Democrats Demand Jeff Sessions Restore Transgender Discrimination Protections

It's been a month since Attorney General (and Despicable Person) Jeff Sessions rescinded a policy that protected transgender people from discrimination and now Senate Democrats have decided to fight back.

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In a letter signed by 44 Democratic and independent senators, they say that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, also applies to gender identity. By stripping away the protection for the trans community, they argue that Sessions has put some of "the most vulnerable Americans" at risk of discrimination.

"Actions that roll back the rights of LGBTQ Americans are not consistent with the values of equality and dignity or with Congress's goals in passing the Civil Rights Act," the letter reads. "By reversing the Department's enforcement of Title VII on behalf of transgender people, you are sending a signal that DOJ will now condone and defend those who discriminate on the basis of an individual's gender identity or history of gender transition."

This isn't the first attack on the transgender community by the Trump administration. The President also implemented a ban on transgender service members in the military this year, though that particular attempt at transphobia has recently been blocked by a federal judge. Sessions has yet to respond to the letter but that may be because he's too busy trying to get his Russia story straight.