Released on February 26, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Our democracy is broken.  The corruption of money in politics and the scourge of voter suppression have brought our system of “one person, one vote” to the breaking point. Democrats in Congress have introduced a comprehensive democracy reform package, H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and the first order of business in the new Congress is to pass this vital legislation. 

H.R. 1 clears many of the obstacles that have been deliberately placed in the path of voters, particularly voters of color.  It will implement automatic voter registration nationwide, expand access to early voting and vote by mail, and restore voting rights to Americans with past criminal convictions. 

The bill will also ban discriminatory manipulation of voting district boundaries that would favor one party over another and take other steps to make congressional redistricting more open and fair.  And it will establish a small donor public financing system for federal elections to empower more diverse, grassroots-based candidates and give all Americans the ability to change the face of politics.  

For far too long our democratic system has placed disproportionate power over our government into the hands of the privileged, who then end up determining so many facets of our lives, from education to employment to health care. 

NOW urges Congress to listen to the voters who turned out in record numbers in 2020 to demand their democracy back. It’s clear we need transformative reform to fix our broken system. H.R. 1 will take a giant step toward a future where we all have equal power to create our government through elections – a government for the people and free of systems of racism, sexism, and oppression. 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

Released on February 23, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  This week’s anticipated vote on the Equality Act brings the federal government one step closer to codifying something that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe is long overdue.  Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people in employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs and jury service must be against the law. Until all of us are equal, none of us are equal. 

From Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg making history as the first openly gay Cabinet member to the nomination of Rachel Levine for assistant secretary of health, who if confirmed would become the first openly transgender federal official – this administration is demonstrating the value of the LGBTQIA+ community by placing them in some of the highest roles in government.  

It’s time for Congress to step up to the plate by passing the Equality Act. 

 Polls show support for the Equality Act at more than 70 percent, but after passing the House in 2019, it stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.  Now, with Democrats in the majority, and the tie-breaking vote cast by Kamala Harris, who co-sponsored the bill for years, we expect a different outcome. 

The Equality Act will fix a broken patchwork of current laws that haphazardly protects some people from some discrimination in some places—leaving millions of LGBTQIA+ people without protection, essential services, and access to justice.

In 29 states, Americans can still be evicted from their homes, denied service in a restaurant or a wedding cake in a bakery, or be turned down for a loan because of their gender identity.  And a future administration could refuse to apply existing civil rights law to the wide range of areas where discrimination occurs, including education, housing, and health care.   

NOW calls on Republicans to join House Democrats in voting for the Equality Act, and for a similar bipartisan majority to rise up in the Senate.  We must repair the flaw in our legal system that perpetuates discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.  Pass the Equality Act—NOW.

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

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