Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Equality
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez views equality as a fundamental principle that must be advanced through comprehensive legislative action across social and economic spheres. She strongly supports federal protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, which she champions through measures like the Equality Act.
Her vision of equality is intersectional, linking civil rights with economic justice, asserting that systemic issues like inequality act as a pre-existing condition that makes communities vulnerable to crises. Ocasio-Cortez advocates for policies such as Medicare for All, housing as a human right, and a living wage to ensure all people have the economic means to pursue opportunities and thrive.
Furthermore, she emphasizes the need for racial diversity and the protection of civil rights for all groups, including the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly focusing on ending the criminalization of marginalized identities. Ocasio-Cortez sees the fight for equality as a continuation of the Civil Rights Movement, requiring Americans to actively challenge the status quo and fight for systemic change, rather than remaining quiet or polite.
Context
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's political identity is rooted in progressive and democratic socialist ideals, where equality is a central organizing principle that touches on race, gender, sexual orientation, and economics.
Her position is strongly informed by her own background as a woman of color from a working-class Latino family, which she often references to underscore the systemic barriers others face. She views achieving equality as inseparable from economic justice, criticizing systems that prioritize corporate wealth over working people's needs, such as the for-profit healthcare system.
Actions Taken
- LegislationSupported the federal Equality Act which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas like housing and public accommodations.
- Voting RecordVoted in favor of legislation to ensure transgender and genderqueer individuals receive necessary healthcare coverage under Medicare for All.
- Policy AdvocacyCalled for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal Medicaid funds from covering abortion care, thereby denying healthcare access to low-income families.
- LegislationCo-sponsored the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act to advocate for further civil rights, including voting rights, for Puerto Ricans.
Key Quotes
it really comes down to what we fight for and living our values which is gender equality racial diversity civil rights housing equality.
inequity that's the pre-existing condition it's the inequality that's a pre-existing condition.
Trans rights are civil rights are human rights.
Criticism
Her remarks responding to Rep. Ted Yoho were seen by the coalition as offering a perfect reason to push for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Sources4
Key Issues - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress
* This is not an exhaustive list of sources.