Washington, D.C.—Following the announcement that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed cloture on the nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk for a lifetime seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker today released the following statement:
“Matthew Kacsmaryk is a right-wing extremist whose public statements drip with contempt for women and LGBTQ+ people—especially transgender people. His appointment to a lifetime seat on the federal bench would make it impossible for anyone to expect a fair hearing in his courtroom.
“Kacsmaryk once caricatured the movement to end legal restrictions on divorce, abortion rights, and LGBTQ+ equality as having ‘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.’ This is a shocking, ugly, extreme perspective. A lesbian is not lying to the world when she comes out. A trans student who just wants to use the right bathroom isn’t trying to deceive anyone about who they are, nor are they acting out anyone’s erotic desires.
“Matthew Kacsmaryk is not merely expressing his personal opinions when he expresses these extreme views—he is stating clear biases on matters on which he will likely issue legal rulings from the federal bench. We urge all senators to oppose the nomination of this contemptuous, narrow-minded elitist.”
PFAW sent a letter of opposition to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which you can read here: https://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/letter-the-judiciary-committee-should-reject-matthew-kacsmaryks-nomination/
About PFAW
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.
###