PEORIA, Ill. — Representative Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Tuesday night joined members of Equality Illinois and Peoria Proud via Zoom for the Peoria LGBTQ Town Hall to discuss the Equality Act, as well as voting rights legislation.
The Equality Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives in February, would guarantee the LGBTQ community full protection under Civil Rights law, said Bustos.
The Act aims to prohibit discrimination against individuals on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also extend discrimination protections for things like employment, housing, education and credit, according to Bustos.
She also added if the bill were to pass, it would nullify the state laws regarding transgender rights.
Bustos said she was proud to vote for the Equality Act because she believes every Illinoisan deserves fairness under the law.
“Nobody should be fired from their job, evicted from their home, should be treated any differently than anybody else because of who they love,” said Bustos. “The Equality Act would actually strengthen protections all around the nation.”
Bustos stressed the importance of the protections the bill would provide, particularly regarding gender identity. She referred to the recent transgender legislation passed in states like Arkansas as “horrific.”
Despite its passing in the House, Bustos acknowledged there is still plenty of work to be done with the Equality Act.
The bill still must also pass in the Senate, where it first failed in 2019. With the filibuster still in place, the bill will have a very difficult time passing, said Bustos.
Later in the town hall, Bustos addressed voting rights.
“These voting rights are so incredibly important because we’ve got to elect the right people,” said Bustos. “You think about what you’re most passionate about, right?
“You want to elect people that are passionate about what you’re passionate about.”
Bustos said she is a proud supporter of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which are legislation concerning voting rights.
The For the People Act aims to require all political donations to have names attached to them, prioritizes small dollar donations and requires all presidential candidates to release their income tax returns, among other things, according to Bustos.
“If we pass that [the For the People Act] out of the Senate, signed into law, all of these terrible bills that are being considered in states all over the country to suppress voting rights, this would supersede all of those,” said Bustos.
Bustos specifically mentioned the state of Georgia’s ban on passing out water to individuals waiting in line to vote.
“I really think that everybody ought to go down to Georgia with the goal of trying to get arrested by passing out water and food to people waiting in line,” added Bustos. “I’ve never been arrested in my life, but I think it would be worth doing that.”
Bustos said her focus going forward is getting all she can done in the next two years before the next midterm elections.
“Right now, I want to do everything we can…to get the Equality Act passed all the way through the Senate, signed into law by Joe Biden, same thing with the voting rights act, all of that” said Bustos. “I think it’s critically important.
“The status quo is not going to be enough,” said Bustos.
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