LGBTQ Rights and Right-wing Gay Bashing

[LFC]

DeStalinist is at it again.

The DeSantis administration is revoking the Hyatt Regency Miami's alcohol license after one of its facilities hosted "A Drag Queen Christmas" with minors present in the audience.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation filed a 17-page complaint Tuesday against the show's venue, the James L. Knight Center, which is affiliated with Hyatt. The show required people under 18 to be accompanied by an adult as a condition of being allowed to attend.

"A Drag Queen Christmas" is a holiday-themed drag show that tours in 36 different cities and features stars from the reality show "RuPaul's Drag Race."

The state's business department accused the facility of several violations, including a prohibition of "lascivious exhibition" before people younger than 16, though it's not clear to what extent this law is generally enforced.

I think this says it all. You can take a child to an R-rated movie but not a drag show? This is all about performative attacks and DeSatanist doesn't care who is political roadkill on his path to the White House.

Equality Florida, an LGBTQ rights organization, accused DeSantis of "selectively weaponizing" state agencies against businesses to target drag performances, saying such decisions should be left to parents.

"How far will he take this anti-LGBTQ crusade in his desperate attempt to outrace his inevitable presidential primary opponents? Will he raid movie theaters because parents take their teenagers to see R-rated movies? Will he punish electronics stores because parents buy their children certain video games? How many businesses will DeSantis target, how many families will he force to co-parent with the government in his quest to manufacture right wing hysteria that he can monetize and weaponize?" asked Brandon Wolf, spokesman for the group.

[LFC]

[LFC]

Once again a Republican culture war bill is so nebulous that it can be used to f*** people over in a multitude of cases. And once again, this is the entire point. If they spell out exactly what they want instead of instilling fear to get people to do what they want, it won't play well politically. As for "It would never be used like that. Trust us!", they can go f*** themselves. We already know they're liars.

A Florida House of Representatives committee on Wednesday advanced an anti-trans bill that is so broad and so extreme that it could also prevent people from getting treated for breast cancer.

The bill passed the Healthcare Regulation Committee by a vote of 12-5 and now heads to the House for a vote. The measure is one of the cruelest in the country to target transgender and LGBTQ rights and care. It bans gender-affirming care for minors and would force them to medically detransition, or stop receiving treatments such as hormone therapy. But the bill’s vague wording has larger repercussions as well.

The text defines gender clinical interventions as “procedures or therapies that alter internal or external physical traits,” including surgeries that change “primary or secondary sexual characteristics.” During the debate, Democratic Representative Christine Hunschofsky pointed out that this could prevent people from getting treatment for breast cancer, as the overly broad language could apply to mastectomies.

Bill sponsor Randy Fine—who prior to being a Republican representative was a gambling industry executive, not a doctor—was surprised to learn that young people can get breast cancer.

By the same definition, people who need prostatectomies to treat prostate cancer could also be denied treatment. The bill also bans hormone treatments, which could potentially affect care for menopause, stunted growth, and birth control.

[LFC]

Disney has chosen its path forward, and it's right in the face of Republicans, especially DeSatanist. This is what happens when you only win 30% of the nation's GDP in a presidential election. Companies realize who their more important demographic is real fast. (And don't bitch and whine, Republicans. You made this.)

The Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been operating with locked horns over the past year, as a protracted dispute over the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill has put the two at extreme odds over LGBTQ rights and brought lasting consequences for the massive corporation stuck in the battle.

Now, as tension remains high, Disney has put a major conference to promote LGBTQ+ rights in the workplace in Florida, to take place right in its park, on the calendar for this September, as the Miami Herald reports. The event will host some of the most prominent names within the global business world; it’s also ultimately, a direct rebuttal to DeSantis’ crusade against diversity training.

The summit—to be hosted in collaboration with longstanding sponsor Out & Equal—comes nearly a year after DeSantis sparked the feud when passing the state’s HB-1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In its essence, the legislation bans any education regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in pre-4th-grade classrooms. And when Disney clapped back at this bill, which doesn’t require legislative approval, DeSantis upped the stakes for “the most magical place on Earth.”

