Equality
Rep. Pocan is Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, where he helps lead the more than 100 caucus members on civil rights and equality issues. Rep. Pocan is a leading co-sponsor of the Equality Act, legislation that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex. He is also the sponsor of the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, a bill to prevent discrimination at colleges and universities, and the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, a bill to restore the status and benefits of service members discharged due to their sexual orientation.
Rep. Pocan has strongly opposed the Trump Administration’s numerous attacks on the LGBTQ community, including speaking out against the Administration’s transgender military ban, the Department of Justice’s support for the defendant in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and the stripping of protections for LGBTQ Americans. Rep. Pocan has also spoken out against the Trump Administration’s attacks on transgender students and support for discrimination against LGBTQ students by voucher schools. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Pocan vocally opposed the Aderholt Amendment, which would allow providers to discriminate against the LGBT individuals and couples in adoption and foster care services.
More on Equality
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), along with Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI), reintroduced legislation aimed at reducing bullying and harassment that affects one in five students at colleges and universities across the country. The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2017 would require institutions of higher education to establish policies to prohibit harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) led a bipartisan letter with 121 Members of Congress to the President urging him to reverse the recent decision to rescind guidance regarding protections for transgender students under Title IX. The letter also asks the President to meet with transgender students and their families to hear their stories and learn from their experiences.
In the bipartisan letter, the Members of Congress state:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Richard Hanna (R-NY) led a bipartisan letter to President Obama urging him to direct all federal agencies to prohibit discrimination in federal government contracting and subcontracting based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the business owner.
Madison – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) released the following statement after Secretary Ash Carter officially announced the Department of Defense’s decision to lift its ban on transgender people from serving in the armed forces.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, released the following statement on the tragic mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. The shooting claimed the lives of 49 people as they celebrated Pride Month, making it the largest mass shooting in our nation’s history.