Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organisation, released the following statement following a report from Buzzfeed News late last night that comprehensive federal LGBT non-discrimination legislation is expected to be introduced in Congress later this week.
“No one in our community should be at risk of being fired, evicted from their home, or denied services because of who they are or whom they love,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “There is an unacceptable patchwork of state-level protections for LGBT people, and more than half of LGBT Americans live in a state that lacks fully-inclusive non-discrimination laws. The time has come in this country for full, federal equality, and nothing less. A federal non-discrimination bill would create permanent and clear protections to ensure that all employees are hired, fired or promoted based on their performance. All LGBT Americans deserve a fair chance to earn a living and provide for their families.”
In March, polling conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for the Human Rights Campaign revealed that an overwhelming majority of likely voters (69 percent) support a federal LGBT non-discrimination law, including 72 percent of Independents and 51 percent of Republicans. The poling also revealed that nearly two-thirds of LGBT Americans (63 percent) have faced discrimination in their lives, with LGBT people reporting workplace discrimination the most frequently experienced form of discrimination.