And this is an obvious FU to DeSatanist.

Now, the House of Mouse appears to be thumbing its nose at the governor, who has 2024 presidential ambitions. Disney has insisted that the conference will be hosted at its park not just in 2023 but again in 2024—which will coincide with an election that may well see DeSantis clash with former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

[Bact PhD]

Mar 23, 2023 16:08:44 GMT LFC said:

Disney has chosen its path forward, and it's right in the face of Republicans, especially DeSatanist. This is what happens when you only win 30% of the nation's GDP in a presidential election. Companies realize who their more important demographic is real fast. (And don't bitch and whine, Republicans. You made this.)

The Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have been operating with locked horns over the past year, as a protracted dispute over the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill has put the two at extreme odds over LGBTQ rights and brought lasting consequences for the massive corporation stuck in the battle.

Now, as tension remains high, Disney has put a major conference to promote LGBTQ+ rights in the workplace in Florida, to take place right in its park, on the calendar for this September, as the Miami Herald reports. The event will host some of the most prominent names within the global business world; it’s also ultimately, a direct rebuttal to DeSantis’ crusade against diversity training.

The summit—to be hosted in collaboration with longstanding sponsor Out & Equal—comes nearly a year after DeSantis sparked the feud when passing the state’s HB-1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In its essence, the legislation bans any education regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in pre-4th-grade classrooms. And when Disney clapped back at this bill, which doesn’t require legislative approval, DeSantis upped the stakes for “the most magical place on Earth.”

And this is an obvious FU to DeSatanist.

Now, the House of Mouse appears to be thumbing its nose at the governor, who has 2024 presidential ambitions. Disney has insisted that the conference will be hosted at its park not just in 2023 but again in 2024—which will coincide with an election that may well see DeSantis clash with former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

Cue up the (ultimately unsuccessful) Teabangelical boycott of Disney in 3…2…

[LFC]

Mar 23, 2023 16:39:17 GMT Bact PhD said:

Cue up the (ultimately unsuccessful) Teabangelical boycott of Disney in 3…2…

In other words, the takers.

[LFC]

The president of West Texas A&M University flat out admitted that he happily violated the First Amendment because he hates queers. Sure, that's not the way he put it but if the bigoted shoe fits...

The president of West Texas A&M University faces a federal lawsuit calling his cancellation of a student group’s drag show to benefit LGBTQ+ suicide prevention “textbook viewpoint discrimination” that violates the First Amendment.

Student group Spectrum WT, which scheduled a show titled “A Fool’s Drag Race” for March 31, seeks an injunction forcing the university to allow the event on campus.

In their 45-page federal lawsuit, the group notes that the university’s president Walter Wendler “confessed he is censoring” the show for personal reasons and “unabashedly admitted that doing so violates the Constitution.”

“A harmless drag show? Not possible,” Wendler remarked. “I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it.”

“President Wendler has made it clear to us that he knows what his legal obligations are, but he chose to ignore them, and we are thankful to FIRE for taking up our case to protect our First Amendment rights,” Bright said. “Hopefully, this lawsuit will not just help us the LGBTQ+ students here at WTAMU protect our rights, but also help protect students’ rights across the U.S.”

Half an hour after Bright’s meeting with Thomas, Wendler sent an email to students, faculty, and staff announcing that the university “will not host a drag show on campus.” Wendler labeled drag shows “divisive and demoralizing misogyny” that he believed portrayed “women as objects.”

Wendler portrayed drag as contrary to the “basis of Natural Law,” which “declared the Creator’s origin as the foundational fiber in the fabric of our nation” because “every human being is created in the image of God and, therefore, a person of dignity.”

“President Wendler also claimed that drag shows are a form of humor (a ‘slapstick sideshow’) that ‘becomes harassment’ because, in his view, it is ‘sexism’ and results in ‘[m]ocking or objectifying in any way members of any group,'” the lawsuit says.

