Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a vote on the House-passed Equality Act, which bans anti-LGBT discrimination.
Schumer’s call comes after the House approved the bill Friday by a 236-173 margin, with eight Republicans joining every Democrat in voting for the legislation.
“️Americans should be very proud today! The House just passed the bipartisan #EqualityAct. Because NO American should face discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love,” Schumer tweeted, calling for “McConnell to hold a vote in the Senate.”
The bill would expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, jury selection or public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
{mosads}“Today, on this day, we have an opportunity to send a message now to help end discrimination in our country and set all of our people free,” Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights icon, said of the bill’s passage.
The legislation would face opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate amid conservative concerns about infringement of religious liberty.
“In fact, this bill legalizes discrimination — government imposed top-down discrimination against those with time-honored views of marriage and gender,” Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) said on the House floor Friday before the vote.
It is unclear if McConnell intends to bring it up for a Senate vote, but it appears unlikely President Trump would sign the bill should it pass the upper chamber.
“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all,” a senior administration official told NBC News. “However, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”