AG Jeff Sessions, Dept of Justice Say Civil Rights Law Does Not Protect LGBTQ

The White House continues to take aggressive, bigoted steps towards reducing the role of the federal government in fighting discrimination and protecting minorities.  It is doing so by cutting budgets, dissolving programs and appointing officials unsympathetic to previous practices.  In that post linked here many examples were noted.  Another way the Department of Justice is lessening justice for citizens it exists to protect is described below.

The Justice Department has filed court papers arguing that the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in the workplace based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin,” does not protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Trump Justice Department’s decision to file the brief strongly declaring that sex discrimination does not encompass bias based only on sexual orientation was a striking shift in tone.... The department’s move to insert itself into a federal case in New York was an unusual example of top officials in Washington intervening in court in what is an important but essentially private dispute between a worker and his boss over gay rights issues.

The Justice Department filed this brief to make it clear they will not stand up for the rights of minorities including different sexual orientation and will continue to make a visible, coordinated effort to support the ideological beliefs of hatred and bigotry that led Trump to the White House.

Some strong responses from smart, thoughtful people and groups are noted here:

The American Civil Liberties Union called the brief a “gratuitous and extraordinary attack on L.G.B.T. people’s civil rights.” In a statement, James Esseks, the director of the organization’s L.G.B.T. and H.I.V. Project, added, “The Sessions-led Justice Department and the Trump administration are actively working to expose people to discrimination.”

Vanita Gupta, who ran the Justice Department’s civil rights division under Mr. Obama, said the Trump administration’s court filing “contravenes recent court decisions and guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/nyregion/justice-department-gays-workplace.html