The Equality Act has passed its first hurdle, sailing through Congress as expected by a margin of 224 to 206. Three Republicans voted with the entirety of the Democratic caucus. The legislation now heads to the Senate. According to USA Today, what happens next is not entirely certain:
The House passed a similar version of the bill in May 2019, but it died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate. Eight Republicans voted for it in 2019, though no Republicans co-sponsored this year’s version of the legislation.
The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democratic caucus members, with Vice President Kamala Harris in a tiebreaking role. It would need at least 10 Republicans to vote with all Democrats to advance the bill past a key procedural obstacle called the filibuster.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would use his powers as majority leader to put the bill on the floor and would dare Republicans to vote against it, though he declined to say when he would bring the legislation up in the Senate.
I suspect it will pass. The Democrats are going to use every dirty trick at their disposal, because they have been awaiting this opportunity since Phyllis Schlafly single-handedly halted the feminist juggernaut back in the 1970s. They may not have this chance again, and they know it.
I’ve written a lot about the dangers of the Equality Act and the damage it would do to religious liberty and the pro-life movement quite a few times already, so I won’t reiterate everything here. For those of you who want a quick primer, check out “What to Know About the Equality Act” or listen to this podcast:
