Legalizing Discrimination

Fulfilling Donald Trump's promise in May to various clergy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions yesterday released a new directive to all federal departments and agencies that they must accommodate employees who refuse to deal with LGBT Americans, without those objectors even proving a religious basis (details here).

This effectively allows anyone in the government to discriminate against LGBT members of the public and then claim, without proving any basis, that he or she is doing so for religious reasons.

To add insult to injury, civil rights staff within the government must now assist those who discriminate against LGBT persons and not those who face discrimination. Legal experts have called the mandate a powder keg that will lead to numerous lawsuits against the government.

Hopefully, a federal court will soon block this order so the damage can be minimized.

Once again, this underscores the reality that Trump's claim to be pro-LGBT was nothing more than a shameless, manipulative lie.