Attorney General nominee defends anti-LGBTQ 'First Amendment Defense Act'

There was a moment during the confirmation hearings when Jeff Sessions, a very practiced politician, did let something slip.

Whitehouse replied, with a leading, and perhaps slightly conclusory question: “And a secular person has just as good a claim to understanding the truth as a person who is religious, correct?” At which point Sessions responded, “Well, I’m not sure.” For a few seconds the Senate chamber seemed to go completely silent.

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https://www.google.com/amp/amp.slat...had_one_moment_that_revealed_why_so_many.html

He will, without doubt, be our next Attorney General.

So a bill that does something that's already protected And these guys know full well their base will eat this up. It's like selling someone property they already own.

Say what you will about the GOP, they know their base.

cethklein said:

So a bill that does something that's already protected And these guys know full well their base will eat this up. It's like selling someone property they already own.

Say what you will about the GOP, they know their base.

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And I am pretty sure it would render meaningless the anti-discrimination laws some states and towns have put in place (for example, in Massachusetts, we you can't be fired, denied housing, or refused service in any place of public accommodation because of sexual orientation or gender identity). Yeah,his base will eat that up,too.

Here is the text of the so-called First Amendment Defense Act (H.R.2802).

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2802

At its core:

Prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.

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So it singles out people in same-gender relationships, but it also leaves room for discrimination against opposite-gender couples who aren't married. Of course a big question is why one should only be allowed to discriminate on this basis. As with the exceptions to employer health plans for contraception/abortion coverage, this opens the door for other forms of discrimination based on sincerely held beliefs. Indeed, if this law stands up to the courts, it likely would have to.

It's pretty chilling, and note that corporations are included in the definition of "persons' who may discriminate. Because corporations are known for their deeply held religious beliefs, of course.

I'm not at all surprised that Sessions supports this bill, and he will likely support other bills that allow discrimination based on race and gender too, if his past record is anything to go from.

I called my congressman (who has a record of voting to support marriage equality and other civil rights) to emphasize my opposition to this bill and also to note that the little "issue" quiz you can take on his site doesn't list civil rights as an area of concern, which is something of an oversight when civil rights are something that are going to be under attack in upcoming months and years. Also called my senators (both democrats) to reiterate my opposition to Sessions.

I so desperately want a business to refuse service to some obviously Christian person or group or family. Ideally, it'd be an atheist to do so. So many of my Christian friends just don't get it. They keep claiming persecution, and have no clue what that really looks like.

A pastor acquaintance of mine was adamant that marriage equality would have a direct effect on his marriage, but couldn't explain to me how or why. I think I got a concussion from the brick wall.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.



Hey - a magician! That's fun...

cmhbob said:

A pastor acquaintance of mine was adamant that marriage equality would have a direct effect on his marriage, but couldn't explain to me how or why. I think I got a concussion from the brick wall.

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He probably didn't want to admit that it would increase the number of possible people his wife could dump him for.

Roxxsmom said:

So it singles out people in same-gender relationships, but it also leaves room for discrimination against opposite-gender couples who aren't married. Of course a big question is why one should only be allowed to discriminate on this basis. As with the exceptions to employer health plans for contraception/abortion coverage, this opens the door for other forms of discrimination based on sincerely held beliefs. Indeed, if this law stands up to the courts, it likely would have to.


I'm not at all surprised that Sessions supports this bill, and he will likely support other bills that allow discrimination based on race and gender too, if his past record is anything to go from.

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And what if they're of opposite gendered, but different races? Or different religions? (This one happened to a relative of mine, within living memory, but with no government sanctions behind it. But apparently the Bible is agin it.) What if you have a 'sincerely-held belief' that you shouldn't have to rent to people of other races? Or have mixed-race children in your day-care? (Not because of the dear little children, of course, but because what if, gasp, both parents should show up on Parents' Night?
What if it's your dearly held belief that 'X' is the world's best sport/team and your new tenant is an Unbeliever? Or, in your eyes, a follower of false gods?

Does this apply to Muslims and atheists, as well?

I am wondering, also, how you would argue that something conflicts with your beliefs. Could I fire someone, if I sincerely believe he is a dick?

I have vowed not to step foot in USA during the fuckedupcrazyman's time in office. He handpicked some of the lowest of the low from the American people to stand with him and help him to run the country into the ground. I fear for my American LGBTQA brothers and sisters. I fear for their lives.

I fear for them, too. Will fight however I can, but am terrified. I have a few activism resources I'm using to help keep me focused and organized (and I have a spreadsheet so I don't duplicate efforts or miss something), some of which I've seen mentioned here. I wonder if we could have a thread collecting some I just learned of 5Calls (https://5calls.org/#) yesterday and it's my current favorite just for taking daily action. Reminds me of the Hillary Clinton campaign call from home tool. For information, I use Resistance Manual and a couple of others (besides Twitter and Facebook groups). I just saw that a National Pride March is in the works. So far, only a DC march is up, but I am sure there will be marches nationwide. Organizers of the national march urge those interested in local marches to contact local pride organizations to coordinate. https://www.facebook.com/events/1949652305264195/https://twitter.com/NatlPrideMarchFor some reason, I can't make paragraphs or hyperlinks on this site, and my antivirus keeps flagging it!

