Hillsborough Sun

On June 21 Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress, helped re-introduce the Equality Act in the 118th Congress. Pappas is an original co-sponsor of this legislation and fought to pass the bill last Congress.

This legislation amends existing civil rights statutes to provide LGBTQ+ Americans with the same protections all other Americans enjoy in key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, public services, and education. The Equality Act has overwhelming public support with more than 7 in 10 Americans supporting it.

“In order for our nation to fulfill the promise of its founding principles, we must guarantee equality for all under the law by passing the Equality Act,” said Congressman Pappas. “Every American deserves the same rights and responsibilities, and no one should be discriminated against just because of who they are or whom they love. Passing the Equality Act will move our country forward, and it’s time to ensure the LGBTQ+ community is protected by our nation’s civil rights statutes.”

Pappas serves as Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and is New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress. In his role as Co-Chair of the Equality Caucus, he has helped to introduce and pass the Equality Act through the House of Representatives and enact the Respect for Marriage Act into law. Pappas also leads the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act, which would ban the use of so-called “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses in federal court; the SERVE Act, which would guarantee and protect VA benefits for LGBTQ+ veterans; legislation to improve VA resources for LGBTQ+ veterans; and has led successful calls for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reassess policy that blocked members of the LGBTQ+ community from donating blood. In the 116th Congress, Pappas led the Put Patients First Act, which would have blocked a Trump-Pence Administration rule that permitted discrimination in health care.

Issues: LGBTQ and Equality

Original source can be found here.