Tell the U. S. Chamber of Commerce to Stand with Business: Don’t Support the Equality Act

The Alliance Defending Freedom has prepared the following: Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its public support for H.R. 5, the Equality Act, a proposal that would threaten women’s equality and privacy, harm economic freedom, target small businesses, and undermine constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms. Now, the Chamber is going to put public pressure on your elected representatives to support the Equality Act by threatening to give them a low rating if they don’t vote for the Equality Act. As a business owner, we need your help to contact the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and tell them to stop supporting the Equality Act and stop pressuring our elected officials to support it. The Chamber claims to be acting on behalf of millions of business owners like yourself. So whether you are a member of the U.S. Chamber, a state or local chamber, or a non-member, please contact the U.S. Chamber TODAY and tell them to stop pushing the Equality Act. Follow the four steps below to prepare your opposition statement and communicate it to the Chamber: Step 1: If applicable, tell them you are a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or a specific state or local chamber. Explain that if the U.S. Chamber continues to push the Equality Act and to rate members of Congress on whether they support the Act, you are going to cancel your membership with the chamber. Step 2: Personalize the telephone call or e-mail by telling them about your business in 1-2 sentences. What does your business do? How many employees do you have? Step 3: Using the list on the back, give them 1-2 reasons why you believe the Chamber is threatening economic freedom by supporting the Equality Act. Feel free to personalize those reasons to how it would impact your business (i.e., “We employ dozens of talented women, and it is important that we protect their privacy and dignity by not forcing them to share restrooms with males.”). Step 4: Contact the U.S. Chamber of Commerce via phone, e-mail, social media, or letter. Please direct your concerns about the Equality Act to Neil Bradley, Executive VP and Chief Policy Office of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Phone: Neil Bradley 202-463-5310 E-mail: Neil Bradley NBradley@USChamber.com   Letters: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Attn: Neil Bradley 1615 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20062-2000 Twitter: @USChamber @uschamber_kv www.AllforFreedom.com   Top 5 Reasons Why the Equality Act Hurts Businesses 1. It would mandate that men who self-identify as women be allowed to compete as women, placing women at an unfair and significant disadvantage, and consequentially robbing them of a fair opportunity to compete for opportunities created exclusively for women-owned businesses, and even female athletics. 2. It would force business owners to violate employees’ and customers’ privacy rights and dignity interests. Employers would be forced to allow men who identify as female to share the same restroom or locker room with their female employees and customers, including young girls. 3. It would create significant legal and devastating financial liability for employers. Employers have a duty to ensure that employees and customers are not harmed while on their premises. If business owners are no longer allowed to maintain female-only spaces for women to shower and undress in, they become vulnerable to costly lawsuits. 4. It would harm economic liberty, growth, and prosperity, particularly of small businesses. Numerous studies of the states that provide the most business-friendly environments suggest that states without laws like the Equality Act enjoy greater economic growth and are more attractive to new enterprises, while many states that have similar laws have weaker economies and lower job growth. 5. It would target creative professionals who willingly serve everyone, like photographers, videographers, florist, and bakers, and force them to promote messages and celebrate events that conflict with their beliefs. Local laws like the Equality Act have been used to punish business owners like Jack Phillips, Barronelle Stutzman, and Blaine Adamson for declining to create custom art that expresses messages that conflict with their beliefs. To learn more about the problems of the Equality Act and similar proposals, visit www. AllforFreedom.com.

04/1/19