LA FIRE DEPARTMENT’S DEI AGENDA RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT IF IT COST THEM THEIR HOME IN THE WAKE OF CALIFORNIA FIRES
The citizens of California, deserve to have the best firefighters protecting their homes, not someone who just happened to be the right sex or race.
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (January 9, 2025) — As California battles devastating wildfires that have displaced families and destroyed homes, questions are surfacing about the impact of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s (LAFD) “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) policies on the department’s preparedness and effectiveness. Some residents might even be asking a deeply personal question: Did the DEI agenda cost me my home?
Back in November of 2022, LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley and Mayor Eric Garcetti created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Bureau for the Los Angeles Fire Department. Fire Chief Crowley is on record saying, “With the new DEI Bureau, the department will develop and drive forward key diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and initiatives to enhance the LAFD’s work environment and performance.” On top of that, Crowley told NBC 4, she’s “not looking for a specific number, it’s never enough.”
According to the LAFD’s own Racial Equity Action Plan, one of its focus areas is to “Provide access and opportunity for more workers from communities of color through recruitment, selection and assignments to ensure racial equity in job roles that exist at all levels of government.”
Mountain States Legal Foundation’s General Counsel, William Trachman had this to say, “When you are focused on DEI, you aren’t focused on getting the real job done. Using race or sex as a factor in hiring or promotion means downplaying merit and skill. Our hearts go out to the victims here, and we pray that the fires are put out swiftly. As a native Californian with friends in the LA area, it hurts my heart to see the disaster unfolding.”
This is just another example of how dangerous and unconstitutional DEI agendas are. In high stakes roles especially, these types of DEI initiatives can place peoples’ lives at risk. The citizens of California deserve to have the best firefighters protecting their homes, not someone who just happened to be the right race or have the right skin color. Our hearts go out to those in California whose lives are being affected by the wildfires. Mountain States hopes for your safety and stands with you during this time of unimaginable loss.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit, public-interest legal firm established in 1977. MSLF is dedicated to individual liberty, limited and ethical government, and the benefits of the free enterprise system. MSLF defends its clients through pro bono litigation and seeks victory for its clients at the highest level possible to establish binding legal precedents to benefit millions of Americans. Through its litigation and public discourse, MSLF educates the American public on the threat unrestrained government presents to our liberties. Learn more at mslegal.org