The Equality Act, if passed, would be a monumental victory for the LGBT community.
That’s why the Human Rights Campaign launched a new campaign to urge Congress to enact it already.
The campaign, called the “Reality Flag,” features videos of the American Flag with 29 of the 50 stars removed to represent the states that have not passed legal protections for the LGBT community, according to The Washington Blade. The purpose is to tell the stories of how individual LGBT people are impacted by discrimination.
“The Reality Flag campaign is designed to point out the inequalities LGBTQ+ individuals face every day — in our own voice,” Joni Madison, HRC’s interim president, said. “From housing and educational discrimination to denial of government and health services, LGBTQ+ people are confronted by hurdles to simply exist every day.”
“This needs to change,” she added.
The campaign officially launched Feb. 23 when HRC unveiled an 85-foot-long version of the Reality Flag on the outer walls of its building in Washington D.C., which is six blocks away from the White House, The Blade reported.
The Equality Act, if passed, would end LGBT discrimination in housing, employment, education, and more.
David Stacy, HRC’s Government Affairs director, told the Blade in a statement that passage of the Equality Act remains a high priority for HRC and the LGBT community.
“Getting any legislation through the U.S. Senate is not easy,” Stacy said. “In the meantime, support continues growing for the bill, and we believe the Reality Flag campaign will continue to generate the awareness and education needed to continue growing support and pressure for action.”
HRC is not the only one calling on Congress to pass it. President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union speech March 1, urged Congress to enact the bill so he could sign it into law.
“For our LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk,” Biden said.
The legislation has been pending in the U.S. Senate for nearly a year, despite the promise Biden made of signing it into law in the first 100 days in office.
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