I see a new right-wing tactic brewing. Conservative women will start whining that they are victims of drag shows, something they never, ever, ever thought about in their lives but will define them (for now) once Faux News tells them it should.

[LFC]

At least one man in Texass has the guts to tell everybody the truth.

[LFC]

With the Nashville shooter at a Christian school apprarently having identified as transgender, the worst of the worst are coming out to stoke irrational hatred for profit. Tuckums is, of course, leading the charge. He won't be happy until they start jailing and stoning trans people, and then won't take responsibility.

Some d-bag from Newsmax had to jump on the hatred bandwagon as well, with a bonus protection of rising white supremacist violence.

Looking at the data, looking at recent history, it would seem that transgender is, potentially, more of a threat if applied recklessly than, say, white supremacy. Okay? We have actual documented episodes where we don't have them from white supremacists over the past recent history.

Of course easy access to and worship of high-powered weaponry isn't a factor in what happened ... and has happened thousands of times before ... and will continue to happen.

[LFC]

Codifying hatred into law has consequences.

It's time for somebody to create and maintain state by state rank of LGBTQ discrimination and make it available to everybody. Companies need to know what they might be supporting and what they might be exposing their employees and customers to. Perhaps the SPLC actually does this.

[LFC]

Kid Rock, gay basher and "responsible gun owner."

Alright, I need you to brace yourself for what I’m about to tell you. It might frighten you. I’d put away any blunt objects and center yourself in a comfortable spot on your couch. There are people in parts of the world who enjoy cheap, light beer but who are not cis, male, blue-collar workers. Shocking, I know. I’ve personally caught glimpses of women throwing back a watered-down ale, and I’ve heard rumors that queer folks occasionally crack open a cold one after a long day. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to alert Kid Rock to this twisted reality—so when he learned that Dylan Mulvaney, a trans woman and TikToker, did a brand partnership with Bud Light, he did what’s apparently become the patriotic American thing to do: picked up an assault rifle and pulverized three cases of Bud Light.

Now, I may suffer from the woke mind virus that’s slowly killing our country’s best and brightest, but this feels like an insane overreaction to me.

“Grandpa’s feeling a little frisky today,” the rapper/musician/fedora aficionado said in a video posted to Instagram. “Let me say something to you all and be as clear and concise as possible.” He then picked up the rifle and, like a real man with surely no emotional issues, ripped high-speed bullets into cans of beer on what looks like the manicured back lawn of one of his properties, which he can afford because he writes lyrics like: “Bawitdaba, da bang, da dang diggy diggy.” He concluded his post by declaring, “Fuck Bud Light and Fuck Anheuser-Busch.”

Now Mr. Rock is on this violent rampage because, like I mentioned, a brand of beer he identifies with sent a trans woman custom cans with her face on them as part of their brand partnership and to celebrate Mulvaney’s yearlong “Days of Girlhood” series that documented her transition. Mulvaney, dressed like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is in on the joke that she might not be the obvious choice for a Bud Light partnership, not because she is trans but because her glamorous and feminine style is at odds with the “up for whatever” brand of beer. She joked in an Instagram post, “Happy March Madness!! Just found out this had to do with sports and not just saying it’s a crazy month!”

Anheuser-Busch was forced to defend its decision to partner with Mulvaney after growing conservative backlash. “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics and passion points,” a spokesperson told Fox News. “From time to time, we produce unique commemorative cans for fans and brand influencers, like Dylan Mulvaney. This commemorative can was a gift to celebrate a personal milestone and is not for sale to the general public.” No one better show this to Kid Rock lest he go bomb their factories or something just as outrageous.

[LFC]

Floriduh continues to gin up hatred in exchange for political power.

[LFC]

Now they're going to be mad at Jack Daniels. Bold of highly explanatory information mine.

A New Jersey man’s beef with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey turning too “woke” has gone viral after he posted a video of himself torching a comically massive load of merchandise and booze to protest the brand’s support for the LGBTQ+ community.

