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Republican congressman quotes Coretta Scott King to justify opposition to Equality Act
Source: Think Progress
Republican congressman quotes Coretta Scott King to justify opposition to Equality Act
King spoke out repeatedly in favor of protections found in the bill.
ZACK FORD
MAY 17, 2019, 12:00 PM
As the House of Representatives prepared to take up historic legislation on LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections Friday, one congressman relied on a rather surprising source to defend his vote.
Speaking on the floor Friday morning, Rep. Ross Spano (R-FL) cited Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., as part of his argument that the Equality Act — also known as H.R. 5 — would infringe on the “religious liberty” of those with anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
H.R. 5 would in fact simply extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ individuals.
“Coretta Scott King wisely said, ‘Freedom is never really won. We earn it and win it in every new generation,'” Spano said Friday. “H.R. 5 is bad for freedom. You see, it would immediately expose churches, religious schools and universities and faith-based organizations to legal liability for simply following their earnest beliefs.”
King, a civil rights icon herself, was a stalwart ally of the LGBTQ community. In 1994, she participated in the introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a predecessor of the Equality Act that would have created employment protections based on sexual orientation, and, in later versions, based on gender identity.
-snip-
King spoke out repeatedly in favor of protections found in the bill.
ZACK FORD
MAY 17, 2019, 12:00 PM
As the House of Representatives prepared to take up historic legislation on LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections Friday, one congressman relied on a rather surprising source to defend his vote.
Speaking on the floor Friday morning, Rep. Ross Spano (R-FL) cited Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., as part of his argument that the Equality Act — also known as H.R. 5 — would infringe on the “religious liberty” of those with anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
H.R. 5 would in fact simply extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ individuals.
“Coretta Scott King wisely said, ‘Freedom is never really won. We earn it and win it in every new generation,'” Spano said Friday. “H.R. 5 is bad for freedom. You see, it would immediately expose churches, religious schools and universities and faith-based organizations to legal liability for simply following their earnest beliefs.”
King, a civil rights icon herself, was a stalwart ally of the LGBTQ community. In 1994, she participated in the introduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a predecessor of the Equality Act that would have created employment protections based on sexual orientation, and, in later versions, based on gender identity.
-snip-
Read more: https://thinkprogress.org/republican-ross-spano-lgbtq-ally-civil-rights-coretta-scott-king-oppose-equality-act-a18c91cb0dc4/
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