Actress Jane Lynch has become the latest high-profile person to release a video urging Congress to pass the Equality Act, as part of the ongoing “Americans for the Equality Act” series.
Filmed by award-winning directors Dustin Lance Black and Paris Barclay, the series is part of a public awareness campaign launched by the Human Rights Campaign to explain the benefits of the LGBTQ rights measure and urge Americans to apply pressure to their elected representatives to ensure it passes.
Black, in addition to directing the series, filmed his own video advocating for the act as well.
In her video, Lynch recounts her coming out process and speaks about how important it is to pass the Equality Act to ensure future generations don’t have to fear discrimination for living authentically as themselves.
“We live in a democracy, and we were founded on the notion that every man has the right to pursue happiness. And I know, growing up, that’s why it was my deep, dark secret, being gay, is because I knew that I probably wouldn’t get the support I was enjoying pretending to be straight,” Lynch says.
“Right now, kids all over the country are living with the fear of their identification, knowing that, if it were exposed, they could be denied a job, they could be denied housing, they could be fired, they could lose their children,” she adds. “And I just don’t want kids feeling like they have to hide who they are, who they were born as. And that’s why we need to pass the Equality Act right now.”
Currently, about half of all LGBTQ Americans live in one of 30 states without statewide legal nondiscrimination protections.
The Equality Act would amend the federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally-funded programs and jury service.
The “Americans for the Equality Act” series is planning to release additional videos in the coming weeks featuring twin actors Charlie and Max Carver, director Paris Barclay and his husband, Christopher, and model, actor, and deaf activist Nyle DiMarco.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Equality Act on Friday, May 17.
Advocates will continue lobbying on behalf of the bill when it hits the U.S. Senate, even though it is unlikely that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will allow a vote on it.
Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, thanked Lynch for taking part in the campaign.
“Jane Lynch is a trailblazing actress whose visibility, authenticity, and advocacy is giving hope to millions,” Griffin said in a statement. “Jane is a committed champion for our community who uses her global platform to educate, advocate, and to inspire us to take action. … It’s past time for Congress to take action and pass legislation providing clear, comprehensive nationwide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), an out lesbian who entered Congress after flipping a Republican-held district in 2018, has lost her bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Craig, 54, was widely considered the more moderate candidate in the race against Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, 46.
Flanagan, who won the primary by nearly 20 points, positioned herself as the progressive candidate at a time when much of the Democratic Party's energy and enthusiasm is coming from its left wing. She earned endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith -- who is retiring from the seat -- as well as Minneapolis-area Rep. Ilhan Omar.
An employee at a wastewater treatment plant in suburban Buffalo has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he was discriminated against because he is gay.
Timothy Burns, who has worked full time at Grand Island's wastewater treatment plant since 2011, claims the harassment and discriminatory treatment began in 2020, according to Buffalo CBS affiliate WIVB.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman cursed at a constituent and walked out of a meeting with party activists after transgender attendees challenged his vote for a Republican-backed "forced outing" bill.
The confrontation occurred on August 11 in King George County, a heavily Republican locality at the eastern end of Vindman's 7th Congressional District that overwhelmingly favored President Donald Trump in 2024.
Vindman, a swing-district Democrat, attended the King George Democratic Committee meeting to rally party loyalists behind his reelection bid. After discussing Trump, affordability, and the midterm elections, he took questions from the audience.
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