GOP former members of Congress urge lawmakers to pass federal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination legislation

Story at a glance

• Eleven Republican former members of Congress on Tuesday in a letter to current House and Senate leaders called for action on federal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections.

• Hundreds of bills that target the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans have been introduced in state legislatures this year.

• Former Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) told Changing America that Republicans supporting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation represent a vocal minority within the party.

Eleven Republican former members of Congress have called for the immediate passage of federal LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections in a letter sent Tuesday to House and Senate leadership, responding to a tidal wave of state bills introduced this year that target the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.

“Without a doubt, bipartisan passage of federal legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans will help Congress meet the demands of this moment,” the former Congresspeople wrote in the letter addressed to Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D) and Kevin McCarthy (R) and Sens. Chuck Schumer (D) and Mitch McConnell (R).

In just the first six months of the year, hundreds of bills seeking to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender and nonbinary youth, have been introduced in state legislatures nationwide. Several have already become law.

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law a measure that prevents public school educators from addressing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, telling parents during a signing ceremony that the “gender-bread man” had invaded Florida schools to promote “woke gender ideology” and “indoctrinate” children.

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In Alabama, a first-of-its-kind felony ban on gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary minors took effect in early May. A federal judge partially blocked its enforcement soon after, but school officials under the law are still required to inform parents if their children come out as transgender.

Ten states this year have passed laws barring transgender athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. More than a dozen other states are looking to follow.

“There’s never been a more urgent, more critical time for Congress to act,” former Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of the letter’s signatories and chair of the group Conservatives Against Discrimination, told Changing America. In the absence of federal legislation, LGBTQ+ Americans are unfairly existing under a “patchwork” of state-by-state protections, she said, and rights that are guaranteed in one state are unprotected in another.

“That’s why you need federal bipartisan protections, like those that are guaranteed under the Equality Act,” Ros-Lehtinen said, referring to the federal nondiscrimination law passed last year by the House of Representatives. The measure remains stalled in the Senate, where its fate is still uncertain.

The letter to Congress does not mention any specific piece of legislation, but urges lawmakers to come together to pass legislation that protects all Americans from discrimination “no matter their gender identity or who they love.”

“As we know, it’s hard to get something to pass,” Ros-Lehtinen said, “but what a great opportunity for Republicans to come to the table and advocate for what is really a conservative value: freedom for all. That’s a bedrock principle of the Republican party.”

Ros-Lehtinen, along with fellow signatories Reps. Chris Shays (R-CT) and Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), had at one time supported anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, voting in 1996 to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal purposes as a union between one man and one woman. Two decades later, she co-sponsored legislation to repeal it.

Last year, her son, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen – a transgender man – was selected to lead the National Center for Transgender Equality, a nonprofit advocating on behalf of transgender Americans.

Ros-Lehtinen told Changing America that the Republican party is much more accepting than a vocal minority is making it out to be, and she has “a lot of faith in our GOP.”

“It seems that there’s a lot of Republicans who have these views that seem a little extreme, but I don’t think that’s an accurate picture,” she said. “For every naysayer, there’s someone who’s espousing a more inclusive, more positive message in our political party. Hope is not lost.”

Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN), Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Bob Dold (R-IL), Jim Greenwood (R-PA) Steve Gunderson (R-WI) and Claudine Schneider (R-RI) also signed the letter to Congress.

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