The dangers of the US Equality Act

If you haven’t heard about it, the so-called Equality Act currently being debated in America is a very, very concerning piece of legislation. The Democrats claimed it was merely an amendment to federal civil rights law designed to ensure sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes. The legislation was unnecessary, given the American Constitution already provides protection for the rights of all Americans, regardless of their “identity”.

In my recent message “The Prison of the Isms”, we discussed how the goal of Marxism is to destroy civil institutions, namely family, the church and government. The Equality Act is a direct attack on the nuclear family and Christian belief. As commentator Ryan Anderson recently claimed on Twitter: “The Equality Act is legislative malpractice that turns equality on its head. It isn’t drafted as a shield to protect vulnerable minorities from unjust discrimination, but as a sword to persecute those who do not embrace new sexual and gender ideologies.”

Mary Rice Hasson, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Centre explained: “The concept of ‘gender identity’ is a steamroller obliterating the significance of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in our language, relationships, laws and spaces. Under the Equality Act, ‘gender identity’ determines access to ‘public accommodations’, a category the Act redefines to just about everywhere.”

What has many people up in arms at the moment (and rightly so) is that the Act would eviscerate women’s and girls’ sports because men and boys who “identify” as female could compete in the field. Can you imagine a female 100m runner all of a sudden lining up against a man who simply “identifies” as a female? She would never win another race. Studies have shown that male athletes who claim to be female still hold an “intolerable” advantage over females even though they have undergone cross-sex hormone treatments.

The Act would also be used to remove custody rights from parents who refuse to have their minor children undergo transgender medical interventions and procedures. Unfortunately, this increased politicisation of the issue has created conflict among parents, medical professionals and government. There was a case several years ago in Ohio where parents lost custody of their daughter because they opposed her desire to transition to male. A judge allowed the girl’s grandparents to take custody of her because they supported her medical transition. The Equality Act would make these cases more common.

Most concerning for Christians is that the Equality Act actually exempts itself from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. In fact, the Act states that belief in traditional marriage is discrimination against same-sex couples. Catholic League President Bill Donohue warned that the Act would “promote the most comprehensive assault on Christianity ever written into law.”

During recent debates, a seemingly sensible Republican Senator from Florida by the name of Greg Steube had this to stay, “When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what He was doing when He created them. The gender confusion that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God’s good design. Whenever a nation’s laws no longer reflect the standards of God, that nation is in rebellion against Him and will inevitably bear the consequences. We are seeing the consequences of rejecting God here in our country today.” Shockingly, Senator Jerry Nadler (a Democrat) stood and said, “What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.” But it is Mr Nadler. And when the full force of God’s undiluted wrath is poured out on the Earth, you will come to understand that.