438 civil and human rights organizations, including Equality Federation, have signed onto a letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to express our strong opposition to the confirmation of Senator Jefferson B. Sessions (R-AL) to be the 84th Attorney General of the United States.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Senator Sessions’ hearing took place on January 10, 2017, but he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

Senator Sessions is notorious for his anti-LGBTQ stances as well as his racial bias and hostility toward immigrant communities. On LGBTQ issues, he voted in support of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, against providing workplace discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, against repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and ― two times ― against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The role of Attorney General is in place to ensure our laws are enforced fairly and without bias. Senator Sessions is not fit to serve in this capacity.

The letter text reads, in part:
“Senator Sessions has a 30-year record of racial insensitivity, bias against immigrants, disregard for the rule of law, and hostility to the protection of civil rights that makes him unfit to serve as the Attorney General of the United States. In our democracy, the Attorney General is charged with enforcing our nation’s laws without prejudice and with an eye toward justice. And, just as important, the Attorney General has to be seen by the public – every member of the public, from every community – as a fair arbiter of justice. Unfortunately, there is little in Senator Sessions’ record, or learned from his confirmation hearing and supporting documents, that demonstrates that he would meet such a standard.”

The full letter can be read below.

We encourage you to take action! Sign onto our petition to stop Senator Sessions and all of Trump’s extremist nominees and call your elected officials.

‍

[pdf-embedder url="http://www.equalityfederation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sessions-Nomination-1-23-17.pdf" title="Sessions Nomination 1 23 17"]