Gay conservatives join fight to kill liberal Equality Act

Then the new House Democratic majority passed the Equality Act, which guarantees added rights to LGBT Americans, and he went back to work, now leading a coalition to urge the Senate to kill the liberal legislation because it would force Christian businesses, churches, and church-related colleges and institutions to cater to gays in violation of their teachings.

“I’m not against equality. I’m against the Equality Act,” he said.

What troubles Angelo and other conservative gays is that the Equality Act forces gay rights across the board and breaks a promise he and others have made in the past to also protect and enshrine religious freedom.

“Many like me who are gay feel very strongly about the negative consequences if the Equality Act becomes law,” Angelo, now working in communications, said. “It betrays the promises we had made on past campaigns and could destroy all the goodwill we built up with everyday Americans, especially people of faith.”

Since last May’s House vote, he has moved quickly to thwart Senate passage, starting with a column in the Washington Examiner magazine that warned, “Passage of the Equality Act would make liars out of the lot of us. It would put the nonprofit status of religious charities at risk; it would force mom-and-pop businesses to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies; and it would flout bedrock principles that have served as the foundation of the American experience for centuries.”

That column sparked a social media outcry against the Equality Act by conservatives, gay and not, and prompted Angelo to seek supporters for a petition to urge the Senate to kill the act.

In just one day, he said, he had 100 co-signers, including supporters of President Trump. Others, such as Heritage Action for America, also jumped to attention after the House vote.

“The Equality Act pretends to promote equality and fairness, but it’s a cynical power grab to crush religious freedom and parental rights in the name of political correctness,” said Jessica Anderson, vice president of Heritage Action. “Under the proposed law, religious charities in our nation’s hospitals, churches, and schools would be forced to either violate their beliefs or shut down, and parents would increasingly lose the ability to make decisions regarding their children’s education and health care.”

Today, he delivered the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff.

In fighting the act, Angelo faced hateful comments such as one on Facebook telling him to commit suicide.

But he had been there before, regularly the subject of nasty social media for clashing with the lockstep of liberal gay groups, especially when pointing out the steps the Trump administration has made to push LGBT issues and hire and promote gay aides and judges.

He hopes to push a compromise that provides for most of the protections provided by the Equality Act without forcing Christian groups to cave in to Washington.

For years, he said, the gay community said to straight America, “’Trust us, we are no threat to you, your family or your faith.’” “Now we must continue to keep that promise and offer legislation to provide protections for LGBT while acknowledging people of faith. Let’s have nondiscriminatory protections and exempt religious institutions,” Angelo said.