National and Local LGBTQ Leaders to Gather in Philadelphia to Call on Senators to Reject Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions

Nicky Vogt at 202-331-2389 or [email protected]
Jorge Amaro at 213-842-7564 or [email protected]

National and Local LGBTQ Leaders to Gather in Philadelphia to Call on Senators to Reject Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions

PHILADELPHIA – TOMORROW, January 18 at 1 p.m. EST, national, state, and local civil rights leaders and LGBTQ advocates will hold a press conference on the Fifth Floor Foyer, Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19107 to discuss the nomination of Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General. They will lift up the voices of local leaders calling on United States Senators to oppose the Sessions’ nomination, including Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey. The event is a part of a broad, national effort to call out Sessions on his record of hostility towards LGBTQ people, people of color, Muslims, and historically marginalized communities.

WHO:

• Stacey Long Simmons, Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs, National LGBTQ Task Force
• Nikki Lopez, Executive Director, GALAEI
• Ted Martin, Executive Director, Equality Pennsylvania
• Additional Speakers TBA

WHEN: TOMORROW, January 18, 2017 at 1 p.m. EST

WHERE: Marriott Downtown, Fifth Floor Foyer, 1201 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Background information:

Jeff Sessions has consistently voted against rights and protections for LGBTQ people. In 2009, when he voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Act, Sessions showed his true colors when he said, “Today, I’m not sure women or people with different sexual orientations face that kind of discrimination. I just don’t see it.” Not only that, but he’s voted for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, against taking up a bill that would have provided workplace discrimination protection for LGBTQ people, and twice against repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

As reported by a coalition of organizations, Sessions’ initial Senate Judiciary Questionnaire had hundreds of concerning omissions. Despite a supplement of new entries submitted weeks later, a second report demonstrated that his application is still astonishingly incomplete. Furthermore, Sessions has grossly misrepresented his civil and human rights record by claiming that cases he had “no substantive involvement in” were among the most significant he personally handled. Sessions’ disregard for the Senate requirements shows a fundamental disregard for the office of Attorney General and for the Senate itself.

Republican senators’ decision to rush the confirmation hearing of their colleague and friend Senator Sessions silenced the voices of the American people, specifically those most vulnerable, who were directly impacted by hostile legislation put forth by Senator Sessions during his time in Congress. Sessions’ 30-year record of insensitivity and lack of respect for those in marginalized communities must be discussed.

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