On November 21, 2020, WHRC USA released the Equality for All Act (EFAA), a bill that would provide protection to all Americans on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and nonconformity to sex-based stereotypes. It would also serve as a replacement for the regressive and incoherent “Equality Act”, introduced by Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Far from protecting nonconformity to sex-based stereotypes, the Equality Act would introduce such stereotypes into law, making “gender-related appearance [or] mannerisms” (the provided definition of “gender identity”) the legal equivalent of sex — and in cases of conflict, the replacement for sex.
The EFAA includes an extensive list of findings, including the occurrence of discrimination against women on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth, discrimination against lesbians, gay men, and bisexual women and men in securing access to public accommodations, as well as well-documented economic disadvantage to women, gay and bisexual men, and women and men who do not conform to sex-based stereotypes. It goes on to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and United States Code in relation to juries, to include protection on the basis of the three aforementioned categories.
Lawmaker’s Reactions to the EFAA
U.S. signatories to the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights began meeting with Congressional staff in January 2021 with the goal of having our bill introduced to Congress in this, the 117th session. I was one of a group of four signatories to meet with a legislative correspondent for Senator Robert Casey (D-PA). We explained all the ways in which the EFAA was a stronger, better bill than the Equality Act, emphasizing the importance of avoiding any wording that would allow men to “identify” as women for the purpose of entry into locker rooms, restrooms, changing rooms, domestic violence shelters, and prisons. We also explained the unfairness of allowing men and boys to participate in women’s and girls’ sports, something the Equality Act would require and which the EFAA would not.
The legislative correspondent, a young woman, was frank about Senator Casey’s position. He believes that some men (whom he calls “transwomen”) are women, which makes clear, to me as a constituent, that science denialism is no respecter of political party.
Signatories also had meetings with the offices of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR and author of the Equality Act), as well as the offices of Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Senator Susan Collins (R-MA), and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). In addition to meeting with the offices of both Senators, Virginia signatories met with the offices of Representatives Donald McEachin, Elaine Luria, Bobby Scott, and Ben Cline. North Carolina signatories also met with Representative David Price.
Of her experience meeting with staffers of Senator Tillis and Representative Price, signatory Jennifer Jones says, “Even if we don’t convince them, we still plant a seed and at least draw their attention to the fact that so many of us are horrified by what’s going on.” She and other North Carolina signatories have learned that engaging in open dialogue is the best way to communicate with Congressional staff, a sentiment echoed by signatories in other states.
Signatory Lauren Levey, who met with the office of Senator Schumer, presented his staffer with a simple request: “Don’t make a lie into a law.” Senator Schumer has made no promise to desist from that pursuit, but his staffer, a woman, did urge Levey and other signatories to keep her updated with additional facts and events as they develop.
The Future of the EFAA
So far, no Senator or Representative has been willing to introduce the EFAA, though there may be renewed hope as a wave of support for sex-based rights continues to sweep across the United States. In 2021, 32 states have introduced bills to maintain sex-based categories for women’s and girls’ sports, and the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia have signed these bills into law, with additional governors poised to sign even as I write. Despite unprecedented opposition to women’s sex-based rights from the federal executive branch, and from some portions of the U.S. Congress, the picture on a state level is one of legislators responding to calls for sanity and for reaffirmation of Title IX, which guarantees fair access to sports for all women and girls in institutions receiving federal funding. It may not be too much to hope that Congress will soon heed the same call if we keep our voices strong, and especially if the “Equality Act” lacks the votes to survive a filibuster.
This issue is in no way restricted to sports, and affects women and girls in all areas of civil rights law and in a wide variety of settings in which single-sex spaces are necessary for privacy and safety. The Equality for All Act would provide needed protections without eliminating women’s shelters, housing male criminals in women’s prisons, or requiring that men be allowed to enter showers and changing areas with women and girls.
To read the Declaration and become a signatory click here.
*Please note that the Women’s Human Rights Campaign USA (WHRC-USA) is now officially known as Women’s Declaration International USA (WDI-USA)
