Republican AGs Lose Anti-LGBTQ Food Stamps Case

Bloomberg News reports:

A Biden administration rule barring states from discriminating against poor LGBTQ people in the distribution of food stamps and other nutrition assistance programs survived a legal challenge by almost two dozen Republican-led states. The lawsuit filed in July exaggerated the impact that the federal regulation would have on religious freedom, and improperly tied the new rule to unrelated issues around transgender rights, US District Judge Travis R. McDonough said.

“This case is about food stamps and nutrition education, not bathrooms, sports teams, free speech, or religious exercise,” the judge said. In their complaint, the GOP-led states led by Tennessee said they don’t discriminate against LGBTQ people in access to food assistance, but argued that the new rule would be a slippery slope to “ending sex-separated living facilities and athletics and mandating the use of biologically inaccurate preferred pronouns.”

Read the full article. The spokesman for Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said this afternoon that he may appeal the ruling. Tennessee is the only state whose attorney general is appointed by the state supreme court. Skrmetti took office in September 2022 after serving as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee.

A Biden administration rule barring states from discriminating against poor LGBTQ people in the distribution of food stamps and other programs survived a legal challenge https://t.co/nM4WgzOt1L

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