Lyv said:

I have a few activism resources I'm using to help keep me focused and organized (and I have a spreadsheet so I don't duplicate efforts or miss something), some of which I've seen mentioned here. I wonder if we could have a thread collecting some

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I was just thinking this the other day. A pinned (unlocked) one for helpful activism resources would be great! I recently discovered MegaVote:

Track your Senators' and Representative's votes by e-mail

Each week (that Congress is in session) you will receive:
•Key votes by your two Senators and U.S. Representative.
•Links to send e-mail to your members of Congress using pre-addressed forms.
•Upcoming votes for your review and a chance to offer e-mail input before they vote.

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Having all their recent votes in one place to look at and compare is really convenient.

frimble3 said:

And what if they're of opposite gendered, but different races? Or different religions? (This one happened to a relative of mine, within living memory, but with no government sanctions behind it. But apparently the Bible is agin it.) What if you have a 'sincerely-held belief' that you shouldn't have to rent to people of other races? Or have mixed-race children in your day-care? (Not because of the dear little children, of course, but because what if, gasp, both parents should show up on Parents' Night?
What if it's your dearly held belief that 'X' is the world's best sport/team and your new tenant is an Unbeliever? Or, in your eyes, a follower of false gods?

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Exactly. And as for beliefs stemming from religion, most of the people I've known who (mis)quote Bible passages as justification for their homophobia don't exactly practice lives that are consistent with literal (or any) interpretation of scriptures in other regards. Many have sexual relationships outside of marriage, for instance, or have divorced and re-married (and the list of ways they personally don't live OT-approved or "Christ-like" lives by anyone's interpretation goes on and on). Many of these Deuteronomy-quoting people don't even go to Church.

It's a convenient excuse, is all, something they can use after the fact to justify (and intensify) their own visceral discomfort with people whose reality they don't understand. But since it's not the place for government to actually delve into people's individual beliefs or to compile a list of which religions really believe what, the number of people claiming to have religious beliefs that tell them to discriminate against LGBTQ people will increase markedly.

Peripheral to this is my question of whether or not decent people really end up believing hateful things because their religion tells them to, or whether hateful people gravitate towards religions that validate and reinforce what they already feel.

Cmalone said:

I was just thinking this the other day. A pinned (unlocked) one for helpful activism resources would be great! I recently discovered MegaVote:

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Nice resource. Thanks!

Ah, jeez. A bill called the "Government Non-discrimination Act" was coursing its way into the Wyoming legislature with the exact same crap as this bill. A couple days ago I shot off comments and told the legislators that fixating on others' sex lives was really creepy. I learned about an hour ago that this bill has been pulled. Then I came here...

I just want to scream, "Why do you fixate on others' sex lives!?"

Because it's not as embarrassing as what's on their Pornhub playlist?

I remember an old joke: Democrats watch porn, Republicans 'study' it.

Wait until they run into those folks who sincerely believe that they shouldn't pay taxes, because the tax dollars pay for the military, and they believe in pacifism.

All this is forcing me to comment. I prefer to lurk on politics.

Isn't there supposed to be a separation of Church and State? This is all based on religion.

I fear we are doomed.

And a wall??? I can't be the only one to think--ah yeah, tunnels, planes, boats--or just a good swimmer. Even Reagan said, "Tear down this wall," so let's go 'head and build one.

I read the transcripts of He Who Shall Not Be Named's interview, where he prattled on about his crowds and fans and popularity . . . it's utter madness . . . and he compared that unsubstantiated report to Nazi Germany . . . you mean the propaganda? What part of that compared to killing people for their race or religion or sexual preference?

I want to stop witnessing the horror, the daily train wreck, the utter--is this really happening--devastation going on right now, but it's beyond the worst everything that I could have ever imagined--in my wildest dreams--right before our eyes . . .

The EPA . . . he can just end that? What part of the coral reefs dying, the bees endangered, China choking in smog, and the animals beaching themselves in large numbers is being missed? (I confess, IMHO, the beached animals feels like the only way they could protest, and yet, "Hmm, what could be causing them to do this? Are they lost?" I'm sure the pesticides to kill mosquitoes has nothing to do with the bees either.)

We have one planet to live on, and still have no idea how selfish and greedily we treat it. Is it just that the next generation will have to deal with it? Is it worth making a buck to destroy it? Sure, we'll all head to Mars instead--I love science--but really? Shouldn't we get our shit together before we start heading out to ruin space? We've already surrounded the planet with so much floating junk--it's like a weightless version of the plastic island in the ocean.

Are air and water not essential to, hello, life? Is it me?

Stepping down now. Thanks for indulging my rant.