Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s Nominee for Attorney General, Stands by His Support for Sweeping Anti-LGBT Bill
As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be attorney general of the United States, it is telling that Sen. Sessions continues to stand by his support for the most sweeping anti-LGBT bill in Congress.
In response to a written question from Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) regarding his support for the so-called “First Amendment Defense Act,” or FADA, Sen. Sessions flatly states that he rejects characterizations of the bill — including by the ACLU — as being “deceptively named.” Since same-sex couples won the freedom to marry nationwide in 2015, opponents — including those pushing FADA — have argued that the legislation is necessary to protect clergy or houses of worship from being forced to marry gay and lesbian couples. The First Amendment already, quite clearly, protects the rights of clergy and churches to decide which unions to solemnize within their faith traditions. In fact, since the founding of our country, no church has been forced to marry any couple in violation of its religious doctrine, something that has not changed since the arrival of marriage equality.
Sen. Sessions specifically cites concerns about a private university or college potentially losing tax-exempt status if it is opposed to marriage equality. However, he is unable to point to a single example of a school being threatened with such an action, let alone a case where a tax-exempt status was revoked.
Perhaps the most galling aspect of Sen. Sessions’ response was how he turns the definition of discrimination on its head. He argues that FADA is necessary to “prohibit the federal government from taking discriminatory actions.” What Sen. Sessions calls “discriminatory actions” are in fact longstanding federal civil rights protections. FADA, for example, would significantly undermine the ability of federal agencies tasked with enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws, such as the EEOC, to protect LGBT people and women from discrimination in education, employment, or housing.
The kind of sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination that FADA would sanction flies in the face of the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage-equality ruling. Sen. Sessions can try all he wants to mask what the true intent of FADA is, but the ACLU will continue to speak out in strong opposition to this legislative attack on the LGBT community.
Anonymous
Stop the Nazi Regime!
Anonymous
Adolf Hitler’s diet from 1931 onwards was vegetarian. Nazis did pass animal welfare laws which were advanced for it’s time such as Hitler signed law to protect the eagle (Eagle on Swastika is Nazi symbol) and Hitler signed laws which created rules on hunting and Hitler signed laws on fastest way to kill crustaceans. In the end Hitler, his mistress Eva Braun and their dog Blondi all committed suicide.
Adolf Hitler had fascination with these animals. Adolf Hitler fascinated by birds such as ravens, crows & eagles with eagle being national symbol of Germany. Adolf Hitler also had fascination with dogs, wolves, deer & if you look @ German tanks there were Panthers & Tiger tanks. Adolf Hitler & his wife Eva Braun both fascinated with animals & Wagner operas.
Adolf Hitler knew that risk was too high for his dog Blondi to become food for a Soviet soldier, so his mistress Eva Braun and Blondi committed suicide by taking Prussic pill while he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. So it was a mercy killing and 1 could say the dog committed suicide to avoid being food for Soviet soldiers.
Red Army in Germany was killing many people, committing rapes & Soviet soldiers esp. Soviet Mongolians were eating family pets including dogs. Many cases where Germans committed suicide including with their pets because they believed this was lesser evil to having a 10 year old girl raped & murdered by a Soviet soldier and their pets being eaten by Soviet soldiers.
Anonymous
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Axis Japan were greedy but they were not cowards & Axis Japanese soldiers fought and died for what they believed & Fascist Italian soldiers fought & died for what they wanted. Nazi German soldiers fought and died for what they wanted. Nazis were greedy but they fought & died for what they wanted and you Nazi soldiers did have courage fighting in battles such as Kursk, Nazi soldiers were not cowards, in that in Stalingrad & Leningrad battles, you must have courage. German Nazi soldiers talk of how they destroyed 3 Soviet tanks in battle.
Hitler exploited fact that Poles & Czechs mistreated German neighbors to justify his greed. Of course most Germans living in Czechoslovakia & Poland supported Nazis because among other reasons, they no longer wanted to be mistreated by their neighbors. In worst cases, ethnic violence was committed by Poles & Czechs (more so by Poles)against their German neighbors for years. Polish writings from 1848 talked about how Germans are lower than dogs, among other things. If Poles & Czechs better treated their German neighbors, then instead of 95% of Germans living in Poland & Czechoslovakia supporting Nazis, the # would have been less. Hitler would have still invaded, but @least there would’ve been more Germans opposing the Nazis than supporting their invasion.
