Transgender soldiers testify in Congress while hate group rewards leader trying to take away their careers

While trans soldiers fight for their military careers on Capitol Hill, hate group Family Research Council again rewards Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler its 'True Blue' award (second picture). She received the award in 2018 (see first picture) in part for her efforts to push Trump's trans ban, including providing inaccurate statistics about transgender healthcare.

An interesting and sad juxtaposition took place recently in Congress.

While everyone was fixated on the Michael Cohen hearing, five transgender soldiers testified in another hearing regarding Trump's attempt to ban them from service.

From the Daily Beast:

For the first time, five transgender service members gave evidence to the House of Representatives about their experiences of military service, transition, and why they consider President Trump’s proposed ban on trans service members to be unfair and unjust, alongside his administration‘s latest suggestion that trans people can serve as long as they don't transition. 

Navy Lieutenant Commander Blake Dremann, who is also president of trans servicepeople group Sparta Pride, sat alongside Army captain Alivia Stehlik, Army captain Jennifer Peace, Staff Sergeant Patricia King, and Marine Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Akira Wyatt. All delivered measured, illuminating, and powerful testimonies.
The five service members and, later in a second panel, Defense Department officials were giving evidence to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

 Of course the testimony was riveting:

Dremann told the sub-committee that each time a barrier had been raised to his service—whether it was the gender assigned to him at birth, his sexual orientation prior to transition, then his gender identity—he had “risen to the occasion” and succeeded as a submariner. 

To be openly transgender at work, as he has been since 2016, has afforded Dremann the opportunity “to not only be who but also act as an educator and advocate” on behalf of the 800 members of Sparta Pride. He said that the notion that trans service members damaged unit cohesion and morale was “myths and completely without merit… It just so happens the best and brightest we have to offer happen to be transgender.”

And according to Zack Ford of ThinkProgress, the hearing was not without fireworks. Trump Administration officials attempted to justify the ban and got justifiably blasted by Congressional leaders as their explanation were refuted one after the other.

The juxtaposition is due to the tweet below:

'Right-wing and fake feminists teaming up to attack trans community' & other Thur midday news briefs

Right-wing media and think tanks are aligning with fake feminists who dehumanize trans people - Media Matters breaks this travesty and team-up from hell down rather nicely.

Witherspoon provides an outlet for five anonymous trans parents - Anti-trans parents, you mean. The same nonsense they used to attack marriage equality - trot out "witnesses" from supposed same-sex households.

Jussie Smollett cannot become an excuse to ignore hate crimes - AMEN! 

Pence’s New Chief Of Staff Apologizes For Blaming AIDS Crisis On ‘Repugnant’ Gay Sex - Sorry he had to answer for it, I bet.

Hate group furious at Wal-Mart for catering to its LGBTQ customers

This is such tripe but it underscores the homophobia of hate group the American Family Association and the rest of the anti-LGBTQ industry:

In a move that most Christians probably never expected to see, retail giant Walmart has posted an online video that normalizes homosexual relationships. 

For most Christians and other traditionalists, the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman is sacred. We've seen many large corporations reject that in their marketing, but I honestly never thought Walmart would join the cultural revolution and reject the beliefs of its customer base. 

The ad is part of a campaign called "Love is in the aisle: A dating show at Walmart." Episode 2 features Pat and Andy, two homosexual men on a "blind date" as they meet at the store and shop together. Through this process they discover whether or not they are compatible. 

Sign our petition to Walmart now, urging them to remove the pro-homosexual video and remain neutral on controversial issues. 

It's clear that Walmart is on the path of elevating homosexual relationships to the same level as the male-female model of marriage. We have no choice but to ask our supporters to let the company know how they, the customers, feel about Walmart's shift away from neutrality on this controversial issue to full support for same sex relationships. 

At least with a company like Amazon, we knew they were liberal from the outset. But this seems more like a betrayal from a well-known friend. Sam Walton is probably turning over in his grave.

These folks always want to appropriate things. They want to appropriate the Christian religion. They want to appropriate Wal-Mart. And now they seem to want to appropriate the concept of dating. It's equally nauseating how they create implied phraseology to make their bigotry seem palpable.

"Wal-Mart is normalizing homosexual relationships."

"Wal-Mart is attacking traditional relationships."

"Wal-Mart is taking sides on a controversial issue."

Bull. Wal-Mart is simply acknowledging its gay customers.  And that's the rub. God forbid that the LGBTQ community do normal things like date.  Apparently when we do it, it's a part of a huge conspiracy to destroy and recruit.

If' that's the case, I have one question - why do groups like AFA always seem to be getting my memos.

'Anti-LGBTQ pastor will not participate in new Congressional election' & other Wed midday news briefs

Mark Harris

Republican Mark Harris won’t run again after election board called for new House election in ballot fraud case - Anti-LGBTQ pastor Mark Harris can continue to fondly remember the days when homosexuality was illegal but he won't be doing it as a member of Congress. After his win last year in NC last year, there was a huge investigation on fraud with regards to illegal ballots via his campaign. That investigation led to an official call for a new election, which Harris has chosen to bow out of. Pity. Or not.

