U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, issued a statement on Friday after the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a bill enshrining nationwide civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans: 

“Today the House passed comprehensive civil rights protections for LGBTQ people. No one should be denied equal protection under the law because of the person they love or their gender identity.

“While I am proud that we passed this bill, I remark with sorrow the bigotry Republicans directed at LGBTQ Americans and their repeated homophobic and transphobic rhetoric on the House floor. I was especially horrified to see a Member of Congress publicly bully of the daughter of one of our colleagues, and then see nearly the entire House Republican conference stand with that Member after her bigotry to support her efforts to derail a bill that bans anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

“Such discriminatory language, bullying, and bigoted attacks have no place in this body, and underscore how badly this bill is needed. I urge the Senate to take up the Equality Act soon.”