Letters Delivered to Every Member of the Senate December 1.
December 2, 2016
NEW YORK, N.Y. — This week Family Equality Council joined with 143 civil rights and progressive groups across the country — including several of our allied LGBTQ organizations — to make clear our opposition to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to the position of Attorney General. A letter was delivered to every member of the Senate yesterday by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which can be viewed in full here.
Family Equality Council is committed to protecting the rights of LGBTQ families and stands ready to raise our concerns directly with our elected officials when we have reason to believe those rights are under threat. As the letter submitted yesterday states, Sen. Sessions’ record of statements and actions stands in direct conflict with the rights to lived and legal equality of LGBTQ families, and all LGBTQ individuals. We are also deeply troubled by Sen. Sessions’ record on issues regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, race, immigration status, disability rights, religious background, and women’s rights.
Several of Sen. Sessions’ past statements and actions deserve particular scrutiny in relation to the LGBTQ community, and we urge members of the U.S. Senate to hold these past positions in mind as they review his nomination. In 2009, Sen. Sessions opposed legislation that would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes statute. The letter states: “This is particularly disturbing at a time when there have reportedly been more than 700 hate incidents committed in the weeks since the election. The next attorney general must recognize that hate crimes exist, and vigorously investigate them.” Sen. Sessions also supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage, and opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
“It is crucial that the Senate thoroughly investigate and carefully review the Senator’s record of actions that stand in direct conflict to the responsibilities of the office of Attorney General,” said Family Equality Council CEO, Stan Sloan. “Far too often, Sen. Sessions has stood on the wrong side of history on issues that involve and affect our families, our community, and our allies. Based on Sen. Sessions’ record and past actions, we urge the Senate to block his nomination.”
About Family Equality Council
Family Equality Council connects, supports, and represents the three million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer in this country today and their six million children of all ages. We are changing attitudes and policies to ensure that all families are respected, loved, and celebrated — including families with parents who are LGBTQ. We are a community of parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren and unattached youth that reaches across this country. For almost forty years we have raised our children and raised our voices toward fairness for all families. As we look to the next chapter of our work, we are also focused on LGBTQ youth needing families and the two million LGBTQ adults waiting to foster or adopt in our country.