LGBTQ Rights and Right-wing Gay Bashing

[Bact PhD]

And, right on cue, the state of Flori-DUH gives out a giant “F*** YOU!” to recent guidance from the Biden administration:

www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/2022/07/28/florida-education-commissioner-manny-diaz-jr-schools-ignore-biden-lgbtq-discrimination-rules/10173686002/

The Florida Department of Education is telling school districts statewide they can ignore the Biden administration’s new rules and guidelines on extending sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ individuals, saying Florida won't tolerate the federal government’s efforts to “impose a sexual ideology” in its schools.

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, in a two-page memo sent Thursday to public and private school district officials across Florida, wrote that the administration's new edicts for sex discrimination under several federal laws and programs “are not binding law, do not create any new legal obligations, and should not be treated as governing law.”

But wait, there’s more!

Bible-Thumper Tech, I mean “Christian” school is suing to be able to have its cake and eat it, too:

www.gainesville.com/story/news/2022/07/28/private-school-fights-biden-fried-over-lgbtq-rights-policy-and/10171088002/

A private school in Tampa is taking on the Biden administration and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in federal court, arguing it's being punished because its religious beliefs clash with new federal guidelines extending sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ individuals.

An attorney for Grant Park Christian Academy said the school's failure to comply with the feds will force it to forfeit tens of thousands of dollars under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program, which provides reduced-price or free meals to children from low-income families. The program is administered through Fried’s office.

Sorry, not sorry: If you want Uncle Sam’s money, you have to play by Uncle Sam’s rules. I wasn’t aware that any private/sectarian school was taking taxpayer $$ for meals.

[LFC]

Here's another example of exactly the kind of action Rod Dreher, and now Andrew Sullivan, have been predicting would happen against those with unpopular opinions. Predictably the worst of these acts repeatedly come from their side. I wonder how much Sullivan will continue to whine about "wokeism" if he and his husband end up in the crosshairs at some point.

The owner of a bakery in a tiny Illinois town claims her business is the latest victim of a homophobic “conspiracy” after a planned drag-show brunch was derailed by a hate crime attack then targeted by local officials who she says are blaming—and punishing—the victim.

UpRising Bakery and Cafe in Lake in the Hills, a village just outside of Chicago, planned to hold a “Starry Night Drag Brunch” on July 23 but was forced to cancel after their windows were smashed and covered in graffiti. Then, on July 30, business owner Corrina Sac took to Facebook to say that a kids’ Disney karaoke event and a free resume-writing workshop planned for the weekend had been nixed too, this time because of local officials.

“Our hands are being tied, and our backs are being forced up against the wall by our landlord and the Village of the Lake in the Hills,” Sac said in the video posted to UpRising Bakery and Cafe’s Facebook page. “Unfortunately, we received a letter yesterday after a very threatening meeting on Thursday. [It says,] ‘Should the village become aware of any entertainment and events continuing to be advertised and taking place at UpRising Bakery and Cafe location, it will pursue appropriate enforcement actions.’”

Sac said the letter listed the consequences should the bakery not adhere to the warning, including zoning ordinance violations, penalty fees, and a suspension of the business’ license.

“Let that sink in. We’ve been holding events pretty much since the day that we’ve opened,” Sac said, sitting in front of a board scrawled with pro-LGBTQ+ messages and illustrations. “At no time up until Thursday of this week, we were told that our building was not zoned to do any sort of event and that there was a concern for how much resources we were taking from the village.”

“I feel like this is discrimination and a conspiracy to interfere with my business,” Sac continued. “They shifted gears and started victim-blaming me after we were attacked. …And not until that happened and not until they saw the incredible support in lines around the building, did they suddenly have a problem with our community-driven events here at UpRrising.”

Hours before the bakery’s “Starry Night Drag Brunch” was supposed to start on July 23, Joseph Collins was charged with a felony hate crime and criminal damage to property for allegedly breaking the building’s windows and spray-painting hateful messages, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The bakery had to cancel the brunch as a result.

