Eighty groups called on House Republicans to cancel a hearing held today to debate an anti-LGBT measure, which was particularly offensive and hurtful on the one-month anniversary of the tragic Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando. Despite the fact that this mass shooting targeted LGBT people in Congressman John Mica’s backyard, he shockingly remained silent and allowed this bill to move forward for debate.
It’s clear that this anti-LGBT legislation, that Mica supports, is a priority over grieving members of the LGBT community in Orlando and across the country.
“Yet again, John Mica is choosing extreme, Trump-like policies over the critical needs of the people in his district after one of its greatest tragedies. To debate anti-LGBT legislation one month after the horrific tragedy in his backyard at Pulse Night Club makes John Mica a coward and is a slap in the face to Orlando community,” said Jermaine House of DCCC. “John Mica’s silence is further proof of just how out of touch he is with the diverse communities in Orlando, and his unwillingness to stand up for what’s right.”
BACKGROUND
House Oversight And Government Reform Committee Considering First Amendment Defense Act On One Month Anniversary Of Orlando Shooting. “One month ago on Tuesday, a gunman shot and killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. House Republicans plan to mark this milestone with a hearing on a bill that would enable widespread discrimination against LGBT people. The legislation, ironically named the ‘First Amendment Defense Act’ (FADA) rests on the idea that discrimination should be excused when it is justified by religion.” [Think Progress, 7/11/16]
John Mica Co-Sponsored First Amendment Defense Act. [HR 2802]
FADA Allows Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation. “Executive Order 11,246 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. However, under FADA, the federal government would be required to continue to contract with a business with a record of discriminatory employment practices against married gays and lesbians if that employer cited their belief that same-sex marriage was wrong as the reason for the discrimination.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Could Allow Hospitals Accepting Medicare/Medicaid To Deny Visitation Of Patients With Same-Sex Patients. “Currently, hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid must allow a patient to have any visitor they request—including a same-sex spouse. Under FADA, a hospital could state that allowing such visits would sanction same-sex marriage and would be a violation of their religious liberty.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Could Allow Discrimination In HUD Grants And Could Put Same-Sex Couples On Street. “The Department of Housing and Urban Development has also recently issued guidance that shelters receiving HUD grants must not discriminate against same-sex married couples. An organization could cite FADA and provide their religious conviction against same-sex marriage as a reason to put a same-sex couple back on the street.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Could Allow Commercial Landlords To Violate Fair Housing Laws To Refuse Housing To Same Sex Couples. “Despite protections in the Fair Housing Act and strong administrative guidance from HUD, commercial landlords could be empowered to violate fair housing laws by refusing housing to a single mother or same-sex couple based on religious belief that sexual relations are reserved to different-sex married couples.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Could Allow Emergency Shelters Receiving VAWA Funds To Turn Away Same-Sex Couples. “The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides explicit protections from discrimination against LGBTQ beneficiaries. However, under FADA, an emergency shelter receiving VAWA funds to provide services for survivors of intimate partner violence could turn away someone in a same-sex marriage because of their personal religious belief.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Allows Denial Of FMLA Leave For Same-Sex Couples. “The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act grants a statutory right to 12 weeks of leave for personal illness or caregiving – including caring for a spouse. The Department of Labor has issued clear administrative guidance that these rights extend to same-sex married couples. However, under FADA, closely held businesses or not-for-profit organizations would be allowed to discriminate by refusing to let an employee care for their sick same-sex spouse despite these clear federal protections.” [Human Rights Campaign, 7/09/16]
FADA Dictates That “Sexual Relations Are Properly Reserved To” The Confines Of Heterosexual Marriage. “The bill commands courts to interpret the bill broadly and to avoid ‘narrow construction.’ It overrides any legitimate nondiscrimination protections that came before it. And its text is quite sweeping, protecting people (and businesses) who believe ‘sexual relations are properly reserved to’ a heterosexual marriage. That language was probably designed to legalize discrimination against gay people, married or not. (Under the act, a contractor could fire a gay person for having had gay sex at some time or another.) But by its plain text, the First Amendment Defense Act’s secondary effect is clear: It would wipe out all federal protections for single mothers.” [Slate, 7/23/15]