Washington, D.C. – Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) released the following statement regarding H.R. 5, the Equality Act:

“This week, Speaker Pelosi will bring up the Equality Bill for a vote that expands the Civil Rights Law to LGBTQ citizens. While we should be able to protect our LGBTQ population, we should not do so at the expense of faith-based organizations and women athletes. Unfortunately, the Speaker refuses to add religious protections that will protect churches, and faith-based organizations such as schools, adoption agencies, and homeless shelters. The Equality Bill, if made law, will be used to attack faith-based communities who publicly hold traditional views of marriage. The First Amendment should guide our policy, and Freedom of Religion is one of our most basic rights and one that I have sworn to protect.  

 “Further, the Equality Bill does not protect Title IX sports which has opened the doors for women to participate equally in our High School and College athletics. Title IX has been a huge victory for women. My sister played NCAA basketball and went to the Final Four in the late 1980s, and Title IX made that possible. The Equality Bill mandates schools to allow transgendered women/biological men to play on women's teams, and this will surely undermine the gains we’ve made in raising the equity of women athletics. We should protect women in this legislation, but thus far Speaker Pelosi refuses to do so.

 “We live in a pluralistic society where we have citizens of various faiths and views. It is a strength of America. We must work together to find a balance in the Equality legislation that further protects our LGBTQ population, but also protects faith-based organizations and women's sports. Speaker Pelosi refuses to work towards a compromise, and therefore this bill is unlikely to pass a Senate filibuster. Her refusal ultimately hurts our LGTBQ and faith-based communities, and Americans.”

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