6 | MAY 13 • 2021
1942 - 2021
Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week
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PURELY COMMENTARY
a public letter that calls on
elected leaders to support
comprehensive nondiscrimi-
nation protections for LGBTQ
Americans.
The path toward LGBTQ
equality is long, but a brighter
and more equitable future is
within reach. Today, Democrats
and Republicans have intro-
duced their versions of non-
discrimination protections
that would update the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to explicitly
ban LGBTQ discrimination in
housing, employment, public
education, federal funding
and other areas of American
life. In February, the House
of Representatives passed the
Equality Act for the second
time, with bipartisan support.
Most recently, the Senate
Judiciary Committee held a
historic first hearing on it.
While senators sparred over
the details of the bill at the
hearing, there’s a consensus
among senators that LGBTQ
discrimination is a real prob-
lem, and a bipartisan solution
is needed to address this
injustice. We cannot and must
not lose sight of that common
ground. As diverse of a nation
as we are, granted we won’t
agree on everything, but we all
can agree that inaction is not
an option.
SUPPORT GROWS
Support across the country for
a federal nondiscrimination
law is at an all-time high. A
recent Public Religion Research
Institute survey shows that
76% of Americans favor laws
that would protect LGBTQ
Americans from discrimina-
tion, up from 72% in 2019.
Support for LGBTQ protec-
tions transcends party lines,
with 62% of Republicans, 79%
of Independents and 85% of
Democrats favoring such laws.
As we celebrate Abzug’s
extraordinary life as a fierce
and early defender of LGBTQ
equality, her life’s work offers
important lessons for con-
temporary generations of
elected officials, especially for
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, the first Jewish law-
maker to hold the title. The
road to justice is not always
easy. But if we can learn any-
thing from Abzug, it is to be
motivated by what the Torah
demands, in teaching “Justice,
justice you shall pursue,
” and in
so doing continue her mission
to march forward on this path.
We have a real opportunity
to finish the job Abzug started
nearly 50 years ago and secure
comprehensive nondiscrimi-
nation protections for LGBTQ
people across the land. Sen.
Schumer has a historic oppor-
tunity to bring together the
bipartisan support needed to
deliver equality for all LGBTQ
Americans.
Let us value bipartisanship.
Let’s focus on the values that
we all have in common in
order to come to a solution
combating the discrimination
and marginalization of LGBTQ
Americans.
Thriving free from discrim-
ination isn’t just a Democratic
or Republican ideal — it’s an
American value, focused on
freedom and opportunity for
all.
Rabbi Michael L. Moskowitz is spiritual
leader at Temple Shir Shalom in West
Bloomfield.
WIKIPEDIA
Bella
Abzug
continued from page 4