During Tuesday's press briefing, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-MN) discussed the importance of passing the Equality Act.
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00:00Well what a beautiful day and colleagues it is so great to join all of you to announce the
00:07reintroduction of the Equality Act. The bill that we're here to talk about could not be more
00:17straightforward or common sense. The Equality Act simply puts into law what we all believe,
00:24that every American is created equal and should be treated equally under the law.
00:30This is a tenant of our nation's founding and something that I know and my constituents take
00:37seriously. But as we all know for far too many LGBTQ Americans in states across the country,
00:45equality is not the reality. Depending on where you live in this country you are afforded a different
00:53set of fundamental rights if you are gay, lesbian, or transgender. And let that sink in. It's a
01:02patchwork of rights and protections depending on who you are and who you love. Will you be
01:09protected from being discriminated against by a bad landlord when you try to rent a house? Depends
01:17on where you live. Will you be protected from being discriminated against when you are trying to get a
01:24mortgage or a new credit card? Again, it depends upon where you live. The list of these basic rights that
01:33some people have and some people don't goes on and on. This year alone the ACLU is tracking over 570 bills in state
01:45legislatures across the country that aim to strip away rights from LGBTQ Americans, including 12 in my home
01:55state of Wisconsin. If these bills become law, it will further this patchwork of rights. If they don't, it will
02:04still make our friends, our families, and our neighbors feel less safe, less welcome in their own communities.
02:13But look, take it from me, the first elected openly gay senator in U.S. history. A more welcoming, more equal
02:25country is possible. It takes hard work, but it's work that is worth doing. Just a few years ago, we proved that. I was
02:37proud to lead the charge to pass the Respect for Marriage Act into law in 2022. Yep. And that was the first time that we
02:49codified marriage rights for gay and interracial couples into law. At that time, I got so many questions about how we were
02:57able to get so many Republicans on board. The simple truth was that we had open and honest conversations with our
03:09colleagues about the people in their lives, their family members, their staff members, their neighbors, their fellow
03:15parishioners, who were gay. And today, that's who I ask both my Republican and Democratic colleagues to think
03:27about when considering the Equality Act. This is simply a matter of right and wrong. I, for one, believe that every American
03:37deserves to be treated and protected equally under the law. The Equality Act makes simply clear that in the United States, we
03:47will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, based on gender identity, just like religion, race or ethnicity.
03:57Equality is not a privilege. It is what we are owed as American citizens. And I'm committed to making that promise a reality.