Read the PDF of our statement here.
LDF Condemns Justice Department Retreat from LGBTQ Rights
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit arguing that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit discrimination against gay and bisexual employees. Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement:
“This stunning and unsolicited brief flaunts 15 years of federal court precedent establishing that the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to LGBTQ individuals. But the Justice Department’s argument isn’t just bad legal interpretation. It is yet another dangerous sign of this administration’s total unwillingness to enforce our nation’s vital civil rights laws, opening the door for the very discrimination that it is obligated to prevent and prosecute.”
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
