I’ve written about Secretary of State Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights before and how it could potentially harm LGBT Americans, and now four human rights groups are suing the US Department of State and Mike Pompeo as this Commission allegedly violates federal law by placing religion above human rights, according to One True Voice Online.
The groups that are suing are the Robert F. Kennedy Center For Justice and Human Rights, Center for Health and Gender Equity, Council for Global Equality, and the Global Justice Center.
To summarize, the Commission on Unalienable Rights was composed by a team of like-minded individuals (read: anti-contraceptive, pro-life, anti-LGBT Christians) who wanted to reframe what “human rights” meant by reexamining what should or shouldn’t be a human right based on the founding fathers’ original mission, which, judging by who was appointed to create this commission, would place religious rights over all others. I can definitely see why this would be a problem for LGBT people and other marginalized groups.
To add to the fact that this commission wouldn’t do LGBT people any favors, seven out of the ten people on this commission have expressed anti-LGBTQ views publicly, with some people saying that the legalization of same-sex marriage across the US was a “radical social experiment” and that it would “impair the rights of children” and teach them about gay sex. So knowing this, it is clear to see that 1. There is a case for the groups suing Pompeo and his commission and 2. this commission definitely has an anti-gay agenda.
The lawsuit against this commission states that the commission members “hold well-documented views that privilege religious liberty above all other fundamental human rights, and treat with skepticism, or outright derision, rights claims by LGBTQI individuals, proponents of gender parity, and women and girls seeking access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.” It also states that there is reason to believe that Pompeo handpicked this commission because he knew that the people he selected would all come to the same predetermined result, which is that the concept of human rights would be confined within religious doctrine. This is in violation, as the claim alleges, of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) which states that every advisory committee “must be in the public interest, fairly balanced among competing points of view, and structured to avoid inappropriate influence by special interest.” The Commission on Unalienable Rights could not be farther than being compliant with FACA.
It’s obvious that the Commission on Unalienable Rights was designed to favor religious people and effectively remove rights from marginalized groups so it stands to reason that the four groups mentioned above would sue Pompeo and his commission. Do you think the groups will win or will they be faced with a tremendous amount of opposition from the religious right? I want to hear your thoughts on this.
Source: One True Voice Online