Sessions Would Threaten LGBT Protections
BY EMILY WATERS
JANUARY 18 2017 7:36 AM EST
... During his hearing, Sessions avoided questions concerning his voting record and statements against civil rights protections for LGBTQ communities, people of color, immigrants, native people, and other marginalized populations by repeatedly stating that he would “uphold the law that Congress has and will set forth.”
Rather than being reassured, we recognize this tactic for the dodge that it is. The role of attorney general is not so cut-and-dried: our expectation of an attorney general is to uphold the laws that Congress passes and to use those laws to work towards the ongoing protection of civil rights for marginalized communities. For LGBTQ people, particularly those of us working to end violence and discrimination and increase protections for these communities, Session’s remarks on simply “upholding the law” do not ease our fears but amplify them.
One reason that Sessions promise does not comfort us is that laws protecting LGBTQ people simply don’t exist. Only one law passed by Congress includes explicit nondiscrimination provisions for LGBTQ people: the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Upholding this law requires a commitment to enforcing the nondiscrimination provisions and dedicated resources for implementation, yet Sen. Sessions voted against the bill when it was refigured to have more inclusive protections. One can assume that Sessions has no intention of actively enforcing the nondiscrimination provisions of VAWA, and if he becomes attorney general, this lack of prioritization would render the law virtually useless ...
http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/1/18/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-would-threaten-lgbt-protections
