Title
Calling on the United States Senate to reject U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions' nomination for the office of U.S. Attorney General.
Body
WHEREAS, The Attorney General of the United States, as the nation's top law enforcement officer, must have a deep and abiding faith not only in the sanctity of the nation's laws but also in the underlying values upon which those laws are based. Perhaps most important of these values is the equality of all Americans, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, Over the past 8 years, DOJ has vigorously pursued potential discrimination cases and voting rights abuses, a priority that Sen. Sessions has indicated will not necessarily continue under his watch. During his confirmation hearing, Sen. Sessions said that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was "intrusive," raising questions about the importance of this landmark legislation to the Attorney General nominee and the new administration; and
WHEREAS, Senator Sessions has also made dangerous and irresponsible statements on race. His nomination for a seat in the federal judiciary in 1986 failed in part because he had referred to the NAACP and other civil rights groups as "un-American" and accused these organizations of "forcing civil rights down the throats of people." His U.S. Senate voting record has not indicated a significant change in his stance on such issues. Indeed, his record on issues of civil rights has earned only a 10% approval from the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, While Senator Sessions professed in his confirmation hearings a laudable understanding of the danger that illegal guns pose to the public, his enthusiastic endorsement of harsh mandatory minimum sentencing as a panacea for these crimes is counterproductive to initiatives in the City of Philadelphia aimed at addressing the root causes of gun violence; and
WHEREAS, Sen. Sessions' positions on LGBTQ rights raise still more concerns about the Attorney General nominee's dedication to dive...
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