Nazi Germany had no right to invade Poland, no right to take Czechoslovakia by war declaration threat (violating 1938 Munich Agreement with Sudeten) as their motive was lebensraum , Germans living in Poland & Czechoslovakia were poorly treated by their Polish & Czech neighbors (Germans sometimes took Polish & Czech names to try to avoid persecution) & in some cases there was violence committed by Poles & Czechs against their German neighbors in Poland & Czechoslovakia. Hitler would have invaded Poland regardless but if Polish treatment of their German neighbors had been good, then fewer Germans living in Poland would have supported Nazi invasion. Again, while Nazi Germany had no right to invade Poland, etc. as they were doing that mainly for Nazi Germany’s interest against others, Germans were poorly treated in Poland for many years, long before Hitler was born.
Anonymous
Please before voting in Jeff Sessions as Attorney General take in consideration his remarks he has made. This man has very different views on many things that the majority of U.S. citizens have expressed. He is without a doubt against LGBT community, he believes that anyone who uses Medical Marijuana is not a good person, he also has made demonizing remarks about the African American community. His record of being Senator of Alabama speaks for itself. Mr. Sessions has made sure that Alabama doesn't prosper in anyway, including, but not limited to, voting against any type of gambling, Medical Marijuana, amongst many more ways to help the State gain prosperity. Should he become Attorney General then America will be stuck back in time. Please write your Senators, Legislatures, or anyone that may have a vote in this decision. Thank you for taking time to read this comment.
Anonymous
Problem I have with gay/lesbian topic is the ideology. If it’s just knowing and willing adults doing gay/lesbian activities, using tobacco, but not forcing their views on others, then I don’t care. I don’t care about gay & lesbian marriage. Problem I have is that too many are gay/lesbian fanatics. Gays & lesbians support free speech for those who support homosexuality but oppose free speech for those against. Gay & lesbian groups use schools to push their agendas & if a student says something against homosexuality, the teacher censors them.
There has been free speech controversy over teachers punishing a high school student because the student said something against homosexuality which offended the teacher. In some schools they have Harvey B. Milk day forced on students. I don’t care if gay/lesbian groups want to honor HB Milk just as I don’t care about Jews celebrating Hanuka, Hindus celebrating Diwali, American Indians celebrating Native American holidays, Italians and Spaniards celebrating Columbus Day and Christians celebrating Christmas and St. Patricks Day-those holidays can also be celebrated by people aren’t members of those groups such as if non Judeo-Christians want to celebrate Hanuka and Christmas then that’s their right. I have a problem if people are forced to celebrate Hanuka, Christmas, etc.
Problem with HB Milk day, is that the teachers have force students to celebrate this day, where ugly facts about HB Milk are censored & if let’s say a high school student raises this, they get punished by the teacher. With free speech, gays & lesbians often go on anti-gay websites to give their views, yet they’re hostile to people going on gay/lesbian websites to make comments against homosexuality. That’s why so many gays & lesbians are fanatics-only want views which they like but censor what offends them.
With gay/lesbian conduct by adults, while I don’t believe in making it a crime by consenting adults, I do believe it’s best to find a cure for homosexual/lesbian conduct just as it’s best to find cure for tobacco use-also a legal product. If homosexual/lesbian conduct and tobacco use were to disappear eventually, then it’s fine with me and I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. I believe in abolishing sex change mutilations.
Anonymous
Gays have made ethnic insults against Blacks who made comments which offended gays. We have no right lecturing Uganda on their laws against gay/lesbian conduct, but NAACP has not supported African nations such as Uganda’s right to have laws against gay/lesbian conduct. There have been cases where Black men such as former Atlanta fire chief was fired for a book he wrote about dangers of homosexuality outside work hours which offended gay groups. NAACP did not defend the Black fire chief’s free speech rights.
& again, gay groups have made ethnic slurs against Blacks who see something wrong with gay/lesbian conduct & also slurs against Blacks who see something wrong with sex change mutilations. NAACP has not supported Blacks free speech rights because guess the NAACP thinks gay rights more important than Black free speech rights. NAACP did not condemn gay activist Dan K. Savage when Dan K. Savage made graphic comments against black US President Candidate Benjamin S. Carson.
