Contact: Liberty Counsel Action, 407-875-1989, Media@LCAction.org

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- The Civil Rights Uniformity Act, known as H.R. 2796, was recently introduced by the House Committee on the Judiciary to prohibit in all federal anti-discrimination laws the plain meaning of "sex" and "gender," from being interpreted to denote "gender identity."

This legislation affirms in federal laws including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act and Obamacare that when Congress passed these civil rights laws, the purpose was to protect against discrimination when it comes to a person's objective biological sex, rather than subjective, self-professed "gender identity."

Introduced by Rep. Pete Olson of Texas, H.R. 2796, is the most permanent and comprehensive response to the special radical LGBT rights agenda. This bill will provide an objective standard, giving much-needed guidance to administrators and judges as they seek to apply these critical laws. It will also provide security for the rights to privacy and even religious liberty.

On May 13, 2016, the Obama administration's Department of Education and Department of Justice issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, declaring that the agencies would "treat a student's gender identity as the student's sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX." The Obama administration's unilateral decision to redefine federal law for political purposes imposed a one-size-fits-all policy on every school in the country and blatantly undermined the rule of law, separation of powers, and federalism while threatening the safety and privacy of young women. The Trump administration rescinded the Obama guidance this year but this decision was limited to Title IX and the education community.

"The Civil Rights Uniformity Act would ensure that policies which affect the privacy and safety of women and girls are no longer reshaped to meet the demands of the special LGBT rights agenda," said Mat Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel Action. "The terms 'sex' and 'gender' refer to objective biology, not the subjective, self-professed 'gender identity' as the Obama administration tried to push in all federal anti-discrimination statutes.  Congress must reassert its constitutional authority and address other unilateral Obama-era 'gender identity' reinterpretations in health care, emergency shelters, housing, and employment. I urge the House to enact this legislation that also would allow schools to continue providing separate bathroom and locker room facilities based on biological sex, not gender identity," said Staver.

Liberty Counsel Action is a 501(c)(4), nonprofit, grassroots lobbying organization advancing religious and civil liberties, the sanctity of human life, the family, limited and responsible government, national security, and support for Israel.