Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Anti-gay groups using Pulse tragedy survivor to create more harm for the LGBTQ community


Anti-gay groups are exploiting a survivor of the Pulse tragedy to fight against a pro-gay bill in California.

There is a bill in CA, AB2943, which would outlaw marketing or selling the fraudulent practice of ex-gay therapy.  The religious right have been fighting like mad to create a narrative which would allow them to fight the bill. First, they tried to portray it as something called a "must stay gay" ban. That didn't resonate. Then they falsely claimed that the bill would ban the Bible. That narrative failed.  The two attempts to falsely portray the bill failed because its supporters consistently pointed out that it has to do with financial practices and transactions rather than personal beliefs.

So now from the religious right comes this new direction which is simply downright vile - exploiting a survivor of the Pulse tragedy to wreck the bill.

From the Family Research Council:

It's been two full years since it happened. People were still dancing at a nightclub on the south side of Orlando, when a gunman walked through the doors and brutally ended the lives of 49 people. India Goodman says she can still feel the body slumped against her in the dark, shielding her from bullets. She's just one of the survivors who says their story changed forever. 
Luis Javier Ruiz is another. Like so many others in the Pulse nightclub that night, Luis thinks a lot about what could have happened. He looks back on his struggles then, identifying as a gay man, and believes -- without a doubt -- that it was the lowest point of his life. "I should have been number 50," he posted after the tragedy. An emotional Ruiz talked about how difficult things had been, even before the horror that June night.  
"Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My struggles were real! The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ... I've grown to know His love in a deeper level. Two out of the 49 were my close friends and are no longer with us. They lost their life that night. I should have been number 50, but now... I know who I am and I am not defined with who the enemy says I use to be -- but who Christ Jesus says I am."  
Luis went public with his story, joining the Freedom March in early May with other people who've walked away from a lifestyle that brought nothing but pain. "It's not a gay-to-straight thing," he tells reporters, "but a lost to save[d] thing." During his recovery, he remembers, members of a local church came in and prayed with him. They shared portions of Scripture and told him about the love of God. Through that, he says, "I was able to not only just be free of the lifestyle but be free of me in general -- from every type of sin."

'South Carolina pro-Confederate flag, anti-LGBTQ candidate in runoff for Congressional seat' & other Wed midday news briefs


This guy right here, former SC state senator Lee Bright, who in 2015 (seen in the above video)  interrupted a vote to remove the Confederate flag from atop the State House to rant insanely about marriage equality, was one of the candidates who won enough votes last night to participate in a run-off for a U.S. Congressional seat. Bright will be competing against present SC state senator William Timmons. Bright, who by the way opposed removing the Confederate flag, pushed an anti-transgender bathroom bill in 2016 which failed and subsequently cost him his seat in the SC Legislature.

 In other news:

More than 100 youth activists played dead on the Capitol lawn to raise awareness for gun violence - An issue very pertinent to the LGBTQ community.

Who Are LGBTQ Americans? Here’s A Major Poll On Life, Sex, and Politics. - Fascinating. We are all so quick to talk about "the community," yet we know very little about each other.

This Pastor Disrupted a Drag Queen Story Hour: ‘There’s No Such Thing as Transgenders’ - What an absolute dumbass.