It is not unusual for the Attorney General to speak at events and to various groups around the country. Not unusual at all. However, when the Attorney General speaks to a designated hate group that “specializes in supporting the recriminalization of homosexuality abroad, ending same-sex marriage, and generally making life as difficult as possible for LGBT communities in the U.S. and internationally” 1, then it is highly unusual. And when the event is closed to the press, no venue information is published, and the Department of Justice refuses to explain why Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions is speaking to this group, Alliance Defending Freedom, then there is a problem.
Alliance Defending Freedom is the very group defending the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, whereby a Colorado baker, citing religious objections to homosexuality, refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Initially, the courts ruled against Masterpiece Cakeshop, and they have followed the ladder of appeals all the way to the highest court in the land.
Jeff Sessions, throughout his 20 years in Congress, has consistently voted against LGBT rights. In June 2006 he voted in support of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In December 2010 he voted against repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In November 2013 he voted against taking up a bill providing workplace discrimination protections for LGBT people. And twice, in June 2000 and June 2002, he voted against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include attacks on people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2014, a year after the Supreme Court struck down part of the now-defunct Defense of Marriage Act, Sessions co-sponsored a bill that would allow the state definition of marriage to supersede the federal definition.
The Human Rights Campaign keeps an annual scorecard of how lawmakers fare on LGBTQ issues. Sessions’ score, year after year: zero. And now he is the head of the Department of Justice. And last night at 5:30 p.m., he spoke to Alliance Defending Freedom in a secretive, closed door meeting at the group’s Summit on Religious Liberty.
I am not alone in my concerns. The Democratic National Committee issued the following statement via email:
“You can judge a person by the company they keep and tonight – Attorney General Jeff Sessions is choosing to spend his time speaking in front of one of the country’s leading anti-LGBTQ hate groups. The Alliance Defending Freedom actively helped draft discriminatory legislation, worked to preserve laws criminalizing same-sex relations, and attacked the separation of church and state. ADF has been previously designated a hate group and Sessions’ appearance at this event, as the top law enforcement official in the country, brings in to question whether the attorney general intends to protect all Americans.”
Since being sworn in as Attorney General in February, Sessions has already taken an anti-LGBT stance when he, along with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, chose to rescind the Obama-era guidelines protecting the civil rights of transgender students, a move that was praised by Alliance Defending Freedom.
There is no information available regarding Sessions’ speech last night, so all any of us can do is speculate. If Sessions planned to speak on, say, the way the DOJ works, or constitutional law in general, then why the cloak of secrecy? Alliance for Freedom is typically quite outspoken and welcomes coverage of their events, so … why is this different? The lack of transparency, coupled with the purpose of Alliance and the documented bigotry of Sessions has thrown up red flags and set off alarm bells for me.
Sessions’ bigotry goes far back, as I have mentioned before, to the racist comments that denied him a federal judgeship during the Reagan era. How a man with so many prejudices became the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the nation is beyond comprehension, but in the current administration, perhaps not surprising. However, to carry his personal prejudices into the job he has been given is a slap in the face to the Constitution, it is a slap in the face to the department he oversees, and it is a slap in the face to every single U.S. citizen.
I fail to understand how Alliance Defending Freedom is defending freedom. This seems to me an oxymoron. If a baker bakes a cake for a gay couple, how does that take away the baker’s freedom? It does not. He is simply baking a cake. He may not agree with homosexuality, it may be against his religion, but the couple buying the cake are not hurting him in any way. He is just baking a cake, the thing that he has chosen to do with his life. If he refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple, or a black man, or a Muslim woman, then he, the baker, is a bigot, and there is no room in this nation, in this world, for bigotry, which is simply another word for unjustified hate.
Eventually I imagine we will find out more about Sessions’ speech last night, and I am willing to bet that most of us, those who value every human being, not just those who are white, straight, Christians, will not be pleased with what we learn. There was no reason for the lack of transparency here, as it is certainly not a matter of national security. One can only assume that Mr. Sessions intends to operate beneath a cloak of secrecy so that We The People, who pay his salary, cannot know what our own government is doing to us. It is true that you are judged by the company you keep, and Mr. Sessions has chosen some nasty company to keep.
There is a great deal happening behind closed doors with this administration. Thank goodness for the ‘leakers’, they are America’s heroes.
