{"id":71376,"date":"2018-08-01T08:25:50","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T12:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/no-surprise-a-leading-anti-lgbt-hate-group-is-behind-justice-departments-religious-liberty-task-force\/"},"modified":"2018-08-01T08:25:50","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T12:25:50","slug":"no-surprise-a-leading-anti-lgbt-hate-group-is-behind-justice-departments-religious-liberty-task-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/no-surprise-a-leading-anti-lgbt-hate-group-is-behind-justice-departments-religious-liberty-task-force\/","title":{"rendered":"No Surprise, a Leading Anti-LGBT Hate Group is Behind Justice Department\u2019s \u2018Religious Liberty Task Force\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

No Surprise, a Leading Anti-LGBT Hate Group is Behind Justice Department\u2019s \u2018Religious Liberty Task Force\u2019<\/b>
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The anti-LGBT hate group Alliance Defending Freedom is behind the Justice Department\u2019s new \u201cReligious Liberty Task Force\u201d announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week<\/a>. The task force is\u00a0intended to implement and enforce anti-LGBTQ Trump policies that would allow people to discriminate based on religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Jeff Sessions Announces \u2018Religious Liberty Task Force\u2019 to Implement and Enforce Anti-LGBTQ Trump Policies: WATCH<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n

Media Matters reports<\/a>: \u201cSuch discrimination is a major part of the mission of anti-LGBTQ legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), and the announcement was followed by a panel that included a major ADF client and was moderated by an ADF staff alumna. Coupled with ADF\u2019s involvement in the announcement, the new task force demonstrates the influence of the group\u2019s extreme anti-LGBTQ views on the administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

They add: \u2018ADF was\u00a0one of the first<\/a>\u00a0to break the news of the July 30 \u201cReligious Liberty Summit\u201d in which the task force was announced, noting that the event would feature a panel including the group\u2019s client Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who\u00a0refused<\/a>\u00a0to bake a wedding cake for a gay<\/a> couple<\/a> and who took his case to the Supreme Court in\u00a0Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commision<\/em>. ADF\u2019s news release, however, did not mention that the panel\u2019s moderator, DOJ media affairs specialist Kerri Kupec, worked at ADF for\u00a0four years<\/a>before joining DOJ in\u00a0January<\/a>. During his\u00a0remarks<\/a>, Sessions said that the DOJ had \u201cbeen holding listening sessions\u201d with \u201creligious groups across America,\u201d which ADF\u00a0has acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0it has been involved with in the past. Extreme anti-LGBTQ group Liberty Counsel has\u00a0already praised<\/a>\u00a0the announcement of the task force. The Trump-Pence administration has shown a\u00a0coziness<\/a>\u00a0with extreme anti-LGBTQ groups and with ADF, in particular. Sessions\u2019 DOJ issued an\u00a0unusual<\/a>\u00a0brief on behalf of Phillips before oral arguments in\u00a0Masterpiece Cakeshop<\/em>, and ADF alumni and allies have been hired by various agencies and nominated for federal judgeships.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Human Rights Campaign denounced the DOJ<\/a>. Said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow: \u201cThis taxpayer funded task force is yet another example of the Trump-Pence White House and Jeff Sessions sanctioning discrimination against LGBTQ people.\u00a0Over the last 18 months, Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Jeff Sessions have engaged in a brazen campaign to erode and limit the rights of LGBTQ people in the name of religion. The Attorney General standing shoulder-to-shoulder this morning with anti-LGBTQ extremists tells you everything you need to know about what today\u2019s announcement was really all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

GLAAD\u2019s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis blasted the task force<\/a>: \u201cThough freedom of religion is a core American value, religious exemptions from adhering to non-discrimination protections are not.\u00a0Sessions\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

As did the Democratic National Committee in a press release:\u00a0\u201cFrom supporting the right to refuse service to same-sex<\/a> couples<\/a> to banning military service by transgender individuals to removing mentions of LGBTQ issues from the White House website, Attorney General Sessions\u2019 creation of a Religious Liberty Task Force is just the latest assault in this administration\u2019s continued campaign against LGBTQ people and our civil rights. By creating this task force, Sessions is establishing a unit dedicated to undermining LGBTQ rights and giving anti-LGBTQ far-right extremists like task force head Jesse Panuccio a taxpayer-funded platform to push their anti-equality agenda. Rather than ensuring every person has equal protections and opportunities, Sessions is shamefully doubling down on bigotry. This action is further proof that Republicans continue to push forward an agenda completely out of step with the American people and our values. Democrats will continue to focus on how to improve opportunity for all Americans regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or income.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post No Surprise, a Leading Anti-LGBT Hate Group is Behind Justice Department\u2019s \u2018Religious Liberty Task Force\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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No Surprise, a Leading Anti-LGBT Hate Group is Behind Justice Department’s ‘Religious Liberty Task Force’<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n