The Jewish Center for Justice commends the Biden administration for signing the Executive Order on Advancing Equality for LGBTQI+ Individuals on June 15, 2022. This Order comes in response to hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws proposed or enacted in state legislatures that target LGBTQ+ children and caregivers by banning access to gender-affirming medical care and school support.

This executive order:

  • Authorizes the Department of Health and Human services (HHS) to help LGBTQ+ children and families access healthcare.
  • Responds to discriminatory state laws by directing the Department of Education to release new policies to achieve equal inclusion for LGBTQ+ students.
  • Directs HHS to prevent the use of “conversion therapy,” ensures that federal funds are not spent on it, and educate the public of its harms.
  • Charges HHS with safeguarding healthcare for LGBTQ+ children and families, including mental health and gender-affirming healthcare; preventing medical descrimination; and expanding suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth.
  • Creates new initiatives to protect LGBTQ+ foster youth, prevent homelessness, increase access to federal programs, and research the unique needs of LGBTQ+ families, including chosen families.
  • Directs the Attorney General to develop protocols to protect and serve LGBTQ+ youth in the juvenile justice system.

In addition to enacting these critical policies, President Biden called on Congress to support The Equality Act (S. 393, H.R. 5), a bill that would ensure civil rights protections for the LGBTQ+ community. The Jewish Center for Justice is mobilizing Jewish communities and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups as well as people of faith in support of The Equality Act.

This critical legislation would:

  • Prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation in public accommodations, federal funding, housing, education, employement, the jury system, and credit.
  • Expand the definition of public accommodations to include establishments or places that provide recreation, amusement, exercise, exhibitions, displays, gatherings, goods, programs, services, and transportation.
  • Empowers the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions on account of gender identity or sexual orientation in federal court.
  • Prohibits a person from being denied access to shared facilities, including dressing rooms, bathrooms, and locker rooms, in alignment with the person’s gender identity.

Take ACTION by contacting your Senators and Representative to urge them to support The Equality Act.

If your Senators and/or Representatives already support The Equality Act, thank them and urge them to continue to push for this legislation. If they have not yet supported The Equality Act, urge them to add their name to the bill. We have provided a sample script, however feel free to speak from your heart and on your own personal experience.

Sample script:

“Hi, my name is [your name]. I’m calling today to urge [your Senator/Representative] to support The Equality Act (S. 393, H.R. 5). As a Jew and member of the Jewish Center for Justice community, we uphold the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he stated that ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I believe that this legislation is an important step in ensuring that the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community are protected and codified into law. This act will prevent discrimination against people based on their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, and is a necessary step to ensure that all Americans, regardless of how they identify or who they love, receive equal protection under the law. Thank you.”

Photo credit: August Hochman