Trump evangelical Tony Perkins practically giddy that Pompeo may turn blind eye to anti-LGBTQ persecution

Editor's note - There will be no Wednesday mid-day news briefs.

"Those Trump evangelicals!"

When I heard that Trump's pick for Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has a long record of opposing LGBTQ equality, I practically predicted the following Washington Update by Family Research Council head Tony Perkins praising him:

When Rex Tillerson was first announced as the president's pick for Secretary of State, I communicated my concern privately and publicly. I said that the State Department needed a strong change agent like Trump, and there was no way based upon Tillerson's record that he would do enough to roll back the harmful cultural imperialism which had been pushed in the State Department during the Obama administration, and to restore our promotion of international religious freedom to where it should be. And under Tillerson's leadership, not much did change in these areas. Religious freedom and human rights for all continues to take a backseat to the LGBT agenda as LGBT-promoting acting ambassadors remain in place around the world and our tax dollars still go to non-government organizations (NGOs) aligned with groups like George Soros' Open Society and the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

Now that Tillerson is on his way out, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been tapped to take the helm, there is hope for the United States to once again lead the world toward the promotion of religious freedom and the protection of human rights. I believe Mike Pompeo is the agent of change the State Department needs, and he has the president's ear. He cares about religious freedom, and about restoring the United States to its historically-esteemed role of human rights defender -- not cultural imperialist. And with Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Brownback also in place, the United States is perhaps better poised than any other time in recent memory to significantly make inroads in promoting religious freedom worldwide.

As usual, Perkins lying. There was no prioritizing of LGBTQ rights over anything else in the Obama Administration. Those of us who are aware of the history of Perkins and FRC know that his definition of giving LGBTQ rights priority means acknowledging that these rights exist in the first place.

Trump pick Mike Pompeo has a long history opposing LGBTQ equality' & other Tue midday news briefs

Mike Pompeo

In case you have been living under a rock, Trump just fired his present Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson and appointed former CIA head Mike Pompeo. Everyone is talking about how much of an idiotic bonehead move this is, except for the Trump evangelicals (such as the Family Research Council), who, let's face it, would find a positive thing to say about Trump if he had an intestinal distress in the middle of a speech. Missing in firestorm is the simple, and very unfortunate fact, that Pompeo is extremely anti-LGBTQ.

GLAAD has compiled a list of his homophobic statements and actions. It's not pretty and it will definitely play against our community on the international stage. Whereas the Obama Administration stood up for LGBTQ equality in the world, I somehow doubt Pompeo will be as engaging. 

According to GLAAD, Pompeo has:

Opposed repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, suggesting that "when you enter the army you give up a few of your rights." Also said of DADT repeal, "we cannot use military to promote social ideas that do not reflect the values of our nation." 

Decried the US Supreme Court's 2015 ruling granting marriage equality to all fifty states as "a shocking abuse of power" that "flies in the face of centuries of shared understanding of our Constitution." 

Has vowed to continue his fight abortion, marriage equality, and related matters "each and every day": "As a Kansan, I hold a deep reverence for the sanctity of life, the solidarity of family, and the solemnity of marriage. I will continue the fight to uphold these fundamental ideals each and every day. I am, and always will be, pro-life and will defend life from conception to natural death. I will continue to oppose any taxpayer funding for abortion. I also fully support the traditional institution of marriage. Strong families are the most important building block of our Republic, and we must preserve them for the sake of our community and our culture." 

Co-sponsored two bills, the State Marriage Defense Act and the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, both designed to undermine the effects of court rulings on marriage equality. 

Denounced the Supreme Court rulings that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Proposition 8 as "both sad and counter to the most profound tradition of our great nation."

In other news:

The ‘Gays for Trump’ guy is running for office &  he’s dangerous to trans people - It is possible for someone to be repulsive and a joke at the same time.

Vietnamese Singer Wins International Transgender Beauty Pageant - Good for her!

Linda Harvey Prays That Gay Conservative Commentator Guy Benson ‘Loses [His] Platform To Mislead People’ - I'm rooting against both. Linda Harvey is so homophobic, I bet she doesn't like to say the word "gay" in the song "Deck the Halls." On the other hand, Guy Benson is an entitled creep. He works against his own people and has done nothing to earn the position he has except be a novelty.