(Douglas Graham/Getty Images)
Eight Republicans in the House, including Indiana Congressman Susan Brooks, sided with Democrats in a Friday vote on legislation banning anti-LGBT discrimination.
Specifically, the bill extends civil rights protections to LGBT people by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and protects people in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit and the jury system.
“Discrimination of any kind, towards anyone, is wrong and at this time in our nation’s history, we cannot turn a blind eye to the discrimination the LGBTQ community faces,” Brooks said in a statement.
WIBC host Tony Katz:
“The equality act is anything but equality, it is the boot of government upon your neck. It is a terrible idea and Rep. Susan Brooks has a lot to answer for.
Now notice I didn’t say that you should be rude to people; I didn’t say that you should bully people; I didn’t say that you should discriminate against people. I said the Equality Act is a terrible idea.
What this legislation really does is attempt to prevent you, me, and we from having conversations about what’s going on in the world and from speaking as we see fit. So for example: if somebody who is a ‘she’ decides she is a ‘he’ and I use the wrong pronoun, can they go after me legally for misgendering them? You’re not allowed to compel me to anything. Your choices are your choices, but they do not allow you to control my choices.”
Click below to hear Tony’s full commentary.