In her Saturday video, Sac said local officials seemingly offered support following the attack, only to turn around and threaten her with what felt like bogus restrictions.

[LFC]

Senate Republicans are desperately making excuses for their likely blocking of the Respect for Marriage Act. Approval of same sex marriage polls at over 70% but they are under the thumb of the Christian nationalists and are cowering at the loss of their support. Susan Collins is, as always, a cynical little shit blaming her disgusting actions on anything but her own political cowardice and lack of spine. Gawd I loathe that woman.

After passing the House with the support of 47 Republicans, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would protect marriage rights for same-sex couples if the Supreme Court were to overturn its 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, faces much dimmer prospects in the Senate. There is one reason why: the Christian right still controls the Republican Party. Movement leaders know it took 50 years to reverse Roe, and are committed to a similar strategy to undermine and eventually overturn Obergefell. With abundant clues in the Supreme Court’s June decision overturning Roe that LGBTQ rights could be next on the chopping block, it is unimaginable that movement leaders would sink that goal by allowing this bill to become law.

Republican senators are keenly aware of this. That is why South Dakota’s John Thune and Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy accused Democrats of introducing the bill to distract from inflation. It is why Florida’s Marco Rubio called it “a stupid waste of time,” and claimed gay Floridians are “pissed off” about something else — high gas prices. And it is why Maine’s Susan Collins, who was one of the bill’s four original Republican supporters, came up with the laughing-crying emoji argument that, because Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) had struck a surprise deal on Democratic legislative priorities late last month, she would struggle to win fellow Republicans’ support for the marriage bill. “t was a very unfortunate move that destroys the many bipartisan efforts that are under way,” she told HuffPost.

These were opportune but risible excuses.The reality is these Republicans were already seeing an avalanche of opposition from Christian right political advocacy organizations. Family Research Council Action, the political arm of the Family Research Council church, began calling the bill the “(Dis)Respect for Marriage Act” before it reached the House floor. The group reminded Republican lawmakers that their party platform states, “[t]raditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.” In an email blast, FRC Action sowed fear among its supporters that the bill would be used to persecute them and take away their religious freedom. It reminded them that in the 1970s, the IRS revoked the tax exemption of the segregationist, fundamentalist Christian Bob Jones University over its racist policies, suggesting, despite the fact that it hasn’t happened in the seven years since Obergefell, that universities and nonprofits that oppose marriage equality could face a similar fate. The American Family Association called the bill “an Orwellian attempt to pretend that the Court’s very recent discovery of a constitutional right to same-sex marriage is not controversial and offensive to many people around the country.” The Heritage Foundation called it a “publicity stunt” aimed at “tak[ing] the spotlight off progressives’ radical policies and paint conservatives as bigots — and all this conveniently before the midterm elections.”

Despite the Christian right’s protestations that same-sex marriage is unpopular, it is actually extremely popular, with Gallup earlier this year finding 71 percent of Americans — a record high — supporting it. What’s more, most religious people do not think protections for same-sex marriage infringe on their religious freedom. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, “Majorities of most major religious groups support same-sex marriage,” with one significant outlier: white evangelicals. Only 35 percent of white evangelicals support marriage equality — and their views drive the Republican Party. In the Senate, the filibuster rules reinforce this tyranny of the minority.

There are two reasons for the Christian right’s dominance of the GOP. One is that while white evangelicals make up just 15 percent of the population, they are highly enthusiastic voters; they made up 28 percent of the 2020 electorate, and 76 percent of them voted for Donald Trump. They make up large swaths of the electorate in red states, and are likely to be motivated to engage in backlash against a Republican senator seen to betray the cause.

The second reason is that the Christian right — made up of white evangelical activists along with other conservative white Protestants and Catholics — has built a formidable political and legal machine designed to position themselves as defenders of the true faith and the real Christian America. A well-funded constellation of legal and political organizations has been inordinately successful in amassing power, both in Republican Washington, red state legislatures, and the federal judiciary. It is designed to flex its muscles at moments like these.

