Local advocates for the LGBTQ community are questioning Congressman Fred Upton’s vote on the Equality Act, which passed the House last month. The OutCenter’s Mary Jo Schnell tells WSJM News the act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans in the public and private sectors.
“So, non-discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, you name it, and we were really excited that it did pass, 236 for and 172 against,” Schnell said.
Schnell says Upton curiously voted no, even though he responded to a question from the center in 2016, writing he was “one of only 43 Republicans to support the Kelly Amendment which denies discrimination in the workplace to the LGBT community.”
“Right now, it’s kind of what he says versus what he does, and it’s just such a disappointment and impact for us.”
Schnell says she’s “so very heart sick to realize he didn’t mean what he said in 2016.” The Equality Act passed the House with mostly Democratic backing, although eight Republicans supported it. Upton was not one of them.
