Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Will the Family Research Council ever stop distorting the Sweet Cakes bakery case?

Religious right groups portray the Kleins as victims.  Don't be fooled. They aren't.

One thing which is absolutely aggravating about religious right groups like the Family Research Council is not just how they lie, but how they will repeat the lie in spite of it being refuted.

For groups who claim to speak about upholding values and Christians ethics, organizations like FRC seem to have no problem playing fast and loose with the truth whenever it suits them. Take the situation about Sweet Cakes bakery for example. FRC just sent out a Washington Update pushing the usual nonsense about how supposed Christians, like the owners of Sweet Cakes bakery, are being "persecuted" by the lgbt community:

There has to be space in our society for people who hold differing views. Isn't that what liberals meant by tolerance? Apparently not, as Aaron and Melissa Klein know all too well. Like dozens of other family businesses, the Kleins never thought that their faith would be a liability to their booming bakery business. They were wrong. In a politically correct world, thy found out that costs of running a business are a lot more than dollars and cents. For these bakers, it was their First Amendment rights.

Their dream of opening a dessert shop near Portland, Oregon turned into a nightmare when two lesbians refused to take "no" for an answer on their request for a same-sex "wedding" cake. As FRC's Travis Weber points out, the Kleins were happy to provide any item from their shop to gay and straight customers alike. They welcomed everyone to come and shop at Sweet Cakes by Melissa. The only thing the Kleins declined to do was become part of a same-sex wedding ceremony; they didn't want to be forced -- by any customer -- to create a cake that violated their beliefs. The same was true of any event contradicting their faith -- like a celebration of divorce, an order they would also decline.

Still, liberals in the state hounded the Kleins with a ferocity that ultimately forced their store to close. Now, facing a $135,000 fine, the parents of five will finally have their day in court. Until now, they've been at the mercy of a biased administrative body in Oregon that even went so far as to impose a gag order on the couple. 

FRC is being highly deceptive. No one put a gag order on the Kleins.

'Marriage equality attacked on two fronts' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Conservatives & religious right just can't leave this issue alone.

In two states, marriage equality is being attacked via legislative and judicial means. Some conservatives and members of the religious right seem to be determined to overturn the SCOTUS decision. The attempts are long shots but they also prove how deeply entrenched the other side is in not letting this issue go. All I have to say is don't laugh it off and don't let your guards down. The surest way to lost marriage equality is to assume that you can't lose it. It's not the belief that they can take away marriage equality which bothers me. It's that they think they can. You've been warned.

 Texas Conservatives Are Still Fighting Marriage Equality 

Arkansas voted for a federal constitutional convention to ban marriage equality 

Derby district rolls back bathroom access for transgender students - Awful and yet there is a kernel in this article which may blossom into something big. According to some, the students don't care about the issue either way. That is to say they aren't getting spooked by the 'bathroom/lockerroom' predator myth. The adults are. Keep your ears open on how students actually feel about this issue in general.

10-Year-Old Busts Myth About Trans People With Powerful Sign - I'm convinced that in the long run, it will be the young ones which will show us the way.  

Yet Even More Proof That Religious Right Myths Never Die - Well when you don't have enough people calling them out, they don't die. You get worn down by the power of repetition.  

The Israeli Air Force Celebrated ‘Family Day’ by Posting a Pic of This Gay Officer’s Family - NICE!