LULAC Analysis: Federal Judge’s Actions Blocking LGBTQIA+ Protections Are Straight Out Of Colonial Times

Nation’s Largest and Oldest Latino Civil Rights Warns Judiciary Extreme Conservatives are Turning Back America’s Clock on Civil Liberties

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following statement in the wake of the decision by Tennessee Federal Judge Charles Atchley Jr. blocking the Biden Administration’s executive order issued in January 2021. The order directed federal agencies to enact rules that specifically banned discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in matters of employment and education. The court ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by attorneys general in 19 Republican states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

Rodolfo Rosales Jr. – Texas LULAC State Director
“As LULACs first openly gay elected state director, I am compelled to speak out against this injunction that essentially attempts to make invisible every gay and transgender person in America. The ruling means this court believes we are unworthy of even the basic constitutional protections to which everyone else is entitled. Most concerning is that we have seen a series of recent conservative legal decisions based on the logic that if the constitution did not expressly state a specific right, it is invalid and does not exist. Never mind that many other modern laws are drawn from legal principles and concepts that do not expressly state their application today. Let us not fool ourselves. These attacks on our civil rights are being fueled by the right-wing moral police who have appointed themselves the arbiters of what our society should look like and how we should be or behave. We are on a perilous, slippery slope, and I fear more attacks on ‘the other’ are ahead.”

Alexa Rodriguez - LULAC National Women Commission Youth Representative / Director of Trans-Latinx DMV, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the Black-Indigenous-Brown Trans-Latinx Community in the DMV area.
“I am deeply saddened by what this judge is signaling to our trans and gay youths across the country and Puerto Rico who are already being bullied and constantly marginalized because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. Even harder to understand is the pretext of faith used by those who support such narrow views when they espouse hatred against fellow human beings. I am proud to be a trans woman and leader devoting my life to strengthening, encouraging, and celebrating each person’s unique beauty and not attacking others because they are different from me. I will not be deterred, nor will millions of other LGBTQIA+ individuals. America is stronger and its future brighter because of our presence.”

Jesse Garcia - National LULAC LGBTQ Affairs Committee Chair
“Rather than protect students at higher risk for suicide due to their treatment and stigmatization at home and school, red state attorneys general want to target a small population who are too young to defend themselves at the ballot box. This is state-sponsored bullying, and LULAC encourages school districts to support these students independently. Nothing in this decision can stop schools from treating students consistent with their gender identity. And nothing in this decision eliminates schools’ obligations under Title IX or students’ or parents’ abilities to bring lawsuits in federal court.”

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About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.