USA House Equality Act

[Machine_Washable]

Muslim Facebook has been abuzz with news that the Equality Act passed the House of Representatives. It’s a particular flashpoint because Rep Ilhan Omar was a sponsor of the bill and promoted it. As I understand it there is little chance of this becoming law. But a world where something like it passes here in Canada seems very possible. Is this an area where religious Muslims and Catholics could work together? 

[little2add]

4 hours ago, Machine_Washable said:

this an area where religious Muslims and Catholics could work together

Yes, to defeat it.   The act infringes on religious freedom, all religions both Muslim and Catholic.

The Equality Act purports to protect people experiencing same-sex attraction or gender discordance from unjust discrimination. Although this is a worthy purpose, the Equality Act does not serve it.
Instead of respecting differences in beliefs about marriage and sexuality, the Equality Act discriminates against people of faith precisely because of those beliefs.  In the process, the Equality Act codifies the new ideology of “gender” in federal law, dismissing sexual difference and falsely presenting “gender” as only a social construct.

… 

• Every person should be treated with dignity, and no one should face discrimination. But the Equality Act makes discrimination the law of the land.
• The so-called Equality Act is anything but. It would give government the power to dictate how Americans think and act regarding gender and sex.
• This bill violates Americans’ constitutional freedoms and weaponizes civil rights law to punish those who do not hold the “correct” beliefs.

The proposed Equality Act of 2021 (H.R. 5) would make mainstream beliefs about marriage, biological facts about sex differences, and many sincerely held beliefs punishable under the law. The Equality Act makes discrimination the law of the land by forcing Americans to conform to government-mandated beliefs under the threat of life-ruining financial and criminal penalties. Presented as a bill with commonsense and decent protections against discrimination, H.R. 5 is anything but. The Equality Act politicizes medicine and education and demolishes existing civil rights and constitutional freedoms

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by little2add

[Machine_Washable]

43 minutes ago, little2add said:

Yes, to defeat it.   The act infringes on religious freedom, all religions both Muslim and Catholic.

The Equality Act purports to protect people experiencing same-sex attraction or gender discordance from unjust discrimination. Although this is a worthy purpose, the Equality Act does not serve it.
Instead of respecting differences in beliefs about marriage and sexuality, the Equality Act discriminates against people of faith precisely because of those beliefs.  In the process, the Equality Act codifies the new ideology of “gender” in federal law, dismissing sexual difference and falsely presenting “gender” as only a social construct.

… 

• Every person should be treated with dignity, and no one should face discrimination. But the Equality Act makes discrimination the law of the land.
• The so-called Equality Act is anything but. It would give government the power to dictate how Americans think and act regarding gender and sex.
• This bill violates Americans’ constitutional freedoms and weaponizes civil rights law to punish those who do not hold the “correct” beliefs.

The proposed Equality Act of 2021 (H.R. 5) would make mainstream beliefs about marriage, biological facts about sex differences, and many sincerely held beliefs punishable under the law. The Equality Act makes discrimination the law of the land by forcing Americans to conform to government-mandated beliefs under the threat of life-ruining financial and criminal penalties. Presented as a bill with commonsense and decent protections against discrimination, H.R. 5 is anything but. The Equality Act politicizes medicine and education and demolishes existing civil rights and constitutional freedoms

 

Thank you for the summary. I agree we must work to defeat it. It would also directly interfere with Muslim worship. Men and women must be separated during prayer and this would interfere with that. We have already seen smaller versions of this on University campuses as members of the LGBTQ community have complained to school administrators about Muslim Student Associations having gender segregated events. 
 

It seems that it would be illegal for Muslim or Catholic schools to fire a teacher who was openly in a homosexual relationship or transgender and promoted this lifestyle. If America passes something like this then certainly Canada wouldn’t be far behind. 

[Ice_nine]

tell your muslim homies to stop using/be used by the democratic left. Islam and SJWs are strange bedfellows but they are indeed in bed together.

