It is no secret that Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with.
Love her or hate her, her music and her voice are extremely powerful, and though you may not agree with her beliefs- it is clear that they have an impact.
Including a political one.
Just last year, Swift broke her several year political silence with her first political post- an instagram photo endorsing a democratic candidate. The post nearly broke Instagram, racking up over two million likes. And, according to The Washington Post, was the catalyst for 169,000 new people to become registered to vote on Vote.org within 24 hours of her posting it.
Now, Swift is once more using her platform for political good. This time, for the LGBT community.
Though Swift has always remained relatively silent regarding her political beliefs on LGBT matters, she has now taken to Twitter and Instagram to share her thoughts regarding the recently formed Equality Act.
In a tweet from May 31st, Swift shared a letter she had written to her senator, asking them to vote YES on the bill, along with a brief explanation as to why supporting the Equality Act matters to her.
Swift then launched a petition on Change.org titled “Support the Equality Act,” as an effort to have her fan’s voices heard in the US Senate when they eventually vote on the Equality Act’s passage.
The petition reads as follows:
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! While we have so much to celebrate, we also have a great distance to go before everyone in this country is truly treated equally. In excellent recent news, the House has passed the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations. The next step is that the bill will go before the Senate.
While there’s no information yet as to when the Equality Act will go before the Senate for a vote, we do know this: Politicians need votes to stay in office. Votes come from the people. Pressure from massive amounts of people is a major way to push politicians towards positive change. That’s why I’ve created this petition to urge the Senate to support the Equality Act.
Our country’s lack of protection for its own citizens ensures that LGBTQ people must live in fear that their lives could be turned upside down by an employer or landlord who is homophobic or transphobic. The fact that, legally, some people are completely at the mercy of the hatred and bigotry of others is disgusting and unacceptable.
Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally.
Taylor Swift, via Change.org
As of right now, the petition has over 136,434 signatures, and is growing by the minute.
And now, multiple celebrities are stepping out to support Swift’s initiative, including proud member of the LGBT community, Brendon Urie, who’s foundation tweeted it’s support out earlier this week after Urie joined Swift on stage in a prideful performance at Wango Tango.
Other celebrity supporters include Ellen DeGeneres, a longtime friend and fan of Swifts.
You can show your support for Swift’s petition here, and read more about the Equality Act here.
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