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I agree completely. I think most things of import are happening behind closed doors, and the things that are done in the open are smokescreens. Trust is non-existent and the meaning of the word ‘truth’ has changed dramatically … all in less than 6 months!
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This is a great and informative article. Thank you for sharing. It’s hard to imagine a worst appointment for the position of Attorney General than Jeff Sessions.
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Thank you! Yes, I fully agree with you. There has never been any doubt that Sessions is a racist, and putting him over the DOJ was like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. But then, in this administration, what else should we expect? Sigh.
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Dear Jill,
He is the worst possible person for this job. He is a danger to combating crime in this country. He is not one to give a hoot about the rise in hate crimes; LGBT AND CIVIL RIGHTS, ETC. HE IS A HATER. He is a small man in every possible way.
Hugs, Gronda
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Yes, he is … and his views were well-known before he was even nominated, yet Trump nominated him and the Senate confirmed him. What does that say, as if we needed further evidence, about this administration’s respect for We The People?
Hugs!!!!
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It is true you may be judged by the company you keep which shows the ADF are none too particular either.
xxx Cwtch xxx
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True … they are all ‘deplorables’ … but together they are … words fail me! I think they are a dangerous combination, though, and bear watching, though I am not sure how they can be watched when the press isn’t given any information, not even where the meeting was! I may have to buy meself a Sherlock Holmes hat and start stalking people myself! Nobody would suspect an old woman of being a spy! 🙂
Huge hugs, dear David!!!
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I have a deerstalker and a magnifying glass going spare Jill. Shall I post them off post haste?
xxx Unlimited Hugs xxx
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Absolutely!!! Yes, ‘deerstalker’ … that was the word that I was looking for, but it evaded me! Can’t you just see me now, running behind the limo carrying Sessions, a 66-year-old woman in her deerstalker, holding her magifying glass in front of her, grey hair flying behind her as she runs to keep up, puffing and panting all the way!
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Miss Marple was no spring chicken and she certainly did OK. Always solved her cases.
xxx Cwtch xxx
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AH YES … I had forgotten about the amazing Miss Marple! Perhaps there is something to this idea after all … Gronda and I would make a formidable team! 🙂
xxx Cwtch Mawr xxx
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Don’t discount me, I too have a defective brain.
xxx Cwtch xxx
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You, my friend, are always welcome to join! Defective brain, my foot!!! Your brain works better than most any I know … PLUS … you have an awesome, subtle, wry sense of humour! 🙂 If the people running this country had half your brain, I would have nothing to write about and could go back to living a simple life, writing about cute kittens and vibrant flowers, reading books and writing reviews … sigh. Someday maybe? Nah, not likely. But for now I shall don my deerstalker’s hat and be hot on the trail of the crooks occupying the big White House! 😀
xxx Cwtch xxx
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Dear Jill,
This sounds like fun to me. I’m game.
Hugs, Gronda
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Yes, it does, doesn’t it! Hmmmm … perhaps we should give this one some thought … together we would be un-stoppable!!!
Hugs!!! ❤
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is totally homophobic! This is an attack waiting to happen … LGBTQ Community beware!! Alliance Defending Freedom … not good!
🏳️🌈
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Many thanks for helping me get the word out on this one, especially! I would bet money that he is up to no good and bears watching! Hugs!!!
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Most welcome! I know … a visitor left some interesting comment about JBS. Sessions is from his state … his reputation isn’t the best! 👿
Hugs!!
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No, he has long been known as a racist and homophobe. An abominable little man … he needs to go! But then … so do so many others. Sigh. Hugs!
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<> …. hugs back! ❤️
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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Many thanks for the re-blog! How have you been, my friend? Enjoying summer, I hope?
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I enjoy Fall more than any other season, but summer is a necessary evil. I have discovered as I “mature” I don’t like summer as much as I did as a younger man.
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I am much the same … I love fall except that it leads to winter. This summer has been a mixed bag … some days are moderate and I can do my 4-mile walk just fine, but lately the humidity has been so high that I am stuck indoors. But I still enjoy my flowers, watching the birdies, seeing the neighborhood children out playing instead of sitting in the house with a video game, and getting out when I can. No complaints, really … the older I get the more I realize that days are numbered and it’s best to find something positive in each one. 🙂
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Keep hope alive.
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