Last June, President Donald Trump nominated attorney Shannon Lee Goessling to become the director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Created in 1995 through the Violence Against Women Act — which expired last year and is currently in the process of being reauthorized by Congress — the office administers funds and federal leadership for community efforts to address “domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”

Although a hearing for Goessling’s confirmation has yet to be scheduled, the former Florida prosecutor and Fox News commentator’s record on issues ranging from youth incarceration to same-sex marriage has come under public scrutiny in recent weeks. The White House press release announcing Goessling’s nomination highlighted her work on behalf of women and children in Georgia, to support the opinion that she is a qualified and deserving pick for the position, but her LinkedIn page indicates that she only held the position for nine months, as noted by HuffPost. And Goessling’s 11 years as executive director and chief legal counsel of the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation tells a story that raises serious concerns.

In 2009, amid an ongoing Supreme Court case to decide whether or not juvenile offenders should receive life without parole for non-homicide related crimes, the Southeastern Legal Foundation filed a friend of the court brief, arguing against leniency for juveniles who commit certain violent crimes. Goessling told NPR that “to allow defendants, whether 13 or 17, to be released after they commit these crimes, is an injustice to the victims,” and that “the system is not set up for rehabilitation” but “for retribution and consequences.”

But the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and Mental Health America disagreed with that position, citing ways in which teenagers’ brains are still developing and have not fully matured when it comes to making decisions. These organizations concluded that because young people are “more susceptible” to negative pressure and risky behavior, taking away their opportunity to reform and reintegrate into society — as advocated by Goessling — would be too severe a punishment. Although Goessling argued that granting lighter sentences to offenders would be unfair to the victims of their crimes, especially women and girls, a 2012 survey conducted by the Sentencing Project found that 79% of young people sentenced to life said they had been victims of a violent home life, and 77% of female offenders had reported histories of sexual abuse.

Cases filed by the Southeastern Law Federation under Goessling’s leadership solidified her active work against LGBTQ and immigrant rights. One such brief, filed in 2015, supported bans on same-sex marriage; another sued the state of Alabama for administering driver’s license exams in languages other than English. Also, in 2008, Goessling’s firm successfully represented a Philadelphia restaurant owner who hung a sign in his restaurant reading, “This is America. When ordering, please speak English.”

Hate crimes against LGBTQ people are on the rise and public harassment of Spanish-speakers are well-documented. Goessling’s history of actively aiding systems of racist oppression reinforces her complete disregard for the most women most vulnerable to violence in America.

Goessling’s lack of support for communities that include marginalized women, who can be especially prone to domestic and dating violence, is telling. She believes arming potential victims would help prevent assault, despite research that shows access to firearms in the home could actually increase the chances of an abuser killing their partner. At a Florida House panel held a hearing held two days after the Virginia Tech massacre, she waved her NRA membership card and said, "My glock is my best friend," according to the Daily Beast.