John Oliver asked all of the presidential campaigns if they would support a national anti-discrimination law for a segment on LGBT discrimination for Last Week Tonight. Only four got back to him: Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, and Lincoln Chafee — all eager to get as much attention as possible from young people before the Democratic primary — all said they would; Rand Paul said, “We’ll pass. Thanks.” Oliver wasn’t sure why no one else responded; he didn’t think it should take several days to answer the question “Should gay people be discriminated against?”
Legislation that would do exactly what Oliver wants has been sponsored in Congress — the Equality Act — and the bill has more than 200 co-sponsors in the House and Senate, none of which are Republicans. Thirty-one states do not ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
And for those who justify LGBT discrimination by mentioning the Constitution, Oliver retorted, “The Constitution isn’t the star in Super Mario Bros. — it doesn’t make you invincible so you can just do whatever the fuck you want.”
