The LGBTQ uproar as the Justice Department says sexual orientation isn’t protected under civil rights law and the president tweets a military transgender ban.
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was notably warm, open to the LGBT community. Last week, in office and under pressure, he was cold. Delivered an apparent edict via Twitter that transgender individuals were out at the U.S. military. Saw his Justice Department argue that sexual orientation is not covered by civil rights law. More. This hour On Point: Andrew Sullivan, Jonathan Turley and the head of Lambda Legal, on Trump and LGBTQ America. — Tom Ashbrook
Guests
Rachel Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, an LGBT legal organization. ( @rachelbtiven)
Jonathan Turley, professor of public interest at the George Washington University School of Law. ( @JonathanTurley)
Andrew Sullivan, political commentator and writer at large for New York Magazine.
From Tom’s Reading List
CNN: DOJ files amicus brief that says Title VII does not protect sexual orientation — “The Justice Department filed an amicus brief Wednesday saying that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover employment ‘discrimination based on sexual orientation.’ The DOJ filed the brief in the case of Donald Zarda, who had filed suit against his former employer Altitude Express in a case that questions whether sexual orientation is included in Title VII’s protections.”
POLITICO: Inside Trump’s snap decision to ban transgender troops — “Trump’s sudden decision was, in part, a last-ditch attempt to save a House proposal full of his campaign promises that was on the verge of defeat, numerous congressional and White House sources said. The president had always planned to scale back policies put in place during the administration of President Barack Obama welcoming such individuals in combat and greenlighting the military to pay for their medical treatment plans. But a behind-the-scenes GOP brawl threatening to tank a Pentagon funding increase and wall construction hastened Trump’s decision.”
Advocate: Trump Just Nominated an Anti-LGBT ‘Ambassador for Religious Freedom’ — “On the very same day Donald Trump banned transgender people from the military and his Department of Justice argued in court that it’s legal to fire gays and lesbians, the president nominated Gov. Sam Brownback as a global ambassador for religious freedom. Brownback has demonstrated a disturbing interpretation of that buzzword, ‘religious freedom,’ while serving as governor of Kansas — a job he now leaves to become the ambassador at large for International Religious Freedom.”
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