Equality Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5, the Equality Act.

I chair the Education and Labor Committee's Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, and in our hearing on this important bill, we heard powerful testimony from Kimberly, the mother of Kai, an 8-year- old transgender girl. Kimberly is an evangelical minister from rural Texas. Her family and Kai's school were not supportive, and, in fact, school administrators made derogatory comments about Kai.

Kimberly testified that, regretfully, she gave into pressure and attempted home conversion therapy on Kai when Kai was only 4 years old. One day she found Kai praying for Jesus to take her home to be with Him forever.

Let me say that another way: A 4-year-old was suicidal.

Kimberly is now today a fierce advocate for her daughter's rights and the rights of all transgender kids to go to school in a safe and supportive environment. This bill will secure that right for all the kids like Kai around the country and will secure the right to be free from discrimination for millions of LGBTQ people in our country.

I want to close with the words from Federal Judge Michael McShane, and his marriage equality opinion. He wrote: ``Many suggest we are going down a slippery slope that will have no moral boundaries. To those who truly harbor such fears, I can only say this: Let us look less to the sky to see what might fall; rather, let us look to each other and rise.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source