Reply I Got From US Senator Regarding My Concerns About The Negative Impact of The US "Equality Act" On Girls' & Women's Rights Coz The "Gender Identity" It Enshrines As A Protected Characteristic In Anti-Discrimination Law Conflicts With & Supplants Sex

submitted by MarkTwainiac from (self.GenderCritical)

Tellingly, and not unexpectedly, the response from this Senator fails to address - or even acknowledge - the concerns I raised about the conflicts between the rights of girls and women in the USA for female sports, spaces and services and the new "rights" that the EA gives boys and men to use "gender identity" claims to access/take over female sports, spaces and services for themselves.

Dear Ms Twainiac,

Thank you for your message regarding the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals and the Equality Act. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this landmark legislation and appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

All Americans, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, must be treated equally under the law. I am committed to advocating for increased protections for LGBTQ+ individuals and strongly believe it is also important to clarify and enforce existing law that protects the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.

On June 15, 2020, in a landmark victory for justice and equality, the Supreme Court ruled employers cannot unfairly fire or otherwise discriminate against LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace. While we must celebrate this victory, we cannot become complacent. Current gaps within our laws still leave many people subject to discrimination in other areas with little to no recourse. Discriminatory practices that strip away the basic civil rights of LGBTQ+ individuals threaten the core values of our nation.

That is exactly why the Equality Act is so critical. It would build on this historic Supreme Court decision and others, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which affirmed marriage equality is a human right and all Americans have the freedom to marry who they love, by making it explicitly clear all federal discrimination laws protect people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. To that end, the Equality Act would amend various federal civil rights protections to include LGBTQ+ individuals and prohibit discrimination in the areas of public accommodations, federal funding, education, employment, housing, credit, and jury service.

On February 25, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act by a vote of 224 to 206. The Senate must now do the same. We continue to witness threats to LGBTQ+ rights and we must take action now to make it clear to everyone that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination is illegal everywhere in the United States of America.

Thank you again for your message. I will keep your thoughts on this issue in mind. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any additional questions or concerns that you may have.

Sincerely,

[One of the Men Sponsoring the Equality Act] United States Senate

all 12 comments
sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun

[–]BEB 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

If you have the time would call the Senator's office and go over the points in your letter.

When I actually get a congressional staffer on the phone at the US Capitol, I often end up having long conversations. Some staff have asked questions; many have thanked me for opening their eyes.

Anyone who has time, call the leaders and the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Equality Act ASAP, especially the GOP.

Here is some information on how the Equality Act affects women:

https://usequalityact-women.com/

[–]Baileyscheesecakes 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Could this be a form letter reply? The response I got from my Rep is similar in that it didn't address my concerns at all. It just stated his philosophy (religious freedom). I found it off-putting. Fortunately, the Rep voted against the Equality Act.

[–]MarkTwainiac[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Yes, I think it's definitely a form letter. My guess is, it's not from this individual senator's office. I imagine it's boiler plate from a central Democratic Party communications office that all the Dems in the House and the Senate are using.

Funny thing is, in the 1980s one of my "specialties" was teaching/advising organizations how to write a form letter that could serve as a response to a wide range of complaints about a particular topic that nevertheless wouldn't sound like a bunch of blather that came out of a can. There was a real need for this after offices back then first became computerized and "mail merge" and other software made it possible for the first time ever to put individual addresses and salutations on form letters (and to simultaneously print out corresponding envelopes).

One of the main points of how to write form letters that didn't sound like canned BS was that you had to repeat back to the people who had written in the first place what their own original complaints were. Even if you weren't going to do as the letter writers wished, you had to acknowledge in your letter back to them what they said and make them think you understood their POV and could see that they had a point. This isn't really hard to do - but it does mean you have to start out actually reading all the mail your office/org gets, keep a log/count of what the various complaints are, see what the major complaints/beefs are, and consider and look into whether any of the specific complaints/points have any merit.

Nowadays the Dems aren't even trying to do this. They just regurgitate what they believe and how great they and their bills are. They don't seem to have any clue any more that they are supposed to represent the voters/populace. They're in government for themselves, for the rest of the establishment elites, and for the lobbyists who wine, dine & fund them.

[–]whateverneverpine 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

No, they may not be representing voters/populace on THIS issue, but they did just pass hugely popular legislation designed to help those in need. Too much of an overgeneralization to say it's all about elites and lobbyists.

[–]one1won 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I recieved the same (religious freedom) responses from both my Senators and my Rep. Infuriating. Left me with the impression the impact on women wasn't even on the radar!

However, today, one senator publicly stood in defense of girls and women, including incarcerated women, as one of my 2 emails to him mentioned.

Why written responses to constituents are so canned, is beyond me.

[–]our_team_is_winning 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

These politicians don't even know what these terms mean. They don't. Each one of them should be forced to go on record defining "man" and "woman" for starters. Where is the ONE brave reporter in front of Jen Psaki who will demand "what is the administration's definition of woman?" Let's start there.

But they wouldn't dare.

I want every damn Senator to stand across from "Rachel" Levine and tell us, under oath, is that a man or a woman? And any of them who says "woman" better NEVER use that "follow the science" line on the public again. The whole Senate is dominated by cult members.

[–]BEB 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

When one calls politicians' offices, one gets to ask things like this, "Will the Senator stand up under oath and swear that Rachel Levine is a woman?"

Calls work much better than emails. Really.

Because at the very least you're forcing congressional staffers to think. I almost had an older, female congressional staffer (to one of the sponsors of the Equality Act) in tears when I talked about how the spy cam in my women's locker room made all of the women AND a bunch of babies' and toddlers' bodies into involuntary porn.

[–]DR373737 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

I received something similar when I emailed my rep and senator. I figured making phone calls is the next step but I wish there was a script or something that you could work off of.

[–]BEB 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Here are some talking points, in no particular order.

Also please mention the recent poll by feminist org Women's Liberation Front that found that Americans across 13 states, including Blue states, and across the political spectrum (!!!) overwhelmingly reject gender identity policies (such as policies in the Equality Act).

Please tell congressional staff to find the poll at WomensLiberationFront.org

Talking points:

The Equality Act as written would allow ANY man or any GROUP of men to SELF-IDENTIFY as women and access sex-segregated spaces where women of all ages AND OFTEN CHILDREN, are naked or otherwise vulnerable.

Also jobs that are sex-segregated to protect modesty, privacy and safety would be open to men, such as the job as a TSA screener for women could go to a biological male. Female TSA screeners could also be forced to pat down biological males. Same with female prison guards, etc.

The Equality Act will allow ANY man to self-identify as a woman and compete in women's sports.

The Equality Act as written would amend the legal definition of "sex" to include "gender identity," this would erase women and gay men as distinct and coherent legal categories. It would also throw into limbo the sex-based rights of women and gay men; many of the laws protecting women and gay men are on the basis of sex.

[–]MarkTwainiac[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

BEB, since you are probably the most experienced poster here at phoning lawmakers to present our shared POV, please start a thread/make an OP stating & sharing what you've found to be the most effective "talking points."

I would hate to see your useful experience & talking points get lost at the bottom of another thread.

[–]DR373737 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

That is for this

[–]BEB 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

As MT suggested, I will write out a script today for Americans to use to call their Senators about the Equality Act.