U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, has a personal stake in the Equality Act that was debated last week. “My beautiful, now 22-year-old child told me last year that they were gender nonconforming,” Jayapal tearfully told her colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
During @HouseJudiciary today, I shared why the #EqualityAct is so personal to me and my family. My child is finally free to be who they are. With that freedom comes a responsibility, for us as legislators, to legislate with love and not fear. pic.twitter.com/VfpiD9aDyY
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) April 2, 2019
The Equality Act would add queer people to federal discrimination laws, and at the hearing, Jayapal emphatically explained the bill’s importance.
“The only thought I wake up with every day is: My child is free,” the congresswoman said, publicly discussing her child’s identity for the first time. “My child is free to be who they are, and in that freedom comes a responsibility for us as legislators to protect that freedom.”