The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on
Friday called on President Donald Trump to withdraw the nomination of
Jeff Mateer over his strong opposition to LGBT rights.
Trump picked Mateer, the current first
assistant attorney general of Texas, for a federal judgeship in
Texas.
“Judges are tasked with a sacred duty
to enforce equal treatment for all people under our laws, which is
why it is so alarming that Jeff Mateer has spent his career opposing
anti-discrimination protections and attacking transgender children.
Someone who publicly and unabashedly voices contempt for LGBTQ people
has no place on the bench or in public office,” HRC
Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement.
HRC's criticism comes a day after CNN
reported on remarks Mateer made in 2015 while serving as general
counsel of the First Liberty Institute, a Christian conservative
group opposed to LGBT rights.
In a May speech from that year, Mateer
described transgender children as part of “Satan's plan” of
“destruction” and claimed that allowing gay and lesbian couples
to marry would lead to “disgusting” new forms of matrimony, such
as “people marrying their pets.”
(Related: Trump
judicial nominee Jeff Mateer: Transgender kids part of “Satan's
plan” of “destruction.”)
LGBT legal groups the National Center
for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
(GLAD) have also expressed outrage over Mateer's comments.