Washington, D.C. — Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) made the following statement regarding the House passage of H.R. 5, the Equality Act:
“Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. In fact, our nation has never been more accepting of people’s uniqueness. H.R. 5, however, is an extreme measure that abandons basic protections for conscience and neglects to protect the health and safety of our children.
H.R. 5 would radically change the definition of “sex” under the law. It would strip away federal civil rights protections designed to ensure women and girls have equal opportunities to men and boys, including in education and sports. This legislation could force houses of worship and religiously affiliated schools, hospitals, non-profits and other entities to go against their beliefs. This is not equality, this is nonsensible.
By any measure, young children are not mature enough to make life-altering health decisions about their gender. In addition, Title IX protections for our girls should not be abandoned, and our fellow Americans should be not forced to violate their deeply held religious beliefs.
Previous attempts to revise the most extreme provisions of this bill have been unilaterally rejected, and this year, the Democrat Majority completely bypassed the Judiciary Committee’s oversight work on this bill in order to rush it to the House Floor. This is the opposite of the consensus-building approach that this kind of legislation truly needs.”
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 50th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and northeastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County; including the communities of Fallbrook, San Marcos, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, El Cajon, Temecula, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
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