Yesterday The administration officially endorsed the amending of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination.

As of yet, there is no federal law that explicitly prevents people from being fired, evicted, or refused service on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity. A proposal just to ban employment discrimination for LGBT Americans (ENDA) has been continuously stymied since 1994.

The Equality Act, which the White House announced it would support Tuesday, aims to provide a wider range of protections, and in the most direct way possible. The bill would insert language about gay and transgender people into legislation created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act — the historic measure that banned many forms of discrimination by race, color, religion, sex or national origin.