The famously apolitical (but working on it!) Taylor Swift realized Senate legislation has been here all along, so why can’t she see it belongs with her? In response to the Equality Act currently making its tempestuous way through the Senate, Swift has penned an open letter to Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander, urging the Republican to support the act to ensure continued protections for the LGBTQ community. “As you know, the House just passed the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace, in their homes and in schools,†she wrote on social media. “For American citizens to be denied jobs or housing based on who they love or how they identify, in my opinion is un-American and cruel.†To further her point, Swift publicly criticized President Trump’s beliefs for the first time in her career:
I personally reject the President’s stance that his administration “supports equal treatment of all,†but that the Equality Act, “in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to determine parental and conscience rights.†No, one cannot take the position that one supports a community, while condemning it in the next breath as going against “conscience†or “parental rights.†That statement implies that there is something morally wrong with you being anything other than heterosexual or cisgender, which is an incredibly harmful letter to send to a nation full of healthy and loving families with same-sex, non-binary or transgender parents, sons or daughters.
Additionally, Swift created a Change.org petition in support of the Equality Act — urging her fans to sign it to put pressure on their respective senators. “Pressure from massive amounts of people is a major way to push politicians towards positive change,†she added. “Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally.â€