Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) said Monday he would be the only Democrat in the Senate to oppose a nondiscrimination bill meant to expand federal protections for LGBTQ people. “I strongly support equality for all people and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. No one should be afraid of losing their job or losing their housing because of their sexual orientation,” Manchin said in a statement on Monday. But after speaking with local officials in his home state, the senator said he was “not convinced that the Equality Act as written provides sufficient guidance to the local officials who will be responsible for implementing it, particularly with respect to students transitioning between genders in public schools.”He added: “I will continue working with the sponsors of the bill to build broad bipartisan support and find a viable path forward for these critical protections so that I can vote in support of this bill.”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduced the Equality Act last week as a means to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The proposal would “explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in education, employment, housing, credit, federal jury service, public accommodations and the use of federal funds.”Politico noted that the House is expected to consider the legislation later this year, although it’s unclear if it would have enough support in the Senate, which is currently controlled by Republicans.

Source: Huffington Post March 19, 2019 03:56 UTC