Members of Congress urge Trump to rescind all regulations that discriminate against LGBTQ people
Lawmakers urge the president to ensure that federal agencies are complying with a recent Supreme Court ruling
More than 100 members of Congress have penned a letter to President Trump urging him to direct federal agencies to remove all regulations, executive orders, and policies that discriminate against LGBTQ people.
The letter comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.
The letter was spearheaded by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), and signed by 116 other members of Congress.
“Since taking office, your Administration has repeatedly issued dozens of regulatory and agency actions premised almost entirely on the claim that federal bans on sex discrimination do not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” the letter reads.
“This argument attempts to sanction discrimination against LGBTQ people in a broad range of critical arenas, including in employment, health care, housing, and education,” it continues.
“On June 15th, the Supreme Court decisively rejected this argument when it ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that prohibitions on sex discrimination in federal civil rights laws include sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.”
The members of Congress ask the administration to identify the steps it is taking to implement the Bostock decision and enforce sex discrimination laws, and to review, revoke, or revise any regulations permitting LGBTQ discrimination and ensure that they comply with the high court’s decision.
“The Supreme Court’s unambiguous rejection of these discriminatory arguments means that the harmful policies put in place by your Administration to permit discrimination against the LGBTQ community must immediately be reviewed and revoked or revised to make clear that protections apply to all people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the letter reads. ” The law requires this action.”
The letter follows a similar one, spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), that calls on the Pentagon to rescind its ban on transgender service members in the Armed Forces, based on the rationale outlined in the Bostock decision finding that transgender discrimination is itself a form of unlawful sex-based discrimination.
In that message, the congressional representatives also encourage the Department of Defense to instruct the Department of Justice to settle any outstanding lawsuits that are challenging the military’s current restrictions on transgender troops and recruits.
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