Letter to Reject Nomination of Jeff Sessions to US Attorney General

The following letter was sent via email to my US Senator concerning the rejection of Mr. Sessions' nomination to the US Attorney General on January 5, 2017:

I am writing this letter urging you and your fellow senators to reject the nomination of Alabama Senator Jeff B. Sessions III to the United States Attorney General position.  I am certain that Mr. Sessions will fail to faithfully serve the office in a manner that is fair to all Americans.  I am not alone in my concerns.  1,330 law school faculty members wrote a letter to the senate urging the rejection of Mr. Sessions (Law Faculty Letter, 2017). 

In my letter, I list reasons why Mr. Sessions’ nomination should not be accepted.  Mr. Sessions’ nomination, now, as was the case in 1986, has drawn criticism from groups including the NAACP and the LGBTQ community.  In his 1986 testimony, Thomas Figures stated that Mr. Sessions used racially insensitive language including a statement that he should ‘be careful what he said to white folks.’  Mr. Figures also spoke of overhearing a comment made by Mr. Sessions that he considered the Ku Klux Klan to be an acceptable organization until he learned of their use of marijuana.  Mr. Figures believed that statement was serious, although Mr. Sessions asserts that it was a joke (Shenon, 1986).

Mr. Sessions has also shown indifference to women’s issues.  In 2013, he is on the record of voting against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (Bendery, 2016).  In 1997, he voted in favor of ending funding for women and minority owned businesses (ontheissues.org, Civil Rights).  Additionally, he is a significant fighter in the war against women, taking a hard line on women’s health issues (ontheissues.org, Abortion).

For the LGBTQ community, his past performance is abominable.  It is clear from his record, that Mr. Sessions does not consider members of this community as having equal rights and protections under the law.  He has voted in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, against workplace discrimination for the LGBTQ community, against repealing the former military Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, and twice against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include protections against crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  The Human Rights Campaign gave Sessions a score of zero on LGBTQ issues (Bendery, 2016).

Another further objection, is Mr. Sessions’ positions on the environment and climate change.  I consider this to be one of the most important, if not the most important, challenge facing humanity and our continued existence on this planet.  He was given a lifetime rating of seven percent by the League of Conservative Voters, has consistently voted against policies that would protect our planet from global warming and has made ridiculous statements suggesting that he does not have the ability or that he does not have the desire to understand why climate change is a threat to our species and all life on this planet including one he made in 2015: “Carbon pollution is CO2, and that’s really not a pollutant. It’s a plant food, and it doesn’t really harm anybody except that it might include temperature increases,” (von Kaenel, 2016).

Additionally, I object to his extreme views on immigration policy.  He has continually voted to derail any progress made on immigration reform, and his positions are one of the farthest to the right in the senate (ontheissues.org, Immigration).

In closing, I again urge you to reject hate, bigotry, discrimination, and detrimental policies and attitudes toward our environment.  I urge you to uphold the rights and protections guaranteed to all citizens, and therefore to reject the nomination of Senator Jeff B. Sessions III for the United States Attorney General.

Sources:

Bendery, J. (2016, November 22). Pick Any LGBTQ Rights Issue.  Jeff Sessions has voted against it. The Huffington Post.  Retrieved 2017, January 5 from http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Jeff_Sessions_Civil_Rights.htm.

Jeff Sessions on Abortion. On The Issues. Retrieved on 2017, January 5 from http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Jeff_Sessions_Abortion.htm.

Jeff Sessions on Civil Rights. On The Issues. Retrieved on 2017, January 5 from http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Jeff_Sessions_Civil_Rights.htm.

Jeff Sessions on Immigration. On The Issues. Retrieved on 2017, January 5 from http://www.ontheissues.org/International/Jeff_Sessions_Immigration.htm.

Letter to Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein from Law Faculty Members (2017, January 4). Retrieved on 2017, January 5 from https://docs.google.com/document/d/167Ci3pVqwzOUe7_e7itlpew1qGcTo0ZD5dNICIbLQWA/pub.

Shenon, P. (1986, March 20). Senator Urges Withdrawal of Judicial Nomination. The New York Times.  Retrieved 2017, January 5 from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/20/us/senator-urges-withdrawal-of-judicial-nomination.html.

Von Kaenel, C. (2016, November 21). Trump Picks a Climate Skeptic to Enforce Environmental Laws. Scientific American.  Retrieved 2017, January 5 from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-picks-a-climate-skeptic-to-enforce-environmental-laws/.