U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive instructing federal agencies to do as much as possible to accommodate those who say their religious freedoms are being violated – a step most see as a huge step back for LGBT+ under the law of the United States.
The Sessions directive allows religious freedom to override many anti-discrimination protections for LGBT+ people and women more broadly.
President Trump announced his plans for the directive in a Rose Garden ceremony with religious leaders held in May, and it lays the legal groundwork for the administration to interpret the law in ways that will be detrimental for LGBT+ people in the workplace and in the provision of public services.
Last week, the Trump administration also issued a new rule that substantially undermines a woman’s access to birth control under the Affordable Care Act.
The memo also questions the Johnson amendment, which bars churches and tax-exempt groups from endorsing political candidates.