In the early morning of April 7, Pauly Michaelis posted a video of the defiant burn session to Facebook.

“For those of you who know me well my drink has always been Jack Daniels,” he wrote. “For over 150 years since 1866 this drink was always associated with cowboys, warriors, bikers, savage rock bands and all American badass people.”

“THEY WENT WOKE,” he said with the middle finger emoji.

“Jasper Newton is turning over in his grave. THEY took a classic tradition of Americana that was the total [definition] of masculinity and made it WOKE and for this I say FUCK YOU JD and all of your products,” Michaelis wrote. “You will never have the honor of touching my lips ever again. #jackdanielswhiskey #wokeness #bringmasculinityback #EnoughIsEnough.”

The accompanying video shows Michaelis wearing denim overalls while standing in the doorway of what appears to be the back porch of a house.

“As you all know, I’m the biggest advocate and supporter of Jack Daniel’s. I have been for 40 years of my life, if not longer. Here’s the deal: You went woke,” 50-year-old Michaelis says. “So, here’s what I got for you guys.”

Michaelis then carries a Jack Daniel’s mirror outside and throws it in a large trash bin, followed by “every Jack Daniel’s glass [he] owns” and a wooden sign that had been hanging in his bar. He marches back to the house time and again, grabbing more items and pouring out his many whiskey bottles onto a fire pit before throwing the empty bottles in the garbage.

“And the capper,” Michaelis says, stomping into the house. “Two of the world’s most expensive Jack Daniel’s. Two-hundred-fifty dollars a bottle, and $100 a bottle. Fuck your woke ass company.”

Michaelis adds the liquor to the pit, sets it on fire, and then tosses up both middle fingers to the camera.

[LFC]

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texass) flashes his right-wingnut bona fides as he proves he's both anti-woke and dumb as f***.

[LFC]

[LFC]

It's in Disneyland, not Disney World, but it sure seems like a big FU to DeSatanist.

[AnBr]

[LFC]

After being accused of destroying Bud Light, the owner of Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar wrote an open letter addressing the issue. It's not as helpful as I think they had hoped.

Dear Customers and Employees of Grills,

Please forgive me for not responding sooner to these allegations (post below) as I was unavailable till now to do so.

This was posted on a personal FB account that has since been deleted but continues to be recycled by outlets with differing views than ours. I have requested to meet with this individual to discuss these serious allegations and asked for a specific time and location on our property he heard and witnessed these things in order to review security camera footage.

I can assure you, our patrons and employees, many who know me personally and followed the Grills story, this post is not true and not remotely characteristic of who we are or what our reputation

in the community has been for over 25 years. Myself, management and our employees are devastated by the fact that this post deeply hurt members of the gay community and our employees that we have cared about and treated with the same non-judgmental respect we have given everyone for over 25 years. This for me personally and Grills as a company, is the first time we have really experienced an attempt to defame our character. But I get it, these are the times we are in, there is a divide growing deeper and angrier over this and many other issues.

It is true we made the decision to remove Bud Light because of their support of something that is in direct opposition to our Biblical faith. There is no judgement in our heart concerning those who believe in these rapidly changing social values. But there is a lie being levied that we and other Christians hate Dylan Mulvaney and the gay community. Nothing could be further from the truth in our hearts and minds. Our decision was made with many tears for this circumstance and what we see as corporate greed and a deeper spiritual reality coming upon this world.

Setting aside a deeper dive into our Biblical viewpoints for now, we believe transgenderism is a social experiment causing irreversible damage to a growing population of younger and younger children. We will not align with it in any way.

We are prayerfully asking God how to separate from corporations such as Anheuser-Bush that are promoting and attempting to profit from this experiment. A letter written to their corporate headquarters that outlines our decisions to date will be made available to the public. These plans are subject to change as this situation develops further.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Sincerely,

Joe Penovich

Owner Grills Restaurants

On a side note the owner is an anti-vaxxer because God(tm) told him not to get the vaccine.

[LFC]

Twitter. Must really is a piece of shit.

Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups.

