(Downers Grove, IL) Thursday, October 4, 2018 – Today, Equality PAC announced their endorsement of Sean Casten, Democratic nominee for the Illinois 6th Congressional District. The purpose of Equality PAC is to work to bring nearer the full legal and societal equality of LGBT persons and creating a legislative environment that is conducive to that goal.

“I’m honored to have the endorsement of Equality PAC” said Casten, 6th Congressional District Candidate. “LGBTQ rights are human rights, period. To deny any citizen the full set of rights and opportunities just because of who they love or how they identify is wrong and unconscionable. Peter Roskam has continutinually voted to deny the rights of LGBTQ people and his extreme views are  is out of touch with the values of the Sixth District.”

“Equality PAC is proud to support Sean Casten for Congress,” said Equality PAC Co-Chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI).  “He will be a key ally in our mission to bring full legal and societal equality to all LGBT people. We believe he will be a passionate and effective advocate for the LGBT community in Illinois and beyond.”

For the last three Congressional sessions, Peter Roskam has received a ZERO score from the Human Rights Campaign for his failure to support legislation to protect and expand LGBTQ rights. When moderate Republicans attempted to make their party more inclusive in 2016, Peter Roskam lobbied the Illinois GOP to keep language in the party platform defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Roskam has also repeatedly voted against amendments to prohibit LGBTQ discrimination.

Peter Roskam has voted with Donald Trump 94% of the time and sat silently as The Trump Administration has:

• Rolled back the Department of Education and Justice guidelines allowing students to use the facilities that correspond to their gender identities

• Reversed the Obama Administration executive order ensuring that federal contracts are not awarded to companies that discriminate against LGBTQ employees

• Tried to ban transgender Americans from being allowed to serve in the military

• Promoted ACA repeal, with Peter Roskam’s support, which would have stripped health care access to individuals living with HIV/AIDS

This week, Sean stood with environmental, social justice, and labor leaders to highlight Peter Roskam’s extreme positions on LGBT issues that are out of touch with the Sixth Congressional District. At the event, Sean was joined by Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin.