Not many people have heard of Kyle Duncan, President Trump
Donald John TrumpDHS to label white supremacists as the 'most persistent and lethal threat' to the US: report Buttigieg slams Trump over comments on fallen soldiers: 'He must think we're all suckers' White House tells federal agencies to cancel 'divisive' racial sensitivity training: report MORE’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. That is, unless you have heard his mesmerizing siren song. Born, raised, and educated in Louisiana, Mr. Duncan has made a career for himself luring people toward the rocky cliffs of his dangerous ideology.
We have seen this in his teachings, his writings, and his practice.
Just look at the wreckage his advocacy has caused for the lives of so many LGBT Americans. Duncan prevented a child in Louisiana from getting a birth certificate listing his two dads as his legal parents. His legal court briefs have enthusiastically promoted junk science calling transgender people “delusional.” He’s repeatedly claimed that children are harmed by having gay or lesbian parents and believes businesses should have an absolute right to refuse gay and lesbian customers. Kyle Duncan may not have been caught on video stating that transgender children are evidence that “Satan’s plan is working,” and he may couch his anti-LGBT views in the beguiling language of religious liberty, but the results are still the same.
Duncan’s defenders will tell you that there is no reason why his nomination should cause any alarm. They will say that he has simply been fulfilling a lawyer’s highest calling: zealous advocacy on behalf of his clients – even if those clients include a company that wants to block your access to birth control, or voter suppression enthusiasts in North Carolina.
Don’t be fooled. Duncan’s clients chose him to advance their causes because Duncan shares their fundamental belief that equality for LGBT people is incompatible with the moral values they believe should govern our country. And now, by nominating Duncan for a lifetime appointment to a federal appellate court, President Trump has chosen Duncan to advance this administration’s anti-civil rights agenda long after the President has vacated the White House.
Duncan’s nomination has moved to the Senate floor, where a handful of Senators hold an immense amount of power over the fate of his confirmation. Sen. John Kennedy
John Neely KennedyMORE (R-La.) rightly bemoaned the fact that Duncan’s nomination had been put forth by those in Washington seeking to advance their agenda, bypassing other qualified candidates from the legal community of Louisiana. While Kennedy initially stood up to pressure from the White House, he appears to have been brought back into line by his party. But there are other senators, like Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsCongress must act quickly to throw a lifeline to non-profit associations Progressive group launches presidential, Senate ads in battleground states OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Major drilling projects among dozens fast-tracked after Trump order | UN discrimination committee questions impact of US Arctic drilling on Indigenous people | Democratic lawmakers demand climate questions in presidential debates MORE (R-Maine), Cory Gardner
Cory Scott GardnerMail-in voting won't hurt conservatives — Trump will Overnight Energy: Interior watchdog says officials misled Congress | Trump admin finalizes rule on royalty cuts for mining | Groups pressure Biden to exclude fossil fuel execs Interior watchdog: top officials misled Congress on BLM relocation out West MORE (R-Colo.), Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann MurkowskiChild care has always been essential to our economy — let's start treating it that way Proposed rules to protect bulk power grid from foreign targeting raise concerns Army Corps delays Pebble Mine over 'adverse impacts' and 'degradation' MORE (R-Alaska) and Dean Heller
Dean Arthur HellerOn The Trail: Democrats plan to hammer Trump on Social Security, Medicare Lobbying World Democrats spend big to put Senate in play MORE (R-Nev.), who also have an important role to play in terms of deciding whether this is the kind of nominee that their constituents believe should be given a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.
The mythological sirens were attractive, but dangerous. Kyle Duncan may seem like a pragmatic, soft-spoken lawyer, but in reality, there’s a shipwreck dead ahead. We are counting on the fact that there are still enough men and women in the Senate who will put their country ahead of their party, and will stop the nomination of Duncan before it is too late.
Sharon McGowan is the Director of Strategy at Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest legal organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV.