Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Address Anti-LGBT Hate Group in Closed-Door Event
UPDATE July 12:聽ABC News聽聽that Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a speech at聽the Alliance Defending Freedom's "Summit on Religious Liberty" at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions聽reportedly will be delivering a speech to the anti-LGBT hate group聽Alliance Defending Freedom聽at 5.30 PM PDT today, July 11, at ADF鈥檚 Summit on Religious Liberty in California.
The event is closed to the press, and no venue information has been released.
Civil rights and Department of Justice reporter at Buzzfeed 聽tweeted about the scheduled remarks. According to his Twitter feed, he asked the DOJ why Sessions was speaking at this anti-LGBT event and whether it signaled a new Department of Justice position in court. The DOJ declined to comment.
Right Wing Watch that the event is closed to the press and pointed out that ADF is the largest of the religious right organizations battling LGBT and reproductive rights around the world. Nor could RWW find any mention of Sessions鈥� upcoming remarks on the ADF website, its Twitter feed, or Facebook page. A mobile app for the conference is password-protected.
The Supreme Court that ADF has been working on regarding a Colorado baker鈥檚 refusal to create a wedding cake for a gay couple in violation of the state鈥檚 anti-discrimination laws.
The high court first considered the case last September, and it was continually relisted for further discussion at private conferences, in which justices decide the聽聽cases they聽will take.聽The decision to hear it may have been bolstered by the addition of justice Neil Gorsuch to the court, whose first ruling (a dissent) and may be a harbinger of anti-LGBT rulings to come.
ADF has been extremely active in for so-called 鈥渞eligious liberty鈥� laws around the country that allow Christians to discriminate against LGBT people. ADF also has supported the criminalization of homosexual sex and is involved in by warning schools that trans-inclusive policies will聽expose them to tort liability.
of the Democratic National Committee about Sessions鈥� scheduled remarks at the event, which he also posted on Twitter.
鈥淎ttorney General Jeff Sessions is choosing to spend his time speaking in front of one of the country鈥檚 leading anti-LGBTQ hate groups,鈥� the statement says, 聽a move that聽鈥渂rings in to question whether the attorney general intends to protect all Americans.鈥�
