Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is blasting a new Trump administration rule proposal that would greatly expand the religious exemption that allows religious entities to ignore anti-discrimination laws.
In a social media post, Lightfoot called the Trump administration’s agenda one of “hatred and discrimination,” and criticized the proposed rule from the Department of Labor.
“Behind the tweets, the rallies, and the rhetoric lies (President Trump’s) true agenda: hatred and discrimination,” the mayor said. “Instead of upholding the constitution and our values, he is coming for the people he thinks can’t fight back. But we are fighting back. November 2020 can’t come soon enough.”
The rule would allow those entities to ignore anti-discrimination laws by broadening the definition to include federal contractors that declare themselves to be religious, according to NBC News.
The Labor Department said the rule is proposed to provide the “broadest protection of religious exercise” for companies competing for federal contracts.
LGBTQ advocates decried the proposed rule, saying it would permit companies to decline to hire lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, in addition to individuals who do not practice their religion.
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“This proposal is part and parcel of an ongoing and coordinated attack by this administration on LGBTQ people aimed at rolling back our rights under the false guise of religion,” Zeke Stokes, chief programs officer for GLAAD, told NBC News in a statement. “It’s really nothing more than a permission slip to discriminate.”
The rule change will go through a 30-day public comment period, according to NBC News.
