Note to mods: This is NOT a news story. It is a call to action. Thank-you.

It seems clear that the House will pass the Equality Act today. Preventing passage in the Senate is our only hope for protecting sex-based rights for women and girls.

I urge you to email or call your Senator ASAP!

The Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) has a great form for easily emailing your Senator. Using your zip code, the form automatically sends the email to your Senator. You can use their form letter, or customize by typing or pasting in your own words. You can also use any part, or all, of the text from letters we have posted on our site.

If you have time, I urge you to instead call your Senator’s office, as calls have greater impact than emails. (Non-customized emails have the least impact.) Find your Senator and his or her phone number at senate.gov. Call whether or not your Senator is a Democrat or Republican. The Hill recently reported that the Democrats are using big business to pressure Republicans to vote “yes.”

Here are some phone call talking points (some provided by a sympathetic Democrat insider):

• I am calling to voice my opposition to the Equality Act as currently written.

• There are serious problems here that have not been sufficiently discussed or debated.

• It is absolutely possible to prevent discrimination against transgender-identified individuals without harming women's rights.

• The current text of the Equality Act does not strike this careful balance, but rather ends sex-based protections for women entirely.

• Biological sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity are three different things. This bill puts them all in the category “sex.”

• To protect everyone, the bill needs to be amended to create new protected categories for sexual orientation, and those who do not conform to sex stereotypes, such as butch lesbians, effeminate gay men, and those claiming trans identity.

• I urge you to share these concerns with Senator Merkley and work to amend the Equality Act.

• I urge you also to share these concerns with Senator Schumer and request that he not to bring the Equality Act up for a vote until these concerns are sufficiently addressed.

[not a talking point - this is from me!] Thanks for all you do!