In his usual hysterical and irreverent way, HBO’s John Oliver takes the GOP to task and explores the importance of enacting a federal LGBT civil rights act.
John Oliver devoted nearly 15 minutes on “Last Week Tonight” to explaining why LGBT people need Congress to pass the federal LGBT Equality Act. The HBO host took nearly the entire field field of Republican presidential candidates to task, noting only one of the 17 responded to emails asking if they would support the bill:
On the GOP side, only Rand Paul‘s campaign responded, and with this terse, two-word answer: “We’ll pass.”
Democrats Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee both said yes, as did Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton, notably, did not respond, although her positions have been clear so presumably she would support it.
Oliver noted that about 70 percent of Americans actually believe it is already illegal to fire someone because they are LGBT, despite there being no law that specifically states that. Yes, the Obama administration has stated it views the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as covering transgender people, and the Dept. of Labor is working toward applying the same law to LGB workers, but that will take time.
Oliver also profiled three cases of anti-LGBT discrimination, including the stories of Collin Dewberry and Kelly Williams, who visited a Texas diner called Big Earl’s. They were told by the owner’s daughter, “we don’t serve fags here.â€
Also profiled was child care giver Casey Stegall, whose fiancé showed up at a field trip and lent a helping hand. Citing his “lifestyle choices,” his boss fired him because he is gay and was going to marry a man.
And the final discrimination story Olvier shared was of Jami and Krista Contreras, a family whose pediatrician, after having met the couple and set up an appointment for their newborn, declined to treat her. “After much prayer following your prenatal [visit],” the doctor told them, “I felt that I would not be able to develop the personal patient doctor relationship that I normally do with my patients.”
The segment is hilarious, the discrimination is not. Nor is the fact that not a single GOP candidate supports the federal LGBT Equality Act, something LGBT Republicans, or Republicans with LGBT family members, friends, or co-workers, should definitely think about.
Watch:
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Image: Screenshot via LastWeekTonight/YouTube