Craig M.
This man simply must be stopped. My true feelings are that, the values POTUS TRUMP seems to extole, (while in direct opposition to the majority of the USA, let alone the world) may help finally help ignite renewed interest in the political process and civic responsibilities to each other and our country.
Democracy isn't something we cant "call in sick" to, or a "group project", where one person can just fuck off, while the collective whole can cover for the missing member.
Anonymous
Gay bashing victims will face the same public opinion court as gay bashers. If there are ugly truths about a homosexual which the media omits as most did with Methew Wayne Shepard, then we will use our free speech rights to tell the ugly truths about the homosexual even if others dislike it. & there is nothing any1 can do to legally stop us from telling the ugly truths. Gay bashing victims will face the public opinion court as gay bashers do and ugly truths will be told about a homosexual if it’s found though it offends homosexual groups.
If homosexuals getting bashed and killed in unprovoked attacks was common, then it would not be in news because it would not be interesting. Going out & attacking people with no provocation is stupid but yes, there are stupid people and when this happens it is reported in news. Most domestic violence & rape/sex abuse cases do not get reported in news in most cases unless it is let’s say a famous person accused of rape or hitting his girlfriend or an unusual or strange case because there are so many of these cases that they would not be interesting.
With homosexuals, it is far more common for homosexuals to molest boys but most of these cases do not get reported in the news unless it’s a famous homosexual such as Jerry A. Sandusky. Homosexuals often target teenage boys because they think the teenage boys are easy targets to sexually abuse and some of the teenage boys fight back. Most men and boys who are victims of gays usu. won’t call cops to report that a gay is committing indecent exposure, harassment or in worst cases molestation until some1 reacts violently and bashes the gay.
Anonymous
ANY assault and battery or murder case including gay bashing cases, unless there is a plea bargain (which happens in most cases) juries decide after hearing both prosecutor and defense lawyer. Juries decide what is reasonable & excess because each case is different and must be judged individually. As known with murder cases, there is Murder 1, Murder 2 and Manslaughter which is a jury topic. A jury can acquit or if they convict, they can convict a person on lesser charge.
If it is true the homosexual was doing antisocial conduct before he was bashed, then yes, a jury must decide if it was justified or excess force to end the abuse. If a defense lawyer in a gay bashing case wants to raise a crime the gay did such as harassment, indecent exposure, etc. before man reacted violently, then that must be regarded in deciding verdict. I would rather have too much done than not enough in that I would rather have a case where a jury decides if a man’s reaction to bashing or killing a homosexual is justified or excess vs. the man doesn’t do enough and the gay does something worse.
Anonymous
Something to regard-if you’re a store owner there is no need to put up signs that say ‘don’t steal’ because stealing is a crime and no need to say no to a crime the other person has no right to do. If some1 is stealing from your store, the right thing to do is use reasonable (not excess) force to stop the the thief and have the police arrest the thief. If you do nothing, then worse can happen as these situations can be unpredictable. It is possible for a thief to be stealing things anything small such as shoplifting candy to expensive things such as diamonds and then beat up or even kill the shop keeper in the same crime with or without weapons. Many cases where thieves have beaten up or killed shop keepers after stealing. No, stealing alone does not justify deadly force but theft may not be the only crime intended and it is possible for thieves to beat up or kill their victims. If the thief is high on drugs (such as a junky who steals to support his or her habit) then it is possible for the thief to be stealing things and then in a drug rage attack or even kill the store owner with his own hands.
Synonymously, if a homosexual is going to commit harassment, indecent exposure, stalking, assault and battery (such as if a homosexual grabs a man’s butt or groin against will), etc. then a man has a right to use reasonable force to end the abuse. There’s no need for a man to say no to a homosexual who is committing indecent exposure, etc. because there’s no need to say no to a crime the other had no right to as in the store owner eg.-stealing is a crime and no need to say no to thieves. If a defense lawyer in a gay bashing case wants to raise a crime the gay did such as harassment, indecent exposure, stalking, etc. before man reacted violently, then that must be regarded in deciding verdict.
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