[LFC]

This is too tough to effectively excerpt but the upshot is that a rural town in southern Oregon hateful speech, naked bigotry, and actual threats against LGBTQ people aren't playing well, especially when decent people realize that people they care about are being targeted. Ammon Bundy, a complete piece of garbage, was in the thick of religion driven hate. Gee, what a shock.

While the right-wingers readied their Kyle Rittenhouse-themed brand of “self-defense,” local LGBTQ+ community members and allies were also organizing.

“At first the fear was so intense,” says Neubauer. “Even news organizations were trying to get us to respond to the fears as if they were legitimate, and it’s like no, these are conspiracy theories recycled from the early 2000s that are designed to get people to violently attack us. They are trying to isolate us and we have to refuse to be isolated.”

In between reassuring phone calls to each other, sharing resources on digital defense, and trips the lake to take a break from the stress, Pride organizers reached out to the wider Klamath Falls community for support.

“We were reaching into personal networks, professional networks, parents,” says Neubauer. “We just reached out to everyone and got everyone talking about how the conspiracy theories were damaging to our community.”

While Pastor Voight and People’s Rights warned of “outside groups” coming after local children, the Pride organizers like Neubauer and Jeff Press worked to personalize the issues.

“In small towns, we are all pretty interconnected,” says Neubauer. “We couldn’t ever be the nameless faceless boogeyman that they needed to make these things happen. We decided instead to fully put ourselves out there, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, Jeff is involved in this? Jeff runs my kid’s theatre camp!’”

As the tides turned, community Facebook groups and the Benefit for the Basin page were inundated with posts and comments standing up to the bigots and bullies.

“A lot of people were like, my support and ally-ship as a queer person is really important and I’m going to wear my gayest shit everywhere I go this week,” says Neubauer.

[LFC]

A combination of disgusting and probably illegal. How "Christian."

The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen, Texas might be in some hot water, legally speaking, after people discovered that they’ve been putting on an illegal bootleg version of the hit musical Hamilton with added Christian messages.

Oh, and also at the end they throw in an extremely homophobic sermon comparing being queer to having one’s marriage fall apart, going broke, or becoming addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

Possibly the worst way imaginable to end a Broadway musical show, even if it’s the Veggie Tales version.

[goldenvalley]

Aug 9, 2022 23:38:22 GMT LFC said:

A combination of disgusting and probably illegal. How "Christian."

The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen, Texas might be in some hot water, legally speaking, after people discovered that they’ve been putting on an illegal bootleg version of the hit musical Hamilton with added Christian messages.

Oh, and also at the end they throw in an extremely homophobic sermon comparing being queer to having one’s marriage fall apart, going broke, or becoming addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

Possibly the worst way imaginable to end a Broadway musical show, even if it’s the Veggie Tales version.

This made me chuckle.  I am remembering the claims by groups that rock music had Satanic messages hidden in it if you played the music backwards.  I guess these folks didn't bother with the backward tactic.

[LFC]

They're one step from screeching, "Get back in the closet, queers!"

Tensions have been running high in a rural Iowa town after its local library showcased a children’s book about the slain gay rights advocate Harvey Milk, sparking a nasty campaign involving homophobic letters posted on officials’ doors and a contentious town meeting filled with baseless accusations of child grooming.

The furor kicked off when the Logan Public Library showcased the children’s book Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders for Pride Month in June. The seemingly innocuous display lit an anti-LGBTQ+ match for some Logan-area residents.

Homophobic letters began appearing on residential doors of library board members and town officials, including Mayor Clint McDonald, Logan City Clerk Marilyn Keizer told The Daily Beast Tuesday.

The five-page letter, obtained by The Daily Beast, read, “Please weigh the consequences of your decision to display this book… The American Library Association clearly has an agenda to push homosexual ideas… There are no resources on exiting the homosexual lifestyle—only ridicule of them.”

[LFC]

The hate and venom is positively spewing from the "Christian" right.

A Florida-based Christian school sent out an email informing parents that LGBTQ-identifying students "will be asked to leave the school immediately."

