Jeff Sessions is up for the position of US Attorney General, and he’s a bad, bad man for that particular job. His confirmation hearing has been delayed, so we still have time to raise a ruckus.

What should we do?

CALL your senator, other senators, every senator you think might be likely, and tell them to oppose Sessions.

Find your Senators, and call their offices. Suggested script:“Hi, my name is [name], and I’m your constituent from [where you live]. I would like [senator name] to oppose the nomiation of Jeff Sessions.”   

(While you’re on the phone, you can oppose DeVos for Secretary of Education, too. “I’d also like [senator] to oppose Betsy DeVos in a second confirmation hearing.“)

 

Why should we object to Sessions?

From our November post on same:

  • As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions worked to deny funding to student Gay-Straight Alliances … stating “an organization that professes to be comprised of homosexuals and/or lesbians may not receive state funding or use state-supported facilities to foster or promote those illegal, sexually deviate activities defined in the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws.” 
  • Sessions has been an opponent of same-sex marriage and has earned a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, the United States’ largest LGBTQ advocacy group.
  • He voted against the Matthew Shepard Act, which added acts of bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate-crimes law…
  • Sessions voted in favor of … a U.S. constitutional amendment which would have permanently restricted federal recognition of marriages to those between a man and a woman.
  • Sessions has also said regarding the appointment of a gay Supreme Court justice, “I do not think that a person who acknowledges that they have gay tendencies is disqualified, per se, for the job” but “that would be a big concern that the American people might feel—might feel uneasy about that.”

“Gay tendencies”, kids. Here is a man who thinks being gay is exactly like being a pedophile or an arsonist. Gay people aren’t deviants (well, not any more than straight people are). Gay people are people.

There are other reasons to fight Sessions, of course. Find your favorite.

More

  • Washington Post: “He’s also fought legal immigration, including guest worker programs for immigrants in the country illegally and visa programs for foreign workers in science, math and high-tech. In 2007, Sessions got a bill passed essentially banning for 10 years federal contractors who hire illegal immigrants.”
  • USA Today: “”Voter fraud and threats of voter fraud have been used throughout this country’s history … to justify policies that don’t make our elections more secure and suppress voters,” Pérez said.”
  • From the NAACP website: “The vote by the full Senate Judiciary Committee on Jeff Sessions’ nomination to serve as US Attorney General was postponed until Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 9:30 a.m.  Among the primary reasons for the delay were outstanding questions regarding Senator Sessions’ civil rights background and history.”