable at the LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada, votes from five Republicans are needed.
“Are there not five (House) Republicans who understand the importance of the Equality Act from an economic imperative, from a health access imperative, from a fairness and equality perspective?” Horsford asked pointedly.
Karl Catarata, the Nevada state director of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading advocacy group for LGBTQ equality, said advocates were turning their focus on Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., as one of the potential GOP votes in the House.
“We are definitely looking to Congressman Amodei to do the right thing, to stand with your constituents because the research shows that your constituents do stand with the Equality Act,” Catarata said, shortly after referencing poll data that showed roughly 70% of people, regardless of political affiliation, agree with the premise of the Equality Act.
Kelsey Mix, communications director for Amodei, did not respond to a request for comment. But in 2019, when the Democrat-controlled House passed the bill (before it stalled in the Senate), Amodei voted against it on grounds it would dismantle Title IX protections, which prohibit sex discrimination in public education.
“No person should ever be discriminated against — period. The diversity of backgrounds, culture, religion, and heritage are all part of the fabric that has shaped us into the great nation we are today,” Amodei wrote in a newsletter to constituents at the time. “With that said, many of the bills House Democrats have made us vote on this Congress are merely feel-good messaging bills intended to add fuel to the political fire, while doing nothing to solve the issue at hand. Unfortunately, the Equality Act would cause significant damage to Title IX, suggesting that the relevance of sex in female sports is irrelevant.”
Horsford said he had spoken with Amodei frequently but wasn’t actively trying to lobby his GOP colleague, instead leaving that for activists and stakeholders. But given Amodei’s previous statements, Horsford said he would urge him to not buy into political talking points.
“This is not a controversial bill. It’s really not,” Horsford said. “Focus on what’s in it, and not what’s not, because there’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation that’s out there about all the issues.”
Sy Bernabei, executive director of Gender Justice Nevada, said many LGBTQ activists prematurely declared victory after the Supreme Court’s 2015 landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which essentially legalized same-sex marriage across the U.S. Since then, rights for members of the LGBTQ community have been eroding, whether it’s states passing bans on gender-affirming care for minors or forbidding trans girls from participating in youth sports.
“What seems to have happened after that decision is a lot of people in our community, activists in our community, left the group chat,” Bernabei said. “(But) we’re not done.”
Should the House Democrats get their five Republican votes on the Equality Act, it faces an even steeper hill in the Senate, where the support of 10 Republicans would be needed, along with unanimity among the chamber’s Democrats to bypass any potential filibuster.
With anti-trans rhetoric reaching a fever pitch in conservative circles, the time to pass the Equality Act is now, Horsford said.
“We’re not going back, we will not be silenced,” Horsford said. “I would encourage us to continue to put pressure on all of us, including the business (and) the resort hospitality industry. We’re becoming the sports and entertainment capital of the world. That’s great, but we have to be the ‘equality and inclusive’ capital of the world.”
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