{"id":56793,"date":"2017-10-06T14:00:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T18:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/dojs-anti-lgbtq-religious-exemptions-guidance-makes-lgbtq-employees-second-class-citizens\/"},"modified":"2017-10-06T14:00:50","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T18:00:50","slug":"dojs-anti-lgbtq-religious-exemptions-guidance-makes-lgbtq-employees-second-class-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/dojs-anti-lgbtq-religious-exemptions-guidance-makes-lgbtq-employees-second-class-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ\u2019s anti-LGBTQ \u201creligious exemptions\u201d guidance makes LGBTQ employees second-class citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOJ\u2019s anti-LGBTQ \u201creligious exemptions\u201d guidance makes LGBTQ employees second-class citizens<\/b><\/p>\n

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Guidance could force LGBTQ federal workers back in closet to protect their own job security<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump Administration\u2019s sweeping guidance could have additional consequences to safety of LGBTQ Americans<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 GLAAD, the world\u2019s LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today condemned guidance issued this morning by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which invites taxpayer funded federal agencies, government employees, and government contractors to legally discriminate as long as they cite a religious belief as the reason for doing it. This guidance follows the anti-LGBTQ executive order signed by President Trump \u2013 which could ultimately allow a person to use so-called \u201creligious exemptions\u201d to discriminate against the LGBTQ community at the workplace, in housing, in public accommodations across the nation, and even in marriage equality. Today\u2019s guidance bears a striking resemblance to some of Indiana\u2019s \u201cReligious Freedom Restoration Act\u201d (RFRA), an anti-LGBTQ measure Mike Pence signed into law when he was Indiana\u2019s governor in 2015.<\/p>\n

RFRA was backed by local anti-LGBTQ groups<\/a> and had the sole intent to give Hoosiers permission to discriminate LGBTQ people at work, in housing access, and in other areas of public accommodation, including hospitals, across Indiana. Now, multiple<\/a> reports<\/a> indicate<\/a> that Mike Pence has become the chief architect for this and other social issues within this administration, including its anti-LGBTQ agenda that has harmed the community since Day One of the Trump Presidency.<\/p>\n

“Today\u2019s guidance by Jeff Sessions proves this Administration will do anything possible to categorize LGBTQ Americans as second-class citizens who are not equal under the law,\u201d said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD<\/strong>. \u201cFreedom of religion is paramount to our nation\u2019s success but does not give people the right to impose their beliefs on others, to harm others, or to discriminate. Nothing could be more un-American and unholy than using religion to justify harm and discrimination to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

This guidance reveals the urgent need for a comprehensive non-discrimination law inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity at the federal level. The guidance and executive orders come after a\u00a0recent study<\/a>\u00a0by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) showed how a majority of Americans\u00a0oppose<\/em>\u00a0anti-LGBTQ discriminatory laws, also known as so-called \u201creligious exemption\u201d laws. This is in complete contradiction to the efforts by anti-LGBTQ activists like the Trump Administration to issue such orders.<\/p>\n

Further, both orders follow Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 choice this summer to\u00a0voluntarily issue a friend-of-the-court brief<\/a>\u00a0for a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0Circuit that argues LGBTQ Americans are not protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This gives the greenlight for LGBTQ Americans to be openly targeted and discriminated against by employers, landlords, business owners, or other Americans simply for being LGBTQ. This also follows guidance issued yesterday that says transgender Americans are not classified as a protected class until the Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n

GLAAD warned<\/a>\u00a0about the possibility of additional anti-LGBTQ executive orders in May when President Trump issued his first \u201creligious exemptions\u201d executive order, which stopped just short of allowing rampant discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. GLAAD leaked a draft executive order<\/a>\u00a0last February that highlighted the Trump Administration\u2019s attempt to issue an order that would allow any business or person to use so-called \u201creligious exemptions\u201d as an excuse to fire someone, reject a housing application, or deny a person a service \u2013 like medical care \u2013 just for being LGBTQ.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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October 6, 2017<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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