Fairness for All Act: Elise Stefanik Drops Support

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik has dropped her support for the Fairness for All Act (FFAA), National Review has learned. As the third-ranking House Republican, the New York lawmaker was likely the most prominent cosponsor for FFAA, an all-Republican bill that would write sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into U.S. civil-rights law. Her withdrawal of support, which occurred during last night’s procedural vote, deals another heavy blow to the proposed legislation’s already-beleaguered cause.

FFAA was initially pitched by its backers as a “compromise” between LGBT rights and religious liberty, pairing government protections for gay and transgender citizens with modest “right to discriminate” carve-outs for certain religious institutions. Until recently, that proposed arrangement seemed to be gaining momentum. When it was first introduced by Representative Chris Stewart of Utah at the end of 2019, FFAA had eight cosponsors. By November 2021, it had 22.

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Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

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Elise Stefanik

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik has dropped her support for the Fairness for All Act (FFAA), National Review has learned. As the third-ranking House Republican, the New York lawmaker was likely the most prominent cosponsor for FFAA, an all-Republican bill that would write sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into U.S. civil-rights law. Her withdrawal of support, which occurred during last night’s procedural vote, deals another heavy blow to the proposed legislation’s already-beleaguered cause.

FFAA was initially pitched by its backers as a “compromise” between LGBT rights and religious liberty, pairing government protections for gay and transgender citizens with modest “right to discriminate” carve-outs for certain religious institutions. Until recently, that proposed arrangement seemed to be gaining momentum. When it was first introduced by Representative Chris Stewart of Utah at the end of 2019, FFAA had eight cosponsors. By November 2021, it had 22.