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Gay Conservative, Liberal Feminist, and Dr. Dobson Reach Same Conclusion: The Equality Act Is Bad

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Brad Polumbo, a USA Today contributor, appeared on the CBN Newswatch program Monday to talk about the problems with the Equality Act and what it could mean for religious Americans if the bill is passed. 

A gay conservative has written a scathing op-ed against the Equality Act, agreeing with both a liberal feminist and Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson in their assessment of the proposed measure.

Brad Polumbo's op-ed, which appeared in USA Today Monday, reminds readers that the future of the Equality Act is uncertain. Even though the House passed the bill last week, and if it somehow squeezed through the GOP-controlled Senate, President Donald Trump could still veto it. 

"And that would be the right thing to do, no matter what the backlash," Polumbo wrote. "From my vantage point as a gay conservative, I can see that the Equality Act goes too far for any level-headed gay rights advocate to support, and its blatant disregard for the basic right to religious freedom is appalling."

"The bill purports to protect LGBT Americans like me by prohibiting discrimination 'based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system,'" he continues. 

"On the surface, this sounds unobjectionable – after all, no one deserves to face discrimination. Yet the bill defined 'public accommodations' so loosely and called for regulations so sweeping that it would crush religious freedom and radically reshape American society," Polumbo noted. 

In an interview with CBN News, the editor of the website Young Voices says he thinks it's true the mainstream LGBTQ activist community, which skews progressive, is fully behind the Equality Act. 

"But a lot of more level-headed gay rights activists like myself recognize that a bill that erases the rights of religious liberty of conservative and religious Americans is not what tolerance and equality actually looks like," Polumbo said.

Instead of a measure like the Equality Act, Polumbo is proposing a "Fairness for All" approach, which aims to protect the civil rights of LGBTQ people, but would also protect those who hold a traditional belief of sexuality. 

'This approach was put out by the Council on Religious Freedom," he explained. "The point of it is to fill gaps in existing law, which would strengthen anti-discrimination protections for sexual orientation and for gender."

"I think you can have a law, you can have an approach that bolsters anti-discrimination laws, but doesn't trample over the rights of religious Americans," Polumbo said. 

The USA Today contributor also noted the "Fairness for All" approach doesn't have a lot of momentum. 

"Eighty percent of people in the LGBT community have fallen under this progressive sway, where they're not really pursuing tolerance. Because tolerance is a two-way street. But they are pursuing it as 'it's our turn now.'  They're looking to impose their views, their outcome on to others. And ultimately, I think that's going to be self-defeating," Polumbo said. 

As CBN News reported, Democrat, feminist, and LGBTQ activist Kara Dansky also joined conservatives at a rally last week, speaking out against the measure. 

"If the bill is permitted to go through it would redefine the word sex to mean gender identity and that has grave consequences for women and girls," Dansky told CBN News after the rally. "We're gravely concerned about spaces – locker rooms, changing rooms, dormitories; we're concerned about the material consequences of eradicating the category 'female' from the law."

Dr. James Dobson likened the Equality Act to the Dred Scott Decision on slavery in 1857, and the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. He says this bill would have a potential impact like those rulings which are "so evil and so heinous that they stand in infamy decades later." 

"It imposes a thinly veiled death sentence to the First Amendment of the Constitution, and takes away the protections against tyranny handed down to us by our Founding Fathers," Dobson said in a statement. 

"Let me speak candidly and passionately to people of faith throughout these United States of America," he continued. "We must not remain silent as our historic liberties are gutted by Democrats and their friends in the LGBT movement. They will enslave us if they prevail. We must let our voices be heard, first in the US Senate, and then to the world."

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About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of