New Anti-LGBT Religious Task Force

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced the creation of a taxpayer-funded Religious Liberty Task Force which is the latest step by the Trump administration to provide a license to discriminate especially against our LGBT community. Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD stated, “Though freedom of religion is a core American value, religious exemptions from adhering to non-discrimination protections are not. Sessions’ announcement today is yet another example of the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ agenda as they seek to weave protections for those seeking anti-LGBTQ religious exemptions into the government.” Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE added, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of a so-called Religious Liberty Task Force at the Department of Justice is one more effort by this Administration to obliterate anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people. LGBT elders – who rely on religiously affiliated providers for non-discriminatory care -- have played a huge role in the 'changing cultural climate' that the Attorney General condemns. They will not go back into the closet so that this Administration can pander to the forces of intolerance & bigotry." Since 85 percent of nonprofit continuing care retirement communities are religiously affiliated, the federal government’s approach poses a grave threat to LGBT elders who need care, as highlighted in Dignity Denied: Religious Exemptions & LGBT Elder Services, a recent report by SAGE, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) & Columbia Law School’s Public Rights/Private Conscience Project. Sessions claims that the goal of this task force is to accommodate people of faith but his explanation of its purpose & his extensive anti-LGBT record suggest otherwise. Sessions has a long history of defending the use of “religious exemptions” to discriminate against LGBT people & opposing non-discrimination protections for our community.
For More Info: glaad.org
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