WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – President Joe Biden’s latest LGBT agenda item, tying school lunch funding for low-income students to sexual identity policies, is against the law according to 26 state attorneys general.
The new rule from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also requires entities that disburse other nutritional assistance, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to agree to not discriminate based on someone’s “gender identity.” Schools must “update their non-discrimination policies and signage to include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation” or otherwise the institutions would lose their federal funding for lunch programs.
In response, 26 state attorneys general wrote a letter, released on Tuesday, which explains that the USDA’s May 5 rule “imposes new—and unlawful—regulatory measures on state agencies and operators receiving federal financial assistance from the USDA.” Signatories include Tennessee’s Herb Slatery, Florida’s Ashley Moody and Indiana’s Todd Rokita.
The rule has drawn criticism, including from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who has criticized Biden for “trying to deny school lunch programs to states that don’t do transgender ideology in the schools,” saying Biden was “totally off his rocker to be doing that.”
The signatories stated that implementation of the USDA rule will have “the inevitable result [of] regulatory chaos that would threaten the effective provision of essential nutritional services to some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
The Biden administration also violated the Administrative Procedures Act, read the letter, by not posting the regulation for comment, and instead it called the new rule a “clarification.” The Biden administration has a history of ignoring basic rule-making procedures to push social agenda items on issues including abortion.
Biden’s new “clarification” misapplies the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, that found “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers are now subject to a media witch-hunt after refusing to wear LGBT symbols on their hats and shirts because of their faith in God.
One ESPN commentator called the men "bigoted" for supposedly using "religious exemption BS" to say "no" to the Pride Month clothing.
It's time to stand with these men against the intolerance of the radical left.
SIGN the petition to support the MLB players opposing LGBT Pride
The careers and lives of the five pitchers — Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson — will be greatly harmed if we abandon them to the cancel culture of their critics, like ESPN's Sarah Spain.
“That religious exemption BS is used in sports and otherwise also allows for people to be denied health care, jobs, apartments, children, prescriptions, all sorts of rights,” Spain claimed.
“We have to stop tiptoeing around it because we’re trying to protect people who are trying to be bigoted...” she continued.
Now they're trying to cancel people for not wearing a gay pride patch. This is always the trajectory for the Left. First they demand tolerance, then acceptance, then celebration, then participation. Learn to say no to these people or it will never end. https://t.co/02zAKDJx77
— Best selling LGBT children's author Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 8, 2022
These men should be celebrated for their bravery, but instead are being derided for sticking up for their Christian beliefs.
SIGN the petition to stand with these five brave Christian players
People are being bullied into conformity by an LGBT movement that claims to be about tolerance and diversity, unless you're a devout Christian.
“Now they’re trying to cancel people for not wearing a gay pride patch,” the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh remarked.
“This is always the trajectory for the Left. First they demand tolerance, then acceptance, then celebration, then participation. Learn to say no to these people or it will never end.”
It's hard to imagine sports columnists like Nancy Armour of USA Today attacking Muslims for their rejection of Pride propaganda, but she sees no problem in attacking these devout Christians.
Oh for God’s sake. These folks who bastardize religion to suit their bigotry would do well to actually READ the New Testament. I’d recommend starting with Matthew. https://t.co/qAK875xDhZ
— Nancy Armour (@nrarmour) June 5, 2022
We hope Nancy Armour's reading of the New Testament extends to Romans 1:25-27.
Most commentators simply don't understand that loving everyone as a Christian means telling people certain actions are extremely harmful to the soul.
SIGN: These men were right to reject the LGBT Pride insignias on their hats and jerseys.
Indeed, by peeling off the rainbow logo from their jerseys and wearing the standard team hat, the five pitchers have taken a stand against an ideology that's antithetical to Christianity.
Major League Baseball (MLB) and every other professional sports league have promoted LGBTQ causes in recent years, including showcasing a “marriage” proposal between two homosexuals in front of a stadium packed with families.
Sports are no longer safe from the tenticles of the LGBT movement, with players being strong-armed into virtue signaling for causes they disagree with.
It's time for people to stand up and say "Enough".
SIGN the petition and play your part in resisting the advances of intolerant wokeism into every sphere of public life.
Thank you for signing and sharing this petition.
MORE INFORMATION:
ESPN commentator calls players "bigots" for refusing to wear Pride colors - LifeSiteNews
Five MLB players take a stand for God - LifeSiteNews
**Photo: The Tampa Bay Rays’ Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson - Converseer/Twitter**
“[T]he Guidance is unlawful because the USDA has premised it on an obvious misreading and misapplication of the Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock v. Clayton County,” the attorneys general letter stated.
The letter added the new food assistance rule is “a misreading and unwarranted extension of Bostock. The USDA cannot point to Bostock to justify its interpretation of Title IX because Bostock concerned only Title VII.”
“We have long had a productive relationship with the federal government, managing various food and nutrition programs guided by the principles of cooperative federalism,” the signatories stated. “We would like to continue this cooperative relationship.
“But the Guidance flouts the rule of law, relies on patently incorrect legal analysis that is currently under scrutiny in the federal courts, and was issued without giving the States the requisite opportunity to be heard,” the letter stated.
The letter concluded by asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to rescind the rule.