Equality and Civil Rights
I believe that our federal government must work to provide and protect basic civil liberties for all Americans. Securing those freedoms for the next generation means that we have to recognize injustice and take action to correct those missteps. As a United States Representative, I continue fighting for vulnerable and marginalized communities in our country, to ensure people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and disabled Americans are provided equal protection under the law.
I am a cosponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would better hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct, bolster transparency through data collection pertaining to unlawful behavior and negligent use of force, and improve police training and department policies nationwide. I am a cosponsor of the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act which would study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination against African Americans resulting directly and indirectly from slavery to segregation to the desegregation process and the present day. I am a cosponsor of the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act to establish a bipartisan commission that will be housed within the United States Commission on Civil Rights office tasked with examining the social disparities that disproportionately affect black men and boys in America. I am a cosponsor of the United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Act to examine the effects of slavery, institutional racism, and discrimination against people of color, and how our history impacts laws and policies today. And with voting rights under attack throughout the country, I continue to push for the passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act that would restore the Voting Rights Act’s power to combat the resurgence of partisan voter suppression across the nation.
As a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, I work with my colleagues in the House to address some of our country’s most pressing equality issues, including fighting anti-LGBTQ+ appropriations amendments and advocating for education and aging protections. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Equality Act, a bipartisan, comprehensive nondiscrimination bill to extend civil rights protections to LGBT+ Americans. And I am a proud cosponsor of H.J.Res.79 to remove the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). A vote for the ERA is a vote for equality. We must ratify this crucial amendment to enshrine women’s equality in our Constitution and under the law.
I am proud to have authored and introduced the Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act that would eliminate requirements that disabled adult children (DAC) should remain unmarried in order to receive lifetime benefits and health care through Social Security. Under current law, DACs lose federal benefits if they marry a non-disabled person, with few exceptions. By taking away the medical benefits from Disabled Adult Children who get married, current law is forcing Americans to choose between their happiness and health care. The Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act to allow individuals with lifelong disabilities to marry without compromising their benefits and wellbeing. Every American, no matter who they are and without being penalized, should be able to marry who they love.