Congress moves to ban discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in stores, restaurants, hotels
H.R. 7005 — Customer Non-Discrimination Act · Filed by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) · 20 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 9, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. It expands the definition of 'public accommodations' to explicitly include online retailers and service providers, and clarifies that discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics is illegal in stores, restaurants, hotels, transportation, healthcare, legal services, and other establishments open to the public.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is straightforward: it amends Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity) as protected classes in public accommodations. This is a direct extension of existing anti-discrimination law, not a hidden mechanism or carve-out.
What the text implies
- Online retailers and service providers are explicitly named as covered public accommodations, potentially affecting e-commerce platforms' content moderation and customer-acceptance policies.
- The definition of 'sex' includes 'sex characteristics, including intersex traits,' which may create novel enforcement questions in healthcare and insurance contexts not yet litigated under Title II.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
The bill extends existing civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ individuals and clarifies pregnancy/sex-characteristic protections in public accommodations, reducing the ability of businesses to deny service based on these characteristics. Ordinary citizens gain enforceable legal remedies against discrimination in everyday transactions (shopping, dining, travel, healthcare), which is a direct expansion of rights and protections.