16
!
Murphy of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals,
76
Neomi Rao of the D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals
77
, Brantley Starr of the District court for the Northern District of
Texas,
78
and Steven Menashi of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals
79
have all
worked to weaken Title IX protections for transgender and other LGB students
across the United States. Judge Eric Murphy, specifically, defended the Gloucester
County School Board (Virginia), which refused to allow transgender student and
plaintiff Gavin Grimm to use the bathroom that matched his gender identity.
80
Similarly, Judge Brantley Starr has defended several Texas bills that discriminate
against same-sex couples seeking to adopt a child.
81
Judge Rao, before her
appointment to the D.C. Court of Appeals, worked at the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on a proposed Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) rule that would strengthen religious refusal policies for healthcare
providers, all but legalizing discrimination in healthcare settings.
82
In June 2019,
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk began service at the District Court for the Northern
District of Texas. Judge Kacsmaryk has demonstrated his opposition to LGBT
equality. He has written that the Civil Rights Movement was on the “right side of
history,” but LGBT rights movements are not. Kacsmaryk claims LGBT
movements have “sought public affirmation of the lie that the human person is an
autonomous blob of Silly Putty unconstrained by nature or biology, and that
marriage, sexuality, gender identity, and even the unborn child must yield to the
erotic desires of liberated adults.”
83
In 2019, President Trump nominated Lawrence VanDyke to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
84
The Senate confirmed VanDyke in
December 2019. VanDyke is at least the second appellate court judge to have
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
76
Alliance for Justice. (2019, June). AFJ Nominee Report: Eric Murphy. Alliance for Justice. Available online at:
https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Murphy-Full-Report-FINAL.pdf
77
Alliance for Justice. (2019, January). AFJ Nominee Report: Neomi Rao. Alliance for Justice. Available online at:
https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Rao-Report.pdf
78
Alliance for Justice. (2019, April). Brantley Starr Snapshot. Alliance for Justice. Available online at:
https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Starr-Snapshot-Final.pdf
79
Alliance for Justice. (2019, September). AFJ Nominee Report: Steven Menashi. Alliance for Justice. Available
online at: https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Menashi-Report-FINAL.pdf!
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82
Alliance for Justice. (2019, January). AFJ Nominee Report: Neomi Rao. Alliance for Justice. Available online at:
https://www.afj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Rao-Report.pdf
83
Kacsmaryk M. (2015, September 4). The Inequality Act: Weaponizing Same-Sex Marriage. Public Discourse:
The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute. Available online at: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/09/15612/
84
Alliance for Justice. (2019). AFJ Nominee Report: Lawrence Vandyke. Available online at: https://afj.org/wp-
content/uploads/2019/10/VanDyke-Final-Report.pdf