CBN — A gay conservative has written a scathing op-ed against the Equality Act, agreeing with both a liberal feminist and Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson in their assessment of the proposed measure.
Brad Polumbo’s op-ed, which appeared in USA Today Monday, reminds readers that the future of the Equality Act is uncertain. Even though the House passed the bill last week, and if it somehow squeezed through the GOP-controlled Senate, President Donald Trump could still veto it.
“And that would be the right thing to do, no matter what the backlash,” Polumbo wrote. “From my vantage point as a gay conservative, I can see that the Equality Act goes too far for any level-headed gay rights advocate to support, and its blatant disregard for the basic right to religious freedom is appalling.”
“The bill purports to protect LGBT Americans like me by prohibiting discrimination ‘based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system,'” he continues.
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“On the surface, this sounds unobjectionable – after all, no one deserves to face discrimination. Yet the bill defined ‘public accommodations’ so loosely and called for regulations so sweeping that it would crush religious freedom and radically reshape American society,” Polumbo noted.
In an interview with CBN News, the editor of the website Young Voices says he thinks it’s true the mainstream LGBTQ activist community, which skews progressive, is fully behind the Equality Act.
“But a lot of more level-headed gay rights activists like myself recognize that a bill that erases the rights of religious liberty of conservative and religious Americans is not what tolerance and equality actually looks like,” Polumbo said.
Instead of a measure like the Equality Act, Polumbo is proposing a “Fairness for All” approach, which aims to protect the civil rights of LGBTQ people, but would also protect those who hold a traditional belief of sexuality.
‘This approach was put out by the Council on Religious Freedom,” he explained. “The point of it is to fill gaps in existing law, which would strengthen anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and for gender.”
“I think you can have a law, you can have an approach that bolsters anti-discrimination laws, but doesn’t trample over the rights of religious Americans,” Polumbo said.
The USA Today contributor also noted the “Fairness for All” approach doesn’t have a lot of momentum.
“Eighty percent of people in the LGBT community have fallen under this progressive sway, where they’re not really pursuing tolerance. Because tolerance is a two-way street. But they are pursuing it as ‘it’s our turn now.’ They’re looking to impose their views, their outcome on to others. And ultimately, I think that’s going to be self-defeating,” Polumbo said.
