HI SCR11

Hawaii's Senate Concurrent Resolution urges the U.S. Congress to pass the federal Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Protected areas under the proposed federal legislation include employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service.

Hawaii already provides state-level protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in housing, public accommodations, employment, and jury selection (most recently through Act 40, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022).

The current federal Equality Act bills are H.R. 15 in the House (215 co-sponsors, including Hawaii Representatives Case and Tokuda) and S. 1503 in the Senate (46 co-sponsors, including Hawaii Senators Hirono and Schatz).

Over 600 organizations have publicly endorsed the federal Equality Act according to the Human Rights Campaign, and versions of this legislation have been introduced since 1974, with the House passing it in 2019 and 2021.