House passes the Equality Act to extend federal protections for LGBTQ Americans, bill now moves to Senate. The legislation would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity by tweaking existing federal civil rights laws. Democrats say the bill is needed because today's "Patchwork" of laws across states leaves LGBTQ Americans vulnerable to discrimination. It faces an uncertain future in the evenly divided Senate. Ref. USAToday.