In the middle of Pride month and on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the United States Senate confirmed a new judge — another anti-LGBTI Trump appointee.

Matthew Kacsmaryk achieved his lifetime appointment to the federal bench in the Northern District of Texas with a 52-46 vote.

The vote happened along party lines. Only one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (ME), voted against Kacsmaryk. She cited his ‘extreme statements’ on LGBTI and reproductive rights, stating they ‘reflect poorly on Mr. Kacsmaryk’s temperament and suggest an inability to respect precedent and to apply the law fairly and impartially’.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) referenced Collins’ choice in his remarks on the vote.

‘Mr. Kacsmaryk has demonstrated a hostility to the LGBTQ bordering on paranoia,’ he said.

‘It’s unbelievable that this man has been nominated, and he’s not alone. The parade of narrow-minded, often bigoted people who we’re putting on the bench. . . . One Republican senator rightfully voiced concerns about this man’s fitness. Where are the others?’

What has this judge said about LGBTI rights?

Kacsmaryk’s anti-LGBTI comments are extensive.

He has previously described identifying as transgender as a ‘mental disorder’ and disputed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) stance that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects sexual orientation and gender identity.

He also claimed ‘sexual revolutionaries’ cause married and unborn children to become less important than ‘erotic desires of liberated adults’.

Reports have shown at least one-third of Trump’s court appointees, which are lifetime positions, are anti-LGBTI. Kacsmaryk is only the latest.

Failing the basic requirement of ‘equal under the law’

Sarah Warbelow, the Human Rights Campaign’s Legal Director, described Kacsmaryk as one of the Trump administration’s most anti-LGBTI judge picks.

‘He has a long history of virulently anti-LGBTQ opinions and positions — including his deeply disturbing opposition to same-sex marriage, his vocal hostility towards legal protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, and his shocking refusal to recognize the basic humanity of transgender people,’ she continued.

‘Kacsmaryk fails the basic expectation of impartiality and commitment to equality under the law that we demand of every member of the bench.

‘The Human Rights Campaign will continue to raise the alarm about Kacsmaryk and future nominees who refuse to protect the rights of all Americans.’

See also