According to the email obtained by NBC News, the top administrator of Grace Christian School in Valrico Florida, Barry McKeen, sent out the email to the families for the kindergarten-grade 12 school on June 6. He later confirmed and doubled down on the policy in an Aug. 18 video on the school's official Facebook page.

The June email read: "We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church. Students who are found participating in these lifestyles will be asked to leave the school immediately."

According to the email, the school said students will be "referred to by the gender on their birth certificate."

The email, titled, "Important School Policy Point of Emphasis. ... Please Read," also emphasized, according to NBC News, a verse from the Bible, Genesis 1:26-28, as a means to condemn "elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary gender fluid acts of conduct."

It's interesting that the policy is targeted explicitly at LGBTQ students. While they decry fornication and pornography I seriously doubt they'll bother demanding parents of heterosexual students who have engaged in either to remove their children from the school. It really is about hatred and not religion. They've proved that over and over again.

[LFC]

Here's the truth about One Million Moms. It's amazing how much of an impact one lone, obsessed nutjob can do if they package themselves right.

For years the main joke about the American Family Association's bombastically overstated One Million Moms (OMM) has involved its name itself. For obvious reasons. When an organization gives itself a grandiose name like that, the comedy is built-in.

But after a weekend where we watched a popular American brand, The Hallmark Channel, temporarily duped into believing that the organization's constant bark was really an effective bite, it is time to move past the jokes and state the obvious about this organization: it is basically One Meddling Mom with an agenda, and no company should be giving her the credence she so desperately craves.

Her name is Monica Cole. In the decade that I have been aware of One Million Moms, she is quite literally the only staff member I have ever heard anyone name. She is the one and only person who appears on their petitions, as well as the one and only person who speaks for them to the media. She is the mom. Her. Solo. One person, supposedly representing one million.

One Meddling Mom has issued so many calls and condemnations over the years, it's become easy to tune them out. As GLAAD has arduously detailed, OMM has gone after everything from recent blockbuster Toy Story 4 for including a seconds-long clip of a supposed lesbian couple that quite literally no one but them noticed, to Chips Ahoy for a Twitter ad featuring a Rupaul's Drag Race star. Basically if a company hires, recognizes, features, or in any way supports an LGBTQ person, One Meddling Mom will issue a petition, claim to have millions of supporters behind her, and then start cranking the AFA machine in hopes of getting some sort of press for her campaign-of-the-week. OMM even uses a conservative PR firm, Hamilton Strategies, to help spread this message to a wider public.

Sadly, because nonsense will forever grab headlines, OMM is pretty capable when it comes to getting ink. It's typically dismissive, if not outright derisive, press. Most often the anti-LGBTQ campaign to which it is attached goes absolutely nowhere and the company under attack continues right along serving its entire customer base rather than cutting out the share that AFA/OMM believes to be anti-godly mistakes. Still, Monica Cole and her minuscule operation that masquerades as "millions" does get people talking.

It's easy to be fooled into thinking the organization is larger than it is. But let's look at some evidence:

[LFC]

Senate Dems are trying to get a real "defense of marriage" bill to a vote. Good luck with that. The idea of putting it in with a must-pass spending bill is just stupid. They should at least force a cloture vote, if possible, to get everybody on record. Then they need to attack every Republican who blocks it as a hateful homophobe. That will play well with young voters and it has the bonus of being true.

Some top Senate Democrats are reportedly considering weaving same-sex marriage legislation into a coming spending bill that would keep the government open past the end of the month.

Both Punchbowl News and CBS News reported on the details of the possible move Tuesday. Tucking federal same-sex marriage protections into a continuing resolution — which would reportedly fund the government through at least the beginning of December — could help or significantly harm either cause. By attaching the marriage equality questions to a must-pass spending bill, Republicans wary of going on the record on marriage equality could stand behind the vote as a necessary shutdown-avoidance move. Or they could use the provision to blow up the funding resolution altogether.

The same-sex marriage bill would essentially repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and would offer federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage, which, as we’ve reported, were both singled out by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his opinion overturning Roe v. Wade as privacy rulings he feels the court should reexamine. Since then, Democrats and some Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) have worked to shore up same-sex marriage rights at the federal level, to avoid having to do the same backtracking work abortion supporters are doing now in Congress.

