Actors Max and Charlie Carver are the
latest celebrities to join the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC)
Americans for the Equality Act.
The Equality Act, which
cleared the U.S. House last week, seeks to prohibit
discrimination against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual
or transgender in key areas such as employment, housing,
federally-funded programs, and public accommodations.
The Trump administration has said that
the president is opposed to the legislation.
(Related: LGBT
groups respond to Trump's opposition to Equality Act: “We're
Disgusted.”)
Charlie Carver (Teen Wolf, When We
Rise) came out gay in 2017.
In a 90-second video, the identical
twin brothers called on Congress to approve the legislation.
“If Charlie and I were to drive from
Los Angeles to New York City, every time we cross a state line we
might have different rights under the law,” Max said.
“I'm gay,” Charlie said, adding
that he was bullied as a teen.
“As I came into adulthood and learned
about the fact that there are no federal protections for LGBTQ people
– which I guess I had assumed there were – it just made me feel
like a second-class citizen,” Charlie said.
“For young people, life's not always
going to be easy or fair or perfect, but LGBTQ youth should know that
at least legally that they are protected from discrimination,” he
added.
The Equality Act faces a steep incline
in the Republican-controlled Senate.
(Related: Nancy
Pelosi: Passage of Equality Act shows respect for Constitution.)