WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, called on the U.S. Senate to reject the nomination of Kyle Duncan, nominated by Trump-Pence Administration to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Senate voted 50 to 44 on a cloture petition to advance the nomination.

“Amid a slew of anti-LGBTQ nominees put forward by the Trump-Pence Administration, Kyle Duncan stands out for his long career fighting to limit the legal protections for LGBTQ Americans,” said David Stacy, HRC Government Affairs Director. “The Senate must not give this dangerous extremist a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. Americans deserve judges we can trust to apply our laws faithfully and administer equal justice under those laws. Kyle Duncan is an extremist whose career of attacks on LGBTQ people makes clear he is incapable of this fundamental responsibility. He is unfit to serve and the Senate must reject his nomination.”

Duncan’s record of anti-LGBTQ advocacy is alarming. He represented the Gloucester County School Board in their case against Gavin Grimm, the transgender high school student whose restroom access was restricted based on his transgender status. He advocated on behalf of Louisiana in the state’s bid to uphold its same-sex marriage ban and wrote an amicus brief for Louisiana and 14 other states arguing their same-sex marriage bans did not undermine the decision in U.S. v. Windsor, the landmark Supreme Court case that required the federal government to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples. He also argued that a couple married in New York could not have their names added to the birth certificate of a child they adopted in Louisiana because the state did not recognize same-sex marriages at the time and its adoption statute does not allow unmarried couples to adopt.

Last week, Politico reported that Mitch McConnell is attempting to ram through extremist judicial nominees in what may be his final months as Senate Majority Leader should Democrats retake the chamber in November.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

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