The house on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to extend civil rights protections by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation to protect the LGBTQ community. 

The legislation was narrowly passed by the divided House at 224 to 206 votes, with Republicans consistently opposing the bill. This was the second time the House passed the Equality Act seeking to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding clear bans on discriminations against gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender people.  

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First passed in 2019, the Republican-controlled Senate had refused to take it up. 

David Cicilline, an openly gay Democrat said, “In most states, L.G.B.T.Q. people can be discriminated against because of who they are, or who they love. It is past time for that to change.”

In a landmark decision taken by the Supreme Court in June, it was ruled that the 1964  civil rights law protects transgender and gay people from discrimination in the workplace and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex will also apply to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

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The Equality Act building on this ruling would expand the scope of civil rights protection past workers to consumers at businesses including shelters, taxi services, restaurants and gas stations. 

10 Republicans joined the Democrats to reach the 60-vote mark required to pass the legislation under normal Senate procedures. 

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican from Georgia attacked the daughter of Representative Marie Newman, Democrat of Illinois. 

Greene who is known for spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories and inciting violence responded to Marie Newman’s tweet by saying, “your biological son (does not) belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams.”

Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas also said, “This is a government using its power to tell us to bow down to the will of a cultural elite in this town who want to tell us what we’re supposed to believe. We’re not going to do that.”

Meanwhile, the legislation has won the support of many civil rights groups and leaders. 

Lauding the passage of the legislation, President Joe Biden tweeted: “Transgender rights are human rights — and the House made that clear today by passing the Equality Act.”

In his tweet, the Democratic President also urged the US Senate to follow suit and pass the legislation.