Equality Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. HERRELL. Mr. Speaker, I first want to agree with the bill's sponsor from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) that discrimination is wrong.

He went on to say the bill, H.R. 5, does no more and does no less than to give LGBTQ people the respect and equality they deserve. But I disagree because the bill moves us far beyond nondiscrimination and toward a place of one side over another. It eliminates mutual respect.

Mr. Speaker, we can't be so anxious to protect one class of people that we harm another. For instance, the bill forces churches in the public square to do things that counter their deeply held beliefs. It moves our Nation away from our Judeo-Christian values. It places women in sports, in domestic shelters, and in the healthcare profession at risk. It allows government to take an even more drastic step of making decisions that should be reserved for our families.

The Equality Act is anything but. Let's not be fooled by the title.

It would, likewise, force both people and organizations in many everyday life and work settings to speak or act in support of gender transition, including healthcare workers and licensed counselors, even when it is against their professional judgment. The Equality Act would force healthcare providers to perform abortions and gender transition surgeries against their deeply held religious beliefs. That is not equality.

Any parent who does not want their child to go through gender reassignment surgery at a young and vulnerable age would be stigmatized, and there is a risk that their child could be taken away or the life-altering surgery would be done with the blessing of only one parent. This diminishes the ability of parents to raise their children and to pass on their values. It is Washington, D.C., that ultimately decides the morality of our children and our churches.

If this is truly about respect, then let's start with it here in this Chamber. I must correct the record, and I take exception to being labeled as someone who vilifies those across the aisle. That is simply not true. No one on this side of the aisle has said ``less than'' or ``illegitimate.'' These are the labels being used on your side, not by me and not by my colleagues.

If we want to do what is right by the American people, then let's start respecting one another in this Chamber. Let's start doing things that are for the benefit of the people. Let's start understanding that we are here to protect all lives. All lives matter.

But when we can't stop fighting and discouraging each other in this Chamber, shame on us, because we are going to do a lot better for the people who sent us here when we can start having civil conversation.

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