Twitter enacted the policy against deadnaming, or using a transgender person’s name before they transitioned, as well as purposefully using the wrong gender for someone as a form of harassment, in 2018.

On Monday, Twitter also said it will only put warning labels on some tweets that are “potentially” in violation of its rules against hateful conduct. Previously, the tweets were removed.

It was in this policy update that Twitter appears to have deleted the line against deadnaming from its rules.

“Twitter’s decision to covertly roll back its longtime policy is the latest example of just how unsafe the company is for users and advertisers alike,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the advocacy group GLAAD. “This decision to roll back LGBTQ safety pulls Twitter even more out of step with TikTok, Pinterest, and Meta, which all maintain similar policies to protect their transgender users at a time when anti-transgender rhetoric online is leading to real world discrimination and violence.”

Twitter did immediately respond to a message for comment Tuesday.

[LFC]

Now THAT's how to perform an act of protest!

[goldenvalley]

Trae on the Bud Light boycott:

How did anyone know Bud used a gay influencer anyway?

[LFC]

The seething, irrational hatred is baffling but, unfortunately, on brand for conservatives.

Republican lawmakers in Florida have sparked outrage after passing a bill that LGBTQ advocates say will strip trans children from their parents' custody.

SB254 — which one former lawmaker has called "fascist" legislation — would allow the state to rip children from their parents when they are "at risk" or "subjected" to gender-affirming health care. The bill is written so that even a child of Floridian parents living out of state could trigger the law.

“I can’t believe I’m writing this,” Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former House lawmaker, and the state’s first Latino LGTBQ representative, wrote on Twitter last month. “This is fascist.”

Kara Gross, the legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU in Florida, called the state's assault on trans existence "shameful."

“It is shameful that our Florida Legislature continues to pass dangerous bills designed to silence, harm, and erase trans people in Florida," she said in a statement. "These bills directly threaten transgender Floridians’ fundamental human rights and safety. The Florida Legislature’s insistence on targeting trans people is bizarre, unnecessary, unconstitutional, and extremely dangerous."

She said bills like Florida's make it "impossible for transgender people to go about their daily lives like everyone else," and that it invites abuse and hostility from the public.

"This is state sanctioned discrimination against Florida's vibrant trans community," she said.

The Florida legislature approved three bills on Wednesday that aim to eliminate any expression of non-cis, non-hetero expression from public life.

HB1521 is the state's restroom bill, which prohibits businesses from utilising gender-inclusive bathrooms.

SB1438 empowers the state to take punitive measures against businesses that host LGBTQ friendly shows or drag performances. It also gives the state the power to prohibit minors from attending events it deems "inappropriate." Minors will be barred from events even if their parents consent, a policy that flies in the face of Governor Ron DeSantis’ educational agenda that favors parental consent to an extreme degree.

If SB1438 is made law, it would also likely mean the end of most Pride parades.

Alejandra Caraballo, a former staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, noted on Twitter today that Treasure Coast Pridefest has already cancelled its parade for this year.

She previously condemned HB254 as a Florida-approved pass for kidnapping trans children.

Kidnapping children? Hey, DeSatanist and his minions are already human traffickers so not a big step for them.

[goldenvalley]

Apr 21, 2023 21:53:01 GMT LFC said:

The seething, irrational hatred is baffling but, unfortunately, on brand for conservatives.

Republican lawmakers in Florida have sparked outrage after passing a bill that LGBTQ advocates say will strip trans children from their parents' custody.

SB254 — which one former lawmaker has called "fascist" legislation — would allow the state to rip children from their parents when they are "at risk" or "subjected" to gender-affirming health care. The bill is written so that even a child of Floridian parents living out of state could trigger the law.

“I can’t believe I’m writing this,” Carlos Guillermo Smith, a former House lawmaker, and the state’s first Latino LGTBQ representative, wrote on Twitter last month. “This is fascist.”

Kara Gross, the legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU in Florida, called the state's assault on trans existence "shameful."