The bill passed the House in July, with all Democrats and nearly 50 Republicans voting in favor of it. That support from House Republicans gave Democrats and Collins some reason to think a similar bill would have the support of at least the 10 Republicans needed to overcome the filibuster in the upper chamber. But GOP leadership has largely avoided engaging on the issue, with some senators, like Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) pretending the right is not under threat and therefore a Democratic ploy unworthy of the Senate’s time.

TL;DR it is unclear if any of this will happen. Democrats may decide it is too risky to give Republicans any room to blow up a must-pass spending bill — the fiscal year ends on September 30 — and risk a government shutdown ahead of midterms. The White House has reportedly requested that at least $47 billion in funding for COVID, monkeypox and funding for Ukraine be included in any short term spending bill.

We’ll keep an eye on where this next showdown is headed.

[goldenvalley]

Sept 7, 2022 14:15:06 GMT LFC said:

Senate Dems are trying to get a real "defense of marriage" bill to a vote. Good luck with that. The idea of putting it in with a must-pass spending bill is just stupid. They should at least force a cloture vote, if possible, to get everybody on record. Then they need to attack every Republican who blocks it as a hateful homophobe. That will play well with young voters and it has the bonus of being true.

Some top Senate Democrats are reportedly considering weaving same-sex marriage legislation into a coming spending bill that would keep the government open past the end of the month.

Both Punchbowl News and CBS News reported on the details of the possible move Tuesday. Tucking federal same-sex marriage protections into a continuing resolution — which would reportedly fund the government through at least the beginning of December — could help or significantly harm either cause. By attaching the marriage equality questions to a must-pass spending bill, Republicans wary of going on the record on marriage equality could stand behind the vote as a necessary shutdown-avoidance move. Or they could use the provision to blow up the funding resolution altogether.

The same-sex marriage bill would essentially repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and would offer federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage, which, as we’ve reported, were both singled out by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his opinion overturning Roe v. Wade as privacy rulings he feels the court should reexamine. Since then, Democrats and some Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) have worked to shore up same-sex marriage rights at the federal level, to avoid having to do the same backtracking work abortion supporters are doing now in Congress.

The bill passed the House in July, with all Democrats and nearly 50 Republicans voting in favor of it. That support from House Republicans gave Democrats and Collins some reason to think a similar bill would have the support of at least the 10 Republicans needed to overcome the filibuster in the upper chamber. But GOP leadership has largely avoided engaging on the issue, with some senators, like Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) pretending the right is not under threat and therefore a Democratic ploy unworthy of the Senate’s time.

TL;DR it is unclear if any of this will happen. Democrats may decide it is too risky to give Republicans any room to blow up a must-pass spending bill — the fiscal year ends on September 30 — and risk a government shutdown ahead of midterms. The White House has reportedly requested that at least $47 billion in funding for COVID, monkeypox and funding for Ukraine be included in any short term spending bill.

We’ll keep an eye on where this next showdown is headed.

The thought is probably to give some Rs who are not opposed to single sex marriage some cover to vote for it in an unrelated bill.  It gets them off the hook with their voters because they don't have to declare one way or the other on a stand alone bill. 

[LFC]

The Christianist right, still high on their victory over abortion rights as delivered by partisan hack SCOTUS, is now coming for the gays. Democrats are continuing to push to get Republicans on the record, something many Republicans in unsafe states and districts desperately want to avoid.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters yesterday that a vote on the bill could happen in coming weeks. He also suggested that Democrats would rather vote on the bill as its own package with enough GOP support to overcome the filibuster then to have to tuck it into a short term spending bill. But getting Republicans on the record on same-sex marriage ahead of the midterms is proving to be an uphill battle as some key senators, like Johnson, come out against the bill. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) even used the same religious liberties language in explaining his opposition.

As we wait for more clarity on the dynamics of any possible impending vote, I want to re-up this piece from last month from TPM contributor Sarah Posner.