[Peace]

9 minutes ago, Ice_nine said:

tell your muslim homies to stop using/be used by the democratic left. Islam and SJWs are strange bedfellows but they are indeed in bed together.

From what I hear its exceedingly easy to get in bed with a SJW nowadays.

[Machine_Washable]

1 hour ago, Ice_nine said:

tell your muslim homies to stop using/be used by the democratic left. Islam and SJWs are strange bedfellows but they are indeed in bed together.

It's not really strange. Muslims represent 1% of the population in America. One political party is extremely hostile to us. The other one uses us to virtue signal to affluent white liberals how progressive they are but will (or at least used to) leave us alone and also didn't start the Iraq War. So it's not hard to see why Muslims have sorted to the SJW side. There are some deeper reasons but I won't bore you with that unless you'd like to discuss it. This wasn't always the case. In 2000 the big Muslim groups backed George W Bush and Muslims were majority Republican. A lot changed after 9/11.

This has caused some big problems. And a lot of self promoters have used their Muslim identity to gain favor with the SJWs and liberals in ways that have misled the youth in ummah. I hope for their sake they are sincere but errant. As for the big organizations. It is unfortunate but I don't blame them. They are between a rock and a hard place. It's the same in Canada. Although not quite as bad.

Do you have any suggestions how we can work together on this? The President and Speaker of House are Catholic. Do religious Catholics have any sway on them?

Edited March 7, 2021 by Machine_Washable

[chrysostom]

2 hours ago, Machine_Washable said:

Do you have any suggestions how we can work together on this? The President and Speaker of House are Catholic. Do religious Catholics have any sway on them?

The Speaker of the House famously said, in regards to late-term abortion, that "As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this". That is, she somehow tied her faith with the protection of late term abortion.

[Machine_Washable]

47 minutes ago, chrysostom said:

The Speaker of the House famously said, in regards to late-term abortion, that "As a practicing and respectful Catholic, this is sacred ground to me when we talk about this". That is, she somehow tied her faith with the protection of late term abortion.

Very strange. What was her point supposed to be? 

[ReasonableFaith]

1 hour ago, Machine_Washable said:

Very strange. What was her point supposed to be? 

The comment was from a June 13, 2013 press conference, a 2 min clip of which can be found on YouTube courtesy of the Washington Free Beacon. The Beacon’s textual report excludes a  reference to the birth of her own daughters prior to the often quoted line, but the full context of her comments is unclear due to editing. Perhaps a fuller video or full text is available elsewhere. 

[little2add]

This is Nancy.  

[hakutaku]

On 3/6/2021 at 10:13 AM, little2add said:

The proposed Equality Act of 2021 (H.R. 5) would make mainstream beliefs about marriage, biological facts about sex differences, and many sincerely held beliefs punishable under the law

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5/text

Mostly the bill just inserts "sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity)" into the major pre-existing civil rights bills.  E.g. the laws prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment, & credit.

The thing people are probably complaining about are of (4) and (5) to the 1964 civil rights bill:

Quote

Each of the following establishments which serves the public is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of this subchapter if its operations affect commerce, or if discrimination or segregation by it is supported by State action:

(1) any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests, other than an establishment located within a building which contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire and which is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as his residence;

(2) any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, including, but not limited to, any such facility located on the premises of any retail establishment; or any gasoline station;

(3) any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium or other place of or establishment that provides exhibition, entertainment, recreation, exercise, amusement, public gathering, or public display or other place of exhibition or entertainment;

(4) any establishment that provides a good, service, or program, including a store, shopping center, online retailer or service provider, salon, bank, gas station, food bank, service or care center, shelter, travel agency, or funeral parlor, or establishment that provides health care, accounting, or legal services;

“(5) any train service, bus service, car service, taxi service, airline service, station, depot, or other place of or establishment that provides transportation service;”.

(6) any establishment (A)(i) which is physically located within the premises of any establishment otherwise covered by this subsection, or (ii) within the premises of which is physically located any such covered establishment, and (B) which holds itself out as serving patrons of such covered establishment.

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by hakutaku
Fixed numbering