Women’s and LGBTQI+ Equality
As one of the first Latina women to represent Texas in Congress, Congresswoman Garcia is committed to fighting for equality for everyone – no matter their race, sexuality, immigration status, or gender identity. She has always been a strong advocate for equal rights since her days as a student fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment. As gender-based discrimination and inequality remains a national and global issue, the Congresswoman recognizes that we are overdue in guaranteeing equality for mothers, sisters, daughters, and trans and non-binary communities around the world.
Congresswoman Garcia works diligently to ensure that the law protects every person, and she is a champion for reproductive justice and will continue the fight to secure the rights for our most marginalized communities.
Women’s Equality
Below are a few examples of how the Congresswoman has worked in Washington, D.C. to make sure that women have strong voices back in Texas’ 29th Congressional District:
The Congresswoman proudly introduced the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act in November 2023. This bill would protect the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women in immigration detention by ensuring the presumption of release and prohibiting shackling, restraining, and other inhuman treatment.
The Congresswoman is an original cosponsor for the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2023, which would prohibit the government from restricting a women’s access to safe abortion services, and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which would prohibit states from interfering with an individual’s ability to get out-of-state abortion services.
The Congresswoman is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, to address wage discrimination on the basis of sex. This legislation would appropriate funding to the Department of Labor (DOL) for training workers in negotiation skills relating to compensation and equitable working conditions. Lastly, it would make information about wage discrimination more accessible to the public by appropriating funding to research studies focused on pay disparities between men and women, as well as minority groups.
The Congresswoman voted in favor of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022, which was signed into law by President Biden in March 2022. When the Violence Against Women Act was first past in 1994, it was the only bill focused on protecting women from sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and other gender related violence. Every renewal of the law since 1994 has been focused on building upon these protections of women.
The Congresswoman is a member of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, the Pro-Choice Caucus, and the Taskforce Against Sexual Violence.
LGBTQI+ Equality
Throughout her career, Congresswoman Garcia has fought both at home and in Washington, D.C. for the LGBTQI+ community.
As a State Senator, she garnered nationwide attention for her formidable advocacy on behalf of trans Texans. This included introducing legislation to simplify the process of changing gender markers, making it a clear and predictable civil procedure instead of the current system, which is uncertain, costly, and burdened by legal and court proceedings.
In Congress, she is a proud member of the Congressional Equality Caucus and has cosponsored dozens of bills in support of equal rights and opportunities for the LGBTQI+ community, including:
The Equality Act, commonsense legislation that would explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit, and jury service.
The Pride in Mental Health Act, which would create a new program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) focused on improving LGBTQI+ youth mental health. LGBTQI+ teens consider suicide and make suicide attempts at about four times the national rate for all adolescents, so it is crucial we provide all the necessary resources for one of our most vulnerable populations.
The LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2023, calling for a ban of the use of the antiquated and long debunked “gay panic” defense in federal courts.
The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act of 2023, which would require colleges and universities receiving federal aid to establish an anti-harassment policy prohibiting the harassment of enrolled students based on their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, a sex stereotype, and sex characteristics, including intersex traits), disability, or religion.
Commonsense legislation that would federally codify and enhance equal rights protections, including the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act of 2023, the PRIDE (Promoting Respect for Individuals’ Dignity and Equality) Act, the Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act of 2023, and the Customer Non-Discrimination Act.
Resolutions celebrating the diversity within the LGBTQI+ community, including the resolution honoring LGBTQI+ Older Adults, expressing support for LGBTQI+ Youth, and commemorating International Transgender Day of Visibility and the Stonewall Riots.
For more information concerning work and views related to women's and LGBTQI+ equality, please contact our office.