May 10, 2019
Washington, D.C.
Signatures updated: 5/15/19
Conservatives are united in strong opposition to both the Equality Act and the Fairness for All Act. The titles of these bills belie their consequences, which will undermine parental rights, and the pro-life and conscience rights of medical professionals, make environments inherently unfair, unequal, and unsafe for women and curtail religious freedom for both religious organizations and people of faith.
The Equality Act will elevate transgender theory and “gender-affirming” care to the level of a civil right. Counselors will be prohibited from helping gender-dysphoric children become comfortable with their own bodies. Medical professionals will be vulnerable to lawsuits if they decline to perform hormonal or medical procedures on patients who identify as transgender. In public schools, curriculum could teach children that their sex is not a biological reality, but subjectively self-perceived. Ultimately, parents’ rights to educate their own children and seek the best medical treatment for them would be undermined. In Ohio, a judge terminated a couple’s custody of their 17-year daughter when they disagreed with the recommendations of a gender clinic and county agency that she take testosterone injections.
Despite its title, the Equality Act actually undermines the rights of women and girls, forcing them to share private facilities with anyone claiming to “identify” as a woman. It also diminishes the ability of women to, quite literally, compete on an equal playing field. Males who identify as women are already beginning to dominate women’s sports and strip female athletes of the opportunity to fairly compete for medals and scholarships. This will only increase as colleges, universities, and franchise sports teams begin to prioritize men identifying women above biological women.
The Equality Act explicitly nullifies the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a defense to a claim under any portion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This exacerbates already troubling trends which are silencing people of faith and limiting the autonomy of religious organizations. The ability of churches, synagogues, and mosques to employ people according to their religious beliefs will be severely limited. Even without the law, religious institutions and individuals have come under sustained fire for living out their religious beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman and that we are born male and female. Under the Equality Act, individuals and institutions could see increased lawsuits for failing to affirm same-sex marriage (in foster care and adoption),make single-sex private facilities co-ed, and use preferred pronouns for individuals who identify as transgender.
Language within the Equality Act could also have the effect of jeopardizing longstanding conscience protection laws. Specifically, the law’s public accommodation language could require health care providers to perform abortions over their religious objections. Pro-life groups are also concerned that the language could impact federal policy which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion.
Though the Fairness for All Act attempts to square this circle by providing exclusions for religious institutions, it is an unsuitable substitute, and at best, would amount to only a temporary delay to full enactment of the Equality Act.
We urge conservatives to reject the Equality Act when it comes to a vote in the House of Representatives, and further oppose the Fairness for All Act as an appropriate alternative.
| The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) |
Alfred S. Regnery Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund |
| Tom McClusky President March for Life Action |
Penny Y. Nance President & CEO Concerned Women for America |
| The Honorable Colin A. Hanna President Let Freedom Ring, Inc. |
Jenny Beth Martin Chairman Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund |
| The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Chief Domestic Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988) |
Diana Banister President and Partner Shirley & Banister Public Affairs |
| Jessica Anderson Vice President Heritage Action for America |
The Honorable Jim DeMint Member, South Carolina United States Senate (2005-2013) |
| Rachel Bovard Policy Director Senate Steering Committee (2014-2015) |
Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project Executive Director, Senate Steering Committee (2003-2012) |
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman Constitutional Congress, Inc. |
Thomas Fitton President Judicial Watch, Inc. |
| Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Partner Foley & Lardner LLP |
The Honorable Tony Perkins President, Family Research Council President, Council for National Policy |
| The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
Myron Ebell Director, Center for Energy and Environment Competitive Enterprise Institute |
| William L. Walton Chairman CNP Action, Inc. |