In it, Sarah argues that the leaders of the Christian right’s powerful political apparatus are already signaling that, for them, Obergefell is the new Roe. Senate Republicans have heard the message. And they fear the movement’s power.

Per Sarah:

Republican senators are keenly aware of this. That is why South Dakota’s John Thune and Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy accused Democrats of introducing the bill to distract from inflation. It is why Florida’s Marco Rubio called it “a stupid waste of time,” and claimed gay Floridians are “pissed off” about something else — high gas prices. And it is why Maine’s Susan Collins, who was one of the bill’s four original Republican supporters, came up with the laughing-crying emoji argument that, because Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) had struck a surprise deal on Democratic legislative priorities late last month, she would struggle to win fellow Republicans’ support for the marriage bill. “t was a very unfortunate move that destroys the many bipartisan efforts that are under way,” she told HuffPost.

These were opportune but risible excuses. The reality is these Republicans were already seeing an avalanche of opposition from Christian right political advocacy organizations.

As Sarah outlined in her piece, conservative evangelical lobbying groups began messaging against federal protections for same-sex marriage before the House even voted on the bill, knowing full well that allowing the bill to become law would throw a roadblock in front of the uber-conservative Supreme Court as it eyes overturning Obergefell next. From launching messaging campaigns to sending letters to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) warning against the bill, the legal and political arms of the Christian right powerhouse have made it clear to Republican senators where they should stand on this issue if they want to keep their jobs.

[LFC]

Gawd, I loathe the GOP. This bleach blonde complete and total nothing is the co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She thought it was funny to make a gay joke on Twitter.

“We’re so blessed this weak little girl moved to Michigan!” Maddock tweeted with a video clip of Buttigieg discussing California’s new law banning gas cars by 2035. “Looks like he’s bringing all his California Dreaming here with him.”

Hey, Plumpy. Pete Buttigieg served in Afghanistan were he worked to cut off the terrorists' financial networks. Clearly the only serving you have experienced is thirds at Cracker Barrel.

EDIT: Here's her hubby. They're a real pair.

[LFC]

Motes and logs / casting the first stone.

[pnwguy]

Sept 13, 2022 18:15:19 GMT LFC said:

Motes and logs / casting the first stone.

Now hey, he divorced the first one and married his affair partner.  But he's still behind Newt, another pillar of godliness.

[LFC]

Their hatred is as burning hot as it is nonsensical. Unfortunately these types of stupid people are becoming more and more prone to violence.

[LFC]

[LFC]

Blind hatred? Political opportunism at somebody else's expense? A heaping pile of both?

Trans Kids In The Crosshairs Yet Again

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Tuesday signed off on the Republican-controlled state legislature’s restriction on giving federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to hospitals that offer gender-affirming care.

• Under the provision, the state’s OU Health system won’t receive the funds if its Oklahoma Children’s Hospital continues to provide young transgender patients with gender-affirming treatment.

• It’s an unprecedented line of attack in conservatives’ manufactured (and science-free) moral panic over transgender care to feed the MAGA base ahead of the midterms.

[goldenvalley]

Oct 5, 2022 16:26:40 GMT LFC said:

Blind hatred? Political opportunism at somebody else's expense? A heaping pile of both?

Trans Kids In The Crosshairs Yet Again

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Tuesday signed off on the Republican-controlled state legislature’s restriction on giving federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to hospitals that offer gender-affirming care.

• Under the provision, the state’s OU Health system won’t receive the funds if its Oklahoma Children’s Hospital continues to provide young transgender patients with gender-affirming treatment.

• It’s an unprecedented line of attack in conservatives’ manufactured (and science-free) moral panic over transgender care to feed the MAGA base ahead of the midterms.

Extortion.

[LFC]

"Christian."

The president of the Southern Baptist Convention Church has claimed that a good Christian cannot identify as LGBTQ+.

SBC president Bart Barber made the remarks in a Sunday (9 October) interview with journalist Anderson Cooper for CBS 60 Minutes, in which he explained why the church overwhelmingly opposes same-sex marriage.

