The video Bobby Jindal probably doesn't want you to see before his prayer rally

Jindal

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is planning a prayer rally next month in what some say is an attempt to play up to the religious right because he intends to run for president in 2016.

Already there is much controversy regarding who Jindal's office's is partnering with.  Students and faculty members of Louisiana State University, where this prayer will be held, are already up in arms about it. According to The New Orleans Advocate:

LSU students, faculty and other activists have come out against the event, called “The Response,” largely because it’s being paid for by the American Family Association, a controversial conservative religious group that opposes gay marriage and other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights efforts. A protest has been planned in response to The Response, and a petition has gained hundreds of signatures in just a matter of days.  The Southern Poverty Law Center has described the Tupelo, Mississippi-based AFA as “some of the most hateful anti-gay voices in America” and has classified the organization as a hate group.

 Right Wing Watch has also pointed that the rally will have other controversial participants, including:

Jennifer LeClaire - LeClaire is the editor of Charisma magazine, where she routinely warns that Halloween is demonically evil and that gay superheroes are corrupting your children's souls. She has repeatedly told gay athletes to stay in the closet and repent and warned that the fight for gay marriage is a Satanic plot to send people to Hell.

 EW Jackson - a Religious Right activist and former GOP candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia who has asserted that the push for gay rights has killed more black men than the KKK and said that gay men and women are "perverted," "degenerate," and "frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally." He has warned that gay marriage will lead to bestiality and said that there is a "direct connection" between homosexuality and pedophilia. The definition of marriage can never change, Jackson has declared, because "America was ordained by Almighty God." 

Jindal, who earlier called this prayer rally  “a time of prayer, fasting, repentance and celebration.” and a way to turn the nation back to God, seems to be sidestepping all questions about his partnership with the AFA.

'Religious freedom crowd cheer Russia's persecution of gays' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Pat Robertson: Gays 'Will Die Out Because They Don't Reproduce' - Doesn't Pat Robertson know that we reproduce by the power of Madonna and Cher albums?  

Texas Gets 1st Openly Gay Federal Judge Thanks to Anti-Gay GOP Senators John Cornyn, Ted Cruz - I never thought I would live to see the day when I thanked those two bozos for anything.  

Religious Right Cheers On Vladimir Putin As Anti-LGBT Violence In Russia Surges - In between wringing their hands over the false notion that gays will deny evangelical Christians their freedom in America, the anti-gay right takes time out to praise Vladimir Putin for denial of freedom for gays in Russia.  

How a sheltered housewife became the foremost in-your-face challenger of Christian homophobia - A profile of an awesome facebook friend of mine and one of the best allies for the lgbt community, Kathy Baldock.

Will Michigan's controversial 'religious freedom' bill die in legislative session?

Marchers voicing their opposition to #RFRA pic.twitter.com/sceDqSFuFP
— Progress Michigan (@ProgressMich) December 16, 2014

It is a strong possibility - at least for now - that the controversial Michigan "religious freedom" bill may die in the state Senate.

According to Buzzfeed:

Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville expects a religious freedom bill, which would allow people the right to refuse service based on their faith, to die in the legislature without a vote, according to his spokesperson.

“He does not expect the bill to come up for a vote in the senate before the end of the term,” said Richardville’s spokesperson, Amber McCann.

The state’s GOP-controlled house of representatives passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) along party lines on Dec. 4. The bill is now in the state senate, where Richardville, a Republican, sets the agenda. Michigan’s legislature session adjourns this month.

“He does not feel the need to rush any bill through for a vote,” McCann told BuzzFeed News. “RFRA is not a priority for Senator Richardville.”

Critics have dubbed the measure the “right-to-discriminate bill,” arguing it would grant people sweeping discretion to discriminate against any sect of society they choose on religious grounds.

Critics, particularly lgbt bloggers have pointed out that the bill is so broad that it can also protect pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for medication to fight HIV or hospitals refusing to admit lgbt patients.

Rana Elmir, deputy director at ACLU of Michigan, told Buzzfeed that thousands of Michigan residents have been contacting lawmakers in protest. She claimed that public opinion is against the bill.

Elmir has a point. Yesterday, according to The New Civil Rights Movement, there was a protest at the state capitol against the bill.

Above picture courtesy of The New Civil Rights Movement.