GOP senator holding up reappointment of EEOC's only LGBTQ commissioner

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: NBC News

GOP senator holding up reappointment of EEOC's only LGBTQ commissioner

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is blocking the nomination of Chai Feldblum, a lesbian, because of her "radical views on marriage."

Dec. 19, 2018 / 10:39 AM EST

By Tim Fitzsimons

Members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces civil rights laws in the workplace, are routinely reconfirmed in a bipartisan manner. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, however, is bucking the norm by putting a hold on the reappointment of Chai Feldblum, the first openly LGBTQ person to sit on the commission, because of her "radical views on marriage."

"One nominee to the commission's five-member board wants to use the federal agency's power to undermine our nation's founding principles," Lee wrote on his website earlier this year in a post titled "A Threat to Marriage from the EEOC." ... "Don't think for a second that you, your family, and your neighbors will be left alone if Feldblum gets her way," he wrote.

Lee and a number of other social conservatives have been speaking out against Feldblum since she was renominated last December. If the commission does not have enough members for a quorum by the end of Feldblum's term on Jan. 1, the commission will not be able to meet and fulfill its duty to enforce the Civil Rights Act's ban on employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability and genetic information.
....

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., took to Twitter on Tuesday to call for a vote on the full slate of EEOC nominees. "We can't allow one Republican senator to prevent the EEOC from holding employers accountable and protecting Americans from harassment and discrimination while on the job," Murray wrote. ... Murray has also reportedly vowed to block all Republican labor nominees until Feldblum and another appointee are confirmed by unanimous consent. .... Lee says his objection is based on Feldblum’s “desire to use the might of government to stamp out traditional marriage supporters.” He does not mentioned that Feldblum is the commission’s first and only openly gay member.
....

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gop-senator-holding-reappointment-eeoc-s-only-lgbtq-commissioner-n949611

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Hat tip, Joe.My.God:

GOP Senator Blocks Reappointment Of Lesbian EEOC Commissioner Over Her "Radical Views On Marriage"
December 19, 2018

https://www.joemygod.com/2018/12/gop-senate-blocks-reappointment-of-lesbian-eeoc-commissioner-over-her-radical-views-on-marriage/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Fuck Mike Lee and his radical views on being a decent person.

[Mr.Bill]

2. According to the SCOTUS,

same-sex marriage is no longer a "radical view". It's the law. As in something members of Congress swear to uphold.

[riversedge]

3. So sad that a sitting US Senator discriminates this way.

[rurallib]

4. Never understood why one senator has the power to gum up the wheels of government

I suppose our side has needed this power from time to time, but this seems like a total anachronism.

Kind of ironic that a Mormon (or so I assume he is) is a member of a group once considered radical and immoral and has sects that still promote multi marriages is the authority on "Radical Views On Marriage"

[Haggis for Breakfast]

5. It is beyond time where ONE person in Congress is allowed to block legislation.

Mike Lee is ONE person. There is no way in 2018 that this should be permitted. And it always seems that the bills being held up are laws that will benefit women.

Another flaming republican asshole, Goodlatte is holding up the passage of a bill that will protect First Nations women. The numbers of Native women who have disappeared in the last 10 years is STAGGERING. There is no legislation currently on the books which seeks to protect these vulnerable women. Yet, this racist misogynist sack of shit is delaying the passage of important legislation.

Back in his day, Jesse Helms held up hundreds of Clinton appointments to the bench.

NO ONE person should have that kind of power in Congress.