Austin, Texas – December 13, 2017  Equality Texas, the largest statewide organization solely dedicated to securing full equality for LGBTQ Texans, today applauds the action of the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley, who on Wednesday said the nomination of anti-LGBTQ extremist Jeff Mateer as a Federal Judge will not move forward.

Statement of Equality Texas CEO Chuck Smith: 

Today, is a victory for justice, human decency and for the rule of law.

Jeff Mateer by his actions and words has shown he is incapable of being fair and impartial and has shown he would openly violate the law and discriminate against LGBTQ people. He is unfit to serve as an impartial judge in Texas.  We are thrilled his nomination is in the trash pile of history where it belongs.

Mateer has referred to transgender children as “evidence of Satan’s plan”.  He asserted that marriage equality would lead to bestiality and other “disgusting” forms of wedlock, and has complained about states which have banned medically-unsupportable and psychologically damaging “conversion therapy.”

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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working solely to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration.