Do Not Be Deceived by the Equality Act

As Americans, we believe in liberty and equality for all, even for the people we disagree with the most. We respect good-faith differences on important issues. This is what has allowed our country to flourish for over two hundred years.  

The Equality Act, which will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday March 17, would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under federal civil rights law.

However, the word “Equality” is misleading in this particular instance. This act claims to further the cause of liberty and equality, but will only hinder that cause. In fact, several state and local laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity have already attempted to compel conformity to one view on the issue in the name of “equality,” but have failed in this objective. Instead, these laws have created victims out of our most vulnerable populations.

One example of this is the story of Sherrie Laurie, the Executive Director of a faith-based nonprofit called the Downtown Hope Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The Downtown Hope Center provides food, laundry service, and job training to over 400 people a day. At night, this center becomes a shelter for vulnerable homeless women; a safe haven for many of whom have suffered rape, physical abuse, and domestic violence. 

One night in 2018, an intoxicated homeless man, who identified as a woman, with a clear gash across the head and wearing a pink nightgown demanded service at the overnight shelter. Sherrie had served meals to this individual before, but refused to allow the person into the shelter on the grounds that this could severely traumatize the already vulnerable women staying in the shelter that night. Sherrie was very kind and paid for a cab for this individual to go to the hospital where this person received medical treatment for injuries. 

For this incident, her organization later faced a complaint, resulting in the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission demanding that she open the shelter to biological males, even if it made the women in the shelter feel unsafe. 

The city claimed to be promoting “equality” with this move, but in reality, the city was trying to force Sherrie to open her doors to biological men, allowing them to sleep just a few feet from the traumatized survivors of trafficking, domestic violence, or other abuse. Sherrie had Alliance Defending Freedom representing her non-profit in court and ultimately won the case, allowing her to continue serving the homeless and vulnerable populations of Anchorage.

The court’s ruling confirmed that Laurie had the freedom to serve women in a way that aligned with her Christian faith and the belief that men and women were created differently and sometimes require different treatment. The Equality Act would put all of that at risk by possibly forcing her and others in similar roles across the country to violate their consciences or religious beliefs.

But the Equality Act goes beyond simply affecting religious nonprofits and businesses. As seen above, the Equality Act will strip women of privacy in some cases, but additionally, it could hurt women’s sports, medical professionals, employers, parents, and the list goes on. It could especially hurt women in sports by requiring that males identifying as females be permitted in women’s athletics. 

One example of this is Selina Soule, a female track athlete who ran in a state qualifying final in high school and missed an opportunity to qualify for the New England Championship by one spot in the 2018-19 season because the first two spots were taken by biological males. This Act could put a glass ceiling back over women, reversing 50 years of progress for women under Title IX. 

Even if the act has good intentions, it has unintended consequences that drive inequality and harm the most vulnerable among us. The Equality Act demands conformity to a single viewpoint on gender and sexual orientation, leaving no room for those who disagree to live according their beliefs. This bill must be opposed in order for liberty and equality to persevere.