The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
has criticized U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions' decision to address the
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian conservative group
opposed to LGBT rights.
Sessions spoke to the group at its
Summit on Religious Liberty in Orange County, California, where he
promised that the Department of Justice is preparing rules to protect
“religious liberty.”
(Related: At
ADF summit, Jeff Sessions promised DOJ guidance on “religious
freedom.”)
While the event was closed to the press
and the Justice Department refused to release a transcript, the
conservative website the
Federalist published a copy of the speech Session gave at the
event.
SPLC, which in 2016 designated ADF a
“hate group” for its opposition to LGBT rights, said in a
statement that Sessions had lent “the credibility of his office to
a group committed to legalizing discrimination against the LGBT
community.”
“The ADF is, in fact, not about
defending freedom, as its name says. Rather, it’s a hate group that
cloaks itself in religion as it spreads demonizing lies about the
LGBT community in this country and seeks to criminalize it abroad. If
the ADF had its way, gay people would be back in the closet for fear
of going to jail,” the SPLC added.
The ADF is currently representing a
Colorado baker and a Washington state florist who refused to serve
gay couples. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case from
Colorado and the ADF has appealed a ruling in the Washington state
case to the nation's highest court.
(Related: Barronelle
Stutzman, florist who refused gay couple, appeals case to Supreme
Court.)