“It is shameful that our Florida Legislature continues to pass dangerous bills designed to silence, harm, and erase trans people in Florida," she said in a statement. "These bills directly threaten transgender Floridians’ fundamental human rights and safety. The Florida Legislature’s insistence on targeting trans people is bizarre, unnecessary, unconstitutional, and extremely dangerous."

She said bills like Florida's make it "impossible for transgender people to go about their daily lives like everyone else," and that it invites abuse and hostility from the public.

"This is state sanctioned discrimination against Florida's vibrant trans community," she said.

The Florida legislature approved three bills on Wednesday that aim to eliminate any expression of non-cis, non-hetero expression from public life.

HB1521 is the state's restroom bill, which prohibits businesses from utilising gender-inclusive bathrooms.

SB1438 empowers the state to take punitive measures against businesses that host LGBTQ friendly shows or drag performances. It also gives the state the power to prohibit minors from attending events it deems "inappropriate." Minors will be barred from events even if their parents consent, a policy that flies in the face of Governor Ron DeSantis’ educational agenda that favors parental consent to an extreme degree.

If SB1438 is made law, it would also likely mean the end of most Pride parades.

Alejandra Caraballo, a former staff attorney at the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, noted on Twitter today that Treasure Coast Pridefest has already cancelled its parade for this year.

She previously condemned HB254 as a Florida-approved pass for kidnapping trans children.

Kidnapping children? Hey, DeSatanist and his minions are already human traffickers so not a big step for them.

So the Florida folks running the state are too "woke" to go after their real targets...Black and Hispanic people.  They know they'll get into a lot of legal trouble from well financed groups like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  So they substitute in trans people for their actual target. This group of people doesn't have such institutional legal help.

[LFC]

Taking a cue from TN and MT on how to silence legislators critical of Republican positions, Nebraska Republicans are calling for an "ethics" "investigation" of a legislator who spoke up about an anti-trans bill because they have a transgender child. Apparently that's a "conflict of interest." I guess voting on your own salary and benefits must be also. Or voting on any bill where a lobbyist gave your campaign money. Or anything that impacts you as a taxpayer. Disgusting.

A Nebraska state senator who has a transgender child is being investigated for a potential conflict of interest after she voted against a bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors.

The complaint, filed Wednesday by Omaha lawyer David Begley, alleges Nebraska Democratic Sen. Megan Hunt could benefit financially from the failure of Legislative Bill 574, a measure that would bar health care providers from administering gender-affirming medical care to transgender patients younger than 19.

Begley, in the complaint filed with the state’s Accountability and Disclosure Commission, wrote that Hunt and her child, who is a minor, “have a slightly more than average chance of obtaining Nebraska Medicaid coverage” for her child’s medical transition if LB 574, otherwise known as the “Let Them Grow Act,” fails to become law.

“If LB 574 does not become law, then Sen. Hunt’s immediate family member could receive a financial benefit, with Medicaid paying for the medical services necessary to transition genders,” Begley wrote in the complaint, a portion of which was read aloud by Hunt during Wednesday’s floor session.

Nebraska is one of nine states where gender-affirming health care for both youths and adults is not included in its Medicaid coverage, according to the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks laws and policies that affect the nation’s LGBTQ community.

“This, colleagues, is not serious. This is harassment,” Hunt said Wednesday on the floor. “This is using the legal system — that we have in our state to stop corruption, to increase transparency to hold governments accountable — and using it to harass a member of the legislature, who you all know is trying to do the right thing.”

[LFC]

I honestly doubt Don, Jr. has ever thought [I should probably end that sentence now] about drag queens and couldn't actually give a rat's ass about what they do, but putting up a meme about killing them in a horrific way because they're pedophiles is now 100% pure MAGAt. The article starts with the sharp increase in violence against drag shows and gays in general. What a great backdrop for this psychopathic post.

Which brings us to the meme posted on Truth Social today by Donald Trump Jr. The post already has thousands of likes, shares, and celebratory replies. The wood chipper pictured is made by the South Carolina company J.P. Carlton.