SC 'bathroom bill' sponsoring legislator loses seat in runoff

Lee Bright, the SC legislator who sponsored a failed anti-transgender 'bathroom bill,' lost his re-election bid.

Lee Bright a South Carolina state senator who earlier this year sponsored a  failed anti-transgender bathroom bill, officially lost his bid for re-election on Tuesday.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier:

Voters launched a backlash against incumbents in runoff elections as a string of veteran lawmakers were tossed out of office Tuesday, including Spartanburg County Republican Sen. Lee Bright, who made gender bathrooms and defense of gun rights a cornerstone of his last months in office.

 . . .  Bright, also known for his failed bills to track refugees resettling in South Carolina and to limit which bathrooms transgender individuals can use, lost to former state Rep. Scott Talley, a favorite of both Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this year, Bright ignited a firestorm across the state by sponsoring an anti-transgender bill not unlike the controversial HB2 in North Carolina. The  bill, which would have forced transgender men and women to use bathrooms and restrooms in accordance to the gender on their birth certificates, never got out of committee.  Several public figures, including SC Governor Nikki Haley and Richland County Sherrif Leon Lott,  voiced opposition to it.

Ironically, the bill galvanized SC's lgbt community and their allies while backfiring against Bright, leading him to take negative hits from both parties.

And it may have been that opposition which led to his defeat by painting picture of Bright as a legislator so busy with grabbing attention that he was neglecting less controversial, but just as important, issues .

According to Greenville Online:

The Conservation Voters of South Carolina said it knocked on 21,100 doors, made 7,500 phone calls, dropped 120,000 pieces of mail and spent more than $90,000 trying to unseat state Sen. Lee Bright, who scored the lowest of any senator on its legislative scorecard. Bright was also subjected to a seemingly endless barrage of attack ads on Greenville’s two conservative talk radio stations – courtesy of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, whose objections to Bright included his votes against tort reform, road-funding plans and aid to flood-stricken farmers.

Pat Robertson can't decide a reason why God will 'punish' America

According to Right Wing Watch,  Pat Roberson just claimed that God will punish America because of the SCOTUS decision striking down Texas's very restrictive abortion law:

By the way, don't be fooled by Robertson's hysterical language about SCOTUS decision. Texas had a bad law in place and it deserved to be overturned.

 But for the purpose of this blog, Robertson's portents of holy doom is confusing simply because early last year, he claimed that God will punish America for marriage equality. This doomsday prediction included an interesting and very inaccurate rendition of the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah:



If I may nitpick a bit on this clip, Robertson was inaccurate in his retelling of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The men of Sodom never harmed Lot's daughters.

But that little fact is neither here nor there more than the question of have you ever wondered whether Pat Robertson is simply full of it?

'Wrong AGAIN, anti-gay right - Five anti-marriage equality predictions which haven't come true' & other Tue midday news briefs

NOM's march failed big time. See link below

Five Right-Wing Predictions About Marriage Equality That Still Haven't Come True - One thing our community MUST use to our advantage is the anti-gay right's tendency to make inaccurate predictions about portents of doom regarding incoming pro-lgbt laws. They are always wrong. And we HARDLY EVER remind people about that.  In this case, being "petty" and rubbing it in is the correct tactic.

AL Supreme Court justice will face judicial panel over anti-LGBT order - Roy Moore should have never been anywhere NEAR any judicial body.  

The 2016 Anti-LGBT March For Marriage Was A Complete Flop - A HIGHLY enjoyable article. The complete story of WHY NOM's 2016 March for Marriage was a complete flop. Just look at this article as a DVD of your favorite blockbuster movie chock full of unseen extras. 

 Watch The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue Demand “An Apology From Gays” - No comment because I don't want anyone's hair to turn white or nose to bleed due to the words I may use to describe Donohue.  

The Hardest Part About Being a Gay Parent - A fascinating piece for those of us lgbts who are parents (and desire to be parents).

Photo of NOM's "March for Marriage" taken from Zack Ford of Think Progress.