Press & Media

WASHINGTON -- Today, national advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Center for American Progress (CAP), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLAAD, Lambda Legal, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Black Justice Coalition (BJC), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), PFLAG National and the Transgender Law Center expressed strong opposition to the so-called “Fairness For All” Act, as introduced in Congress. If enacted, this bill would undermine civil rights protections for women, people of color, people of faith and create substandard protections for LGBTQ people. In a joint statement, the groups wrote:

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the passage of H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), in the House of Representatives:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Sarah Pitlyk was confirmed for a lifetime position as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The expert non-partisan American Bar Association has determined she is not qualified for a lifetime seat on the federal bench.

WASHINGTON – Lena Zwarensteyn, Fair Courts campaign director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the confirmation of Eric Komitee (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York) and the Senate’s vote to advance the nomination of John Sinatra (U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York), both of whom refused to affirm that Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided:

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, will hold a “We Are Democracy” conference on December 5, 2019, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET. Key rights leaders, journalists, and legal experts will discuss what is at stake in 2020 for democracy, justice, inclusion, and opportunity.

Trump promised to remake the federal judiciary in his image at a reckless rate by confirming more than 180 judges by the end of this year. With 164 judicial confirmations, Trump, enabled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are taking over our courts by installing unqualified and biased judicial nominees who jeopardize our civil rights. To date, Trump has filled nearly one-fifth of the entire federal judiciary, and one-quarter of all circuit court judgeships. Stymied by Congress, Trump and McConnell are trying to transform our courts in order to implement the party’s failing agenda. And the harm caused by this deliberate attempt to roll back our civil and human rights by filling the courts with anti-civil rights nominees will be felt for decades to come.

WASHINGTON – Lena Zwarensteyn, Fair Courts Campaign Director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on today’s Senate vote to advance the nominations of Lawrence VanDyke and Patrick Bumatay to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for seats in Nevada and California, respectively:

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the ongoing House impeachment hearings: