{"id":71293,"date":"2018-07-30T16:25:23","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T20:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-denounces-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-announcement-of-a-religious-liberty-task-force\/"},"modified":"2018-07-30T16:25:23","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T20:25:23","slug":"glaad-denounces-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-announcement-of-a-religious-liberty-task-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-denounces-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-announcement-of-a-religious-liberty-task-force\/","title":{"rendered":"GLAAD denounces Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 announcement of a \u2018Religious Liberty\u2019 Task Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLAAD denounces Attorney General Jeff Sessions\u2019 announcement of a \u2018Religious Liberty\u2019 Task Force<\/b><\/p>\n

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GLAAD today denounced\u00a0Attorney General Sessions\u2019 announcement<\/a> of his new Religious Liberty Task Force at the Department of Justice\u2019s Religious Liberty Summit. As stated by Sessions, the group\u2019s purpose is to ensure that the Justice Department upholds the administration\u2019s guidance for religious exemptions, which he released<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough freedom of religion is a core American value, religious exemptions from adhering to non-discrimination protections are not,\u201d said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. \u201cSessions\u2019 announcement today is yet another example of the Trump administration\u2019s anti-LGBTQ agenda as they seek to weave protections for those seeking anti-LGBTQ religious exemptions into the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sessions claimed that the goal of this task force is to accommodate people of faith, but his explanation of its purpose and his extensive anti-LGBTQ record<\/a> suggest otherwise. Sessions has a long history of defending the use of \u201creligious exemptions\u201d to discriminate against LGBTQ people and opposing non-discrimination protections for the community. In his announcement, Sessions called attention to legal battles such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, <\/em>in which lawyers from the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a> argued that Jack Phillips had the right to discriminate against two men<\/a> who were seeking a wedding cake based on their sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Religious Liberty Summit featured a number of panelists, each boasting a lengthy anti-LGBTQ record. Among those honored in Sessions\u2019 speech were Kerri Kupec, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Jack Phillips, Senator Lankford, and Emilie Kao. Their anti-LGBTQ records are detailed below.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s event comes on the heels of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, hosted last week by the vehemently anti-LGBTQ Ambassador of International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback<\/a>. The ministerial was largely focused on global issues that the administration frames as pertaining to religious freedom, but invited a multitude of prominent anti-LGBTQ figures to speak, including Tony Perkins<\/a>, the most frequently booked anti-LGBTQ pundit and president of the anti-LGBTQ group Family Research Council (FRC), and ADF CEO Michael Farris<\/a>. ADF was intimately involved in the Religious Liberty Summit, issuing a press release a few days prior calling attention to the event.<\/p>\n

ANTI-LGBTQ RECORDS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY SUMMIT PANELISTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former ADF staffer and current DOJ Media Affairs Specialist Kerri Kupec\u2019s anti-LGBTQ record:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

—Condemned<\/a> Yelp for supporting trans<\/a> students, saying \u201cBig business shouldn\u2019t be advocating for boys<\/a> to share the girls<\/a>\u2019 locker rooms and showers \u2014 and vice versa \u2014 in our public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

—Claims<\/a> transgender support \u201crenders sex<\/a> meaningless\u201d and that money and politics are the reasons the Obama administration took a favorable stand<\/p>\n

–Against all available evidence, argued<\/a> that North Carolina\u2019s infamous HB2 was \u201cgood for business\u201d and \u201cabsolutely not\u201d anti-transgender<\/p>\n

President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Joseph Kurtz\u2019s anti-LGBTQ record:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

—Referred to<\/a> marriage equality as a \u201ctragic error\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack Phillips\u2019 anti-LGBTQ record<\/strong>:<\/u><\/p>\n

–Plaintiff in the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission<\/em> Supreme Court case<\/a>, which he narrowly won on grounds particular to his case<\/p>\n

—Represented<\/a> in this case by ADF, which consistently litigates for religious exemptions from non-discrimination laws<\/p>\n

Senator James Lankford\u2019s anti-LGBTQ record:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

—Believes<\/a> it is acceptable to fire people based on their sexual orientation<\/p>\n

Heritage Foundation staffer Emilie Kao\u2019s anti-LGBTQ record:<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n

–In a piece called \u201cThe Left\u2019s Assault on Adoption<\/a>,\u201d argued that adoption agencies have the right to discriminate against LGBTQ couples<\/a> based on their sexual orientation<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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July 30, 2018<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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