The United States Senate voted today to shut down any further debate on the misguided nomination of Kyle Duncan to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Despite the vital concerns of transgender people of this country and their families, Duncan’s nomination will now move forward to a full vote.
Throughout his career, Kyle Duncan has stood against the civil liberties of LGBT people. He defended North Carolina’s discriminatory HB 2, defended policies that violate the rights of transgender students, and sought the support of the notorious anti-LGBT group Alliance for Defending Freedom.
Duncan also called the historic Supreme Court case confirming the legal right of marriage to millions of LGBT Americans “an abject failure” that “imperils civic peace.” In defending the North Carolina law, he stood against the consensus of the entire medical community by citing disproven junk science to argue that being transgender is a “delusion.”
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, offered this statement on today’s vote:
"We are appalled the Senate would vote to prematurely end debate on the nomination of Kyle Duncan. This cloture vote stands against the voices of the 200 parents of transgender children who sent the Senate a letter in February expressing they could not feel safe trusting a judge who doesn’t respect the rights of their children. With crucial legal battles over health care, the military, and nondiscrimination laws yet ahead, there is no overstating the risks posed by Kyle Duncan to the rights and safety of millions of U.S. citizens."
