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LGBTI groups call for delay on Kavanaugh vote

Written by gaytourism

US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh takes questions from senators (Photo: Twitter)

LGBTI groups have joined calls to halt a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It comes after a California professor detailed allegations of attempted rape by Kavanaugh in the 1980s.

Several LGBTI organizations joined civil society groups in calling for an investigation into allegations. They also asked to halt the Judiciary Committee’s vote scheduled for this week.

‘The Senate cannot move forward with this lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land without the results of a fair, non-partisan, and thorough process,’ the joint statement said.

The LGBT Bar Association of New York and the National Center for Transgender Equality were among the signatories.

Equality California praised Christine Blasey Ford’s bravery in coming forward with allegations. Equality California is the country’s largest statewide LGBTI group

‘These charges are serious and disqualifying’ said Executive Director Rick Zbur. ‘The stakes are too high for his nomination to proceed, and the White House should withdraw it immediately’.

Seven members of the 21-person Judiciary Committee called for the vote to be delayed. The vote is scheduled for Thursday (20 September).

Republic President Donald Trump’s pick of Kavanaugh would give the Republicans an edge in the highest court of the United States.

Kavanaugh does not have a clear cut position on LGBTI issues. But LGBTI and women’s advocacy groups previously united to condemn him.

Police arrested 22 people as they protested at Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Allegations

Ford told the Washington Post Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her at a gathering in the early 1980s. Significantly, Ford had not detailed the allegations publicly before.

She said Kavanaugh pinned her down, attempted to remove her clothes, and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.

‘I thought he might inadvertently kill me’, Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California, told the Post. ‘He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing’.

She escaped after Kavanaugh’s friend, also in the room at the time, playfully attacked Kavanaugh.

Ford had previously sent an anonymous statement to a US lawmaker.

When the outlines of Ford’s account became public last week, Kavanaugh said: ‘I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time’.

Kavanaugh to ‘undermine LGBTQ equality’

LGBTI and women’s rights advocates largely denounced Kavanaugh’s nomination earlier this year.

Human Rights Campaign’s Chad Griffin warned Kavanaugh ‘would undermine LGBTQ equality, women’s reproductive rights and affordable healthcare’.

During a previous confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh refused to answer whether he believed the Supreme Court’s 2016 landmark equal marriage ruling was correctly decided.

The Supreme Court is likely to rule on key issues facing the LGBTI community in the near future.

These include nondiscrimination laws, businesses and organizations refusing service to LGBTI people, and transgender people serving in the military.

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