Nancy Pelosi Vows Action on LGBT Issues if Democrats Retake the House

With the midterm elections less than a week away, Nancy Pelosi is making big promises to the LGBT community about the Democratic agenda if they retake the House of Representatives. 

Pelosi recently told the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard that the Equality Act will be one of her top priorities. The Equality Act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which already includes race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The law also bans gender discrimination in shops, healthcare, loans, housing, and jury discrimination.

The most controversial aspect of the bill prevents employers and retailers from withholding services based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. RFRA, introduced by late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, approved by all but three Senators, and signed by President Bill Clinton, protected religious Americans from government intrusion into their religious practices. 

A recent spate of Supreme Court cases protected not only individuals but also businesses. This summer the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop after they were fined for not baking a cake for a same-sex wedding. The court found that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was hostile to the owner’s religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby won a victory before the court in 2014 it ruled they…