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
| David Bozell President ForAmerica |
Michael P. Farris, J.D., LL.M. President, CEO, and General Counsel Alliance Defending Freedom |
| Karen England Executive Director Capitol Resource Institute & Nevada Family Alliance |
Kristan Hawkins President Students for Life of America & Students for Life Action |
| Ellen F. Grigsby Director of Institutional Partnerships Open Doors USA |
Rebecca Hagelin Secretary Council for National Policy |
| L. Brent Bozell, III Founder and President Media Research Center |
The Honorable Donald P. Hodel Sec. of Energy & Sec. of Interior President Ronald Reagan |
| Susan A. Carleson Chairman/CEO American Civil Rights Union |
The Honorable James C. Miller III Budget Director President Ronald Reagan |
| Penna Dexter Co-host Point of View Radio |
Joan Holt Lindsey President Lindsey Communications |
| Elaine Donnelly President Center for Military Readiness |
Anne Schlafly Cori Chairman Eagle Forum |
| James C. Dobson Ph.D. Founder & President Dr. James Dobson Family Institute |
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
| Rod D. Martin Founder and CEO The Martin Organization, Inc. |
Sherri R. Martin Executive Vice President The Martin Organization, Inc. |
| Haley E. Martin President The Martin Foundation |
Nicholas Stehle Campaign for the American Future |
| Shawn A. Mitchell Former National Chaplain National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) |
Jerry Melvin Former Dean Florida House of Representatives |
| Norm Singleton President Campaign for Liberty |
Ralph Benko, Esq. Political Columnist |
| Kelly Shackelford President/CEO First Liberty Institute |
Tim Wildmon President American Family Association |
| Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund |
Paavo Ensio Chairman Universal Minerals Group |
| Richard Wright CEO AAndrews Consulting |
Bill Shaker CEO Washington Marketing Group |
| James L. Martin Founder/Chairman 60 Plus Association |
Dr. Jerome R. Corsi Founder and CEO CorsiNation.com |
| Willes K. Lee President National Federation of Republican Assemblies |
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis President 60 Plus Association |
| Rick Manning President Americans for Limited Government |
E.C. Sykes General Partner Aslan Ventures |
| The Honorable George K. Rasley, Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com |
Benjamin R. Case CEO Focused On Fundraising |
| Jenna Ellis Constitutional Law Attorney |
Rebekah Gantner Executive Director Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund |
| Floyd Brown Chairman America Fighting Back PAC |
Gary Allan Marx President Madison Strategies |
| Ed Martin President Phyllis Schlafly Eagles |
Sean Noble President American Encore |
| Allen Hebert Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
Tom Giovanetti President Institute for Policy Innovation |
| Jack Park Conservative Activist and Donor |
Richard D. Hayes Partner Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP |
| Randy M. Long Founder Long Business Advisors , LLC |
Andresen Blom President Hawaiian Values |
| John F. Tate President America’s Liberty PAC |
Kay R. Daly President Coalition for a Fair Judiciary |
| Bailey Amaral Director The Windrose Project |
Charlie Copeland President Intercollegiate Studies Institute |
| Brian S. Brown President National Organization for Marriage |
Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation |
| Dr. Frank Wright President & CEO D. James Kennedy Ministries |
William W. Pascoe, III Board Member Tea Party Patriots Action |
| C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. |
Mark Fitzgibbons President of Corporate Affairs American Target Advertising |
| The Honorable Tom DeLay Former Majority Leader U.S. House of Representatives |
The Honorable Terrence Scanlon Retired Chairman and CEO Capital Research Center |
| Amapola Hansberger President Legal Immigrants for America |
Dr. Richard Rounsavelle Trustee Media Research Center |
| Sal Russo Co-Founder and Chief Strategist Tea Party Express |
Mario Navarro da Costa Director, Washington Bureau Tradition, Family, Property |
| Nancy Schulze Founder & President Women Impacting America |
Barry Meguiar President ROTW/Ignite America |
| Steve Berger Pastor Grace Chapel |
The Honorable Mike Hill Representative Florida State House |
| Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute |
Joel Chernoff General Secretary and CEO Messianic Jewish Alliance of America |
| The Honorable Gerard Kassar State Chairman NYS Conservative Party |
Tim Macy Chairman Gun Owners of America |
| Christie Glesener President/Founder Shofar International Foundation |
Jonathan M. Alexandre, Esq. Senior Counsel for Governmental Affairs Liberty Counsel |
| Jeff Hunt Director Centennial Institute |
Sandy Rios Director of Governmental Affairs AFA |
| Melissa Ortiz | Stella Morabito Author |
| Terry Schilling Executive Director American Principles Project |
William P. Mills III Commercial Real Estate |
| Dean Nelson Chairman Frederick Douglass Foundation |
(All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only)