“I believe that sinners should be converted out of being sinners,” he said during the interview. “And that applies to all of us.

“We’re committed to the idea of gender as a gift from God. We’re committed to the idea that men and women ought to be united with one another in marriage.”

When asked by Cooper if a person can be a good Christian, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, while also being LGBTQ+, Barber replied simply with, “No.”

I understand. As far as I'm concerned any person who is this bigoted against LGBTQ people can't be a moral human being. He can be converted out of bigotry, "and that applies to all of us", but he must atone first. Until then AFAIC he's a piece of shit.

[LFC]

And heeeeeere we go. If there's one thing religious zealots (and conservatives in general) can do it's find "evidence" of whatever they're in the mood to hate. Think of how many jackholes believed Tinky Winky was gay. Now we have a bunch of utter nutter parents (who clearly should never have been allowed to breed) screeching over a middle school mural because they found all sorts of symbolism.

Mural at Grant Middle School leaves parents outraged over transgender flag and symbols deemed as 'witchcraft'

The student from Grant High School responsible for creating the mural says the artwork is intended to be inclusive and does not show imagery the parents allege.

A mural at Grant Middle School was subject to debate at Monday night's school board meeting, with some parents opposed to its use of LGBTQ imagery and other content.

"I put my art up there to make people feel welcome," says Evelyn Gonzales, a Grant High School student who painted the mural.

The mural is inside the middle school's health center.


Some of the things the parents addressed were a transgender flag on a person's t-shirt, a symbol which Gonzales says comes from a video game and another symbol she says is a Hispanic sign of protection.

"I feel like she did a really good job finding excuses to defend the things she put on," says Katelyn Thompson. "None of us are that stupid."

Bless your heart, Katelyn honey. I'm here to tell you that you're all not only that stupid, you're MUCH more stupid than you realize.

[AnBr]

[LFC]

Predictable. Predicted. Welcome to righteous, God(tm) approved murder.

A new report from the Human Rights Campaign says that over 300 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals have been killed in the United States over the last decade in what the organization calls “an epidemic of violence.”

These numbers come on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual community-led event where names of transgender people lost to violence in the last year are read aloud to draw attention to the violence the community faces.

Meanwhile, the HRC says that in this time the FBI has only registered 11 anti-transgender murders or negligent homicides, showing how a lack of data at the federal levels has led to severe undercounts of deadly violence against the transgender community.

[goldenvalley]

Same sex marriage might get some protection.  The Senate didn't filibuster the Respect for Marriage Act.

The Senate on Wednesday took a crucial step toward passing landmark legislation to provide federal protections for same-sex marriages, as 12 Republicans joined Democrats to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, putting it on track to become law in the twilight of the Democratic-held Congress.

Perhaps initially introduced as a sort of pre election statement, it is on its way to becoming law.

Instead, it passed in the House in July with 47 Republicans joining Democrats in favor, and a bipartisan group in the Senate began talks on a version that could draw enough Republican backing in that chamber to move forward.

They agreed to add language ensuring that churches, universities and other nonprofit religious organizations could not lose tax-exempt status or other benefits for refusing to recognize same-sex marriages and could not be required to provide services for the celebration of any marriage. They also added language to make clear that the bill does not require or authorize the federal government to recognize polygamous marriages.

The bill now returns to the House, which must pass the revised version before clearing it for President Biden’s signature.

[LFC]

My sincerest hope is that this isn't one of Dreher's god warriors ("I don't agree with mowing them down with a highpowered firearm but...") but I'm not optimistic.

5 people are dead and 18 people are injured after a shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub Saturday night.

At 11:56 p.m. Saturday, the Colorado Springs Police Department said that they received a call for an active shooter at Club Q, a known LGBTQ+ nightclub, on 3430 North Academy Boulevard. The first officer arrived at at 12 a.m. The suspect was detained at 12:02 a.m.

Police say the suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, immediately started shooting as he entered, but was stopped by two people inside the bar. Police have not released a picture of the suspect as of Sunday morning.

Police do not know yet how many people were in the building, and the victims have not yet been identified.