by Mary Margaret Olahan
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden promised to pass the Equality Act during his first 100 days of office if he becomes President of the United States.
The former vice president also vowed in an interview with Philadelphia Gay News that he will make LGBTQ equality a focus of United States diplomacy if he becomes president of the United States, Reuters reported Wednesday.
“I will make enactment of the Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days – a priority that Donald Trump opposes,” Biden told Philadelphia Gay News, according to Reuters.
The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in 2019, the publication reported, but Biden would need Democrats to be in control of both the House and the Senate to pass the legislation.
President Donald Trump’s administration, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation, has said the Equality Act would “undermine parental and conscience rights,” according to Reuters.
Catholic bishops have warned that the legislation would “first and foremost” negatively impact women and girls.
“The Equality Act would fortify regressive, sexist stereotypes by enshrining the notion that subjective feelings and preferences (such as hobbies, attire, emotional patterns, or style of interaction) are what define a woman or a man,” reads a United States Conference of Catholic Bishops backgrounder on the Equality Act.
“By redefining ‘sex’ without physical meaning, the Equality Act would also remove legal recognition of women and girls, such as in Title IX, and risk eviscerating their hard-won consideration in areas including student scholarships and athletics,” the backgrounder continues.
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Mary Margaret Olahan is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation
Photo “Biden” by Michael Stokes CC BY-SA 2.0.
