WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus called on the Senate today to reject Sen. Jeff Sessions’s nomination for Attorney General.
“The Senate cannot confirm an Attorney General nominee who doesn’t believe in civil rights to oversee our country’s civil rights protections – it’s worse than letting a fox guard the henhouse,” said LGBT Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18). “Jeff Sessions thinks it’s ok to fire people like me or my husband or even refuse our kids childcare simply because our family looks a little bit different than most families – and we can’t allow someone with those beliefs to be our nation’s highest attorney, charged with protecting the rights of all Americans.”
During his time in the Senate, Sen. Jeff Sessions repeatedly voted against critical LGBT protections, including the LGBT-inclusive Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the LGBT-inclusive Violence Against Women’s Act, and has supported anti-LGBT legislation. As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions used the power of his office to target and attempt to stop an LGBT conference from taking place at the University of Alabama. As Attorney General, Sen. Sessions would be responsible for, among other responsibilities, enforcing federal hate crimes and non-discrimination protections for all Americans, including the LGBT community.
