Anti-gay pastor Franklin Graham called out for 'praise the Lord and vote Republican' fakery

It's about time that someone not allow Franklin Graham to get away with the "praise the Lord and vote Republican" fakery he has been pulling in California. And the fact that it happened on Fox News - Donald Trump's propaganda arm - is a miracle in itself.

From Raw Story

Evangelist Franklin Graham thinks it is “sad” that Democrats and Republicans cannot be friends in today’s political climate. But Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt isn’t convinced that Graham is all that concerned with bipartisanship.  

 “That is a pretty remarkable contradiction,” Stirewalt said during a Thursday appearance on the network. “You have a guy that goes and out complains about how divided the country is politically, and then follows that up with don’t vote Democrat, whatever you do.” “It is so telling, so indicative of how bad — really — our politics have become. This is something that most Christian leaders would never have done even a decade ago.” 

Franklin wouldn't allow Stirewalt's comment to go unanswered.

' Anti-LGBTQ industry using the anti-abortion playbook to undermine marriage equality' & other Thur midday news briefs

In order to combat the undermining of marriage equality, we have to resurrect images of the past such as this one (from 1986) and connect them with the present to demonstrate how the anti-LGBTQ industry has engaged a decades long smear campaign designed to wreck our community's equality, safety, and dignity.

How Republicans Are Using The Anti-Abortion Playbook To Undermine Same-Sex Marriage - I sincerely hope people stop saying that if we ignore the anti-LGBTQ industry, they will go away. They have too much money, too much gall, and too much self-righteousness to go away. And now thanks to Buzzfeed, we see that they will be copying the anti-abortion playbook in order to undermine marriage equality. By focusing on ways to cause little roadblocks - i.e. "religious liberty" laws which will prevent us from adopting children as well as receiving other services and even protection from discrimination, they are stockpiling state laws designed to make our lives hell. BUT there is a solution. The article doesn't say the solution, but I am. If you are a fan of my blog, then you should know what the solution is. It is the same reason I began this blog over 11 years ago. 

This latest gambit of the anti-LGBTQ industry is no different than the last few (i.e."protecting marriage," "protecting children," "homosexuality is a deadly lifestyle like cigarette smoke," "homosexuals want special rights.") over several decades. It is the latest attempt to undermine the equality, the dignity, and the safety of the LGBTQ community by a group of people and organizations who have concentrated their contempt and hatred of us behind religious beliefs and a cynical rendering of talking points and laws. And these groups and organizations have manipulated certain segments of the public into thinking  that protecting our rights, children, and families present a danger. 

These groups and individuals been doing this for decades in one form or another.. That's how it's always been. From Anita Bryant to Gary Bauer to Lon Mabon to Scott Lively to Tony Perkins or Ryan T. Anderson. From 'Save the Children' to the Oregon Citizen Alliance to the National Organization for Marriage' to the Family Research Council and the Alliance for Defending Freedom. Different people, different groups, and different decades but it's all the same game. 

The anti-LGBTQ industry is like some bizarre cryptoid out of Greek mythology. When one head is  severed, another one springs up, spewing as much venom as the first.  It's time we open the doors of history and drag it all out. Drag out the junk science, the cherry-picked science, the lies, the false claims, the basic verbal disrespect, the attempts to reduce our lives to their stereotypical specifications.  It's never been about protecting children, religious beliefs, or anything else.  It's all been about homophobia, hatred, and animus. And if we do not make the rest of the country aware of this noxious history, the anti-LGBTQ industry will continue to control narrative and get away scott free with all of the things it has done.

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - A beginning step would be educating ourselves more on the history of anti-LGBTQ propaganda. My free online booklet from 2013 is a small step in that direction. Please read and share. 

District Reverses Decision to Call Transgender Student by Birth Name at Graduation - When we raise hell for the right reasons, we cause positive change.

Betsy DeVos Meets Teen Wearing Trans Pride Flag During School Visit - Speaking out takes many forms.

It looks like Indonesia will not criminalize gay sex after all - Good for Indonesia!