Trump is flanked by clergy members after signing an executive order on Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty at the White House, on May 4, 2017, in Washington. Mark Wilson \/ Getty Images file <\/p>\n
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, and Treasury specifically in the records request. <\/p>\n
In March, the ACLU submitted <\/p>\n
\"The administration hasnt been shy in saying it wants to broaden peoples ability to discriminate based on religious beliefs,\" ACLU attorney Joshua Block told NBC News on Thursday. \"Were just trying to find out how its planning to go about that.\" <\/p>\n
Related: <\/p>\n
Although the January leak of the draft executive order was never signed by President Trump, it caused widespread panic among LGBTQ advocates. Then-White House Deputy Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told NBC News in <\/p>\n
But even after controversy surrounding the leaked draft died down, the Trump administration continued to state support for increased religious freedom protections. In May, President Trump signed the <\/p>\n
Related: <\/p>\n
Other actions by the administration have caused LGBTQ advocates to worry that anti-discrimination protections are slowly being dismantled. In March, <\/p>\n
Earlier in July, <\/p>\n
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\"The president has also directed me to issue guidance on how to apply federal religious liberty protections,\" Sessions said in the July 11 speech. \"The department is finalizing this guidance, and I will soon issue it.\" <\/p>\n
For the ACLU, that's warning enough. Now the civil rights group wants the federal administration to show its hand and confirm whether it is planning religious liberty guidance that would impact non-discrimination laws. <\/p>\n
\"Whats clear in the months since then is the administration is exploring different means of accomplishing the same results the guidance Sessions is promising for the Justice Department, new regulations for the Health Department, across the board,\" said Block. \"The public should be able to know whos driving this.\" <\/p>\n
NBC News requested comments from the departments of Health, Labor, or Treasury and did not receive replies. A Department of Justice spokesperson said they had no updates to provide on the issue. <\/p>\n
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ACLU Sues Federal Government for Religious Liberty Documents - NBCNews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Trump is flanked by clergy members after signing an executive order on Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty at the White House, on May 4, 2017, in Washington. Mark Wilson \/ Getty Images file The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, and Treasury specifically in the records request. Continue reading