The GOP Wants to Starve Gay and Trans Children
Republican Attorneys General have sued the federal government for the right to discriminate against LGBTQ kids in a school meal program
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It’s not as if Republicans have ever made their contempt of the poor out to be a secret, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that they are fighting for the right to starve LGBTQ children.
On Tuesday, more than 20 Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over a Department of Agriculture school meal program that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The new guidance from the USDA, announced in May, noted it would include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as a violation of Title IX in “any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
It applies to all state and local agencies, program operators, and sponsors that receive funds from the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, which distributes funds for free school meals.
The agency reportedly says it wants voluntary compliance, but it did promise to refer violations to the Department of Justice.
Led by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, the challenge claims that the federal government is attempting to force states and schools to follow anti-discrimination requirements that in their view “misconstrue the law.”
“This case is, yet again, about a federal agency trying to change law, which is Congress’ exclusive prerogative,” Slatery said in a statement. “The USDA simply does not have that authority. We have successfully challenged the Biden Administration’s other attempts to rewrite law and we will challenge this as well.”
Slatery was referring to that same Republican group recently winning a preliminary injunction against similar guidance from the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A federal judge found a similar federal directive clashed with state laws regarding gender-based laws applicable to bathrooms and sports teams. The new suit is filed in the same court district.
