Congress reintroduces discriminatory, deceptively named 'Equality Act'
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding the U.S. Congress’s reintroduction Wednesday of the deceptively named “Equality Act,” legislation that threatens religious freedom, fairness and safety for women and girls, and the ability of everyday Americans to live in alignment with their beliefs:
“Our nation’s laws should respect the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of every American citizen. The deceptively named ‘Equality Act’ hides behind promises of tolerance and empowerment, but, in practice, it threatens real harm to women and children and discriminates against religious communities and individuals. The Equality Act is a direct attack on the truth that every person is either male or female. Government promotion of radical gender-identity ideology is endangering children, violating parents’ and women’s rights, and eroding our constitutionally protected freedom to think, speak, and act according to our consciences. We’ve seen growing instances nationwide of the devastating harms of policies like the Equality Act. Young women are being forced to compete against males in sports. Female students are punished when they object to their male classmates’ presence in showers and locker rooms. Abused women can’t sleep in peace in homeless shelters when they are forced to lie next to men. Courageous teachers are being disciplined for refusing to lie to students about biological sex. Religious schools and service organizations are punished for operating consistent with the faith that inspired them to serve their communities. The freedom to live peaceably according to our beliefs is a fundamental right, resting in our human dignity and codified by the First Amendment. The Equality Act dares to treat reasonable people as hostile to the state and unfit to participate in the marketplace. Our nation can and must do better.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as nearly 5,000 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal counsel to over 3,500 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued three of those cases: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Uzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. She is a Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ attorney in Martindale-Hubbell, who clerked for Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court after law school and served in private practice in Seattle for nearly 20 years.