[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE EQUALITY ACT

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, today, my colleague Congressman David 
Cicilline, an unparalleled champion for LGBT rights, introduced the 
Equality Act. I rise today as a proud cosponsor in support of this 
bill.
  Recent gains, from public opinion to the Supreme Court, have 
undoubtedly accelerated our ongoing civil rights march, but real 
justice will be served in this country when the LGBT community is 
guaranteed--not just legal equality, but lived equality.
  The ability to experience everyday life without fear of 
discrimination is something most of us take for granted. Walking into a 
gas station without worrying about being denied service because of your 
gender identity, heading into a movie theater without fear of being 
turned away because of the hand you held when you walked in, that 
threat of judgment, rejection, and prejudice is injustice in its purest 
form.
  Today, through the Equality Act, we can help root out the dangerous 
intolerance that continues to define too many American lives. I urge 
all of my colleagues to join this fight, cosponsor this bill, and get 
it signed into law.

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