Last night, Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Donald Trump’s Attorney General, which should inspire feelings of despair and disgust in the stomachs of everyone who isn’t a straight, white cisgender male. Sessions is notorious for voting against just about every single civil rights issue there is, including LGBTQ rights.
Sessions has openly supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, voted down on a bill in support of workplace discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” and, two times, against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include attacks done because of someone’s sexual identity. He was also criticized by Matthew Sheppard’s mother for characterizing hate crimes as “mere crimes.”
The chief lawyer of the United States is now someone who has devoted his whole life to obstructing #civilrights. This is real. #Sessions— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) February 9, 2017
Sessions is also a huge supporter of the impending First Amendment Defense Act, which Trump himself has promised to sign.
“It is deeply disturbing that Jeff Sessions, who has such clear animus against so many Americans ― including the LGBTQ community, women and people of color ― could be charged with running the very system of justice designed to protect them,” Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said.
It’s equally disturbing that Sessions, who also opposed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and was deemed “too racist” for a federal judgeship in 1986, now sits in the chair of one of the country’s most powerful seats of office. Just imaging his impact on civil rights sends a chill down our spine.
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