A Medicare Change Could Keep Us from Life-Saving HIV Meds - Always a pleasure to post from my fellow blogger Mark S. King. Wonderful man and wonderful activist.

Missouri Supreme Court opens the door to LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections - A win is a win, but count on us having ugly ones. 

You want to refuse services to the LGBTQ community? Fine. Just own your bigotry with a sign. - Repeating my post from last night. 

Gay, Aspiring Pastor Pleads For Church To Accept Him In Impassioned Speech - Noble, but your acceptance comes from God, not a church.

You want to refuse services to the LGBTQ community? Fine. Just own your bigotry with a sign.

You want to refuse services to the LGBTQ community? Fine. Just own your bigotry by placing a sign up so we don't have to be humiliated.

There are incidents sprouting up here and there of businesses refusing certain services or any services at all to members of the LGBTQ community because of the so-called concept of "religious liberty." I don't agree with this because discrimination is awful and there is the slippery slope which comes into play. You weaponize religion to refuse to serve the LGBTQ community in one area, then were is the line drawn?

But if people are so all fired up and determined to do this, then I think they should take it a step further. In all of these situations, the refusal happens after members of the LGBTQ community either inquires or has made an agreement with the business. In the latter case, the agreement is always broken by the business after the owners find out that the potential customers are LGBTQ.

I say we stop making it so complicated. If any business doesn't to serve the LGBTQ community in any capacity, why not say so beforehand? Put a sign outside the window of your business. I have posted a few suggestions above. You say that the LGBTQ community should respect your rights and opinions.  You say we should show "tolerance" for your religious beliefs. That's fine. Then respect our dignity as consumers. Why should we walk into your businesses and be humiliated. Why not eliminate that problem off the bat with a sign letting us know that our money isn't welcome?

Or could it be that the goal isn't to preserve your religious beliefs, but rather to humiliate us. Fill us with shame or worse, so much dread that we fear the anticipation of going into any business for fear of being embarrassed because we would be turned away. And this embarrassment goes deeper if we are accompanied by our friends, our prospective partner, our parents, or especially our children.

So why don't you accommodate us like you want us to accommodate you.

Or, as I asked before, is the so-called preservation of your religious beliefs really your goal? Seriously how hard can it be? It's not like it hasn't been done before:

Pat Robertson's obsession with gay sex reminds us what the anti-LGBTQ right is all about

Editor's note - due to reasons beyond my control, the blog postings here may be a bit spotty over the next few days. Please bear with me as I work this out and please don't stop supporting this blog with your hits, kind words, and shares.

Just like the relative you don't want anyone to know about, but the same relative whose presence knocks you down a peg when you get a bit too pretentious for your own britches, televangelist Pat Robertson just dealt a brutal blow to his comrades in the anti-LGBTQ right.

From Right Wing Watch:

Today on “The 700 Club,” televangelist Pat Robertson called on Christians to warn politicians that anyone who “goes along with the gay agenda” will be “voted out of office,” and fumed that LGTBQ people are “willing to destroy the whole fabric of society” in order to ensure that “their weird way of doing sex is legitimized.” 

Robertson was outraged by a story about a Catholic adoption agency that had not had its contract renewed with the city of Philadelphia because the agency refused to abide by the city’s nondiscrimination policy. 

“The incredible thing about the homosexuals is they are willing to destroy lives and destroy the whole fabric of society so long as they and their weird way of doing sex is legitimized,” he said. “That’s what they want and they will take away everything; they will destroy marriage, they will destroy families, they will destroy, in this case, the foster children. They are willing to tear down the entire edifice in order to have the majority of people recognize the way they do sex.” 

“I think if Christians begin to speak out and insist that if some politician goes along with the gay agenda, that they’re going to be voted out of office,” Robertson added. “Once they get that message, they’ll start saying, ‘We want to listen to the majority of the people in our society.’ Until they do, that small minority is going to be dominating everything we do and every aspect of our lives.”

Now some of you are like "why give this old fossil any attention." But you miss the point.

Presently in the Trump Administration, there are a bunch of anti-LGBTQ activists  and groups who at one time, spoke openly the same way Robertson did. In the past, what they could imagine gay men doing sexually was the centerpiece of their messages. Things like this:

Some, like 'Porno' Pete LaBarbera or Linda Harvey, still do. But for the most part, groups like the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom and people like Tony Perkins have traded lurid stories of gay men engaging in more sex than humanly possible for cleaner, albeit, equally false anecdotes of gays putting attempting to put people out of business for not participating in  their marriage ceremonies or blatant lies about transgender youth exhibiting themselves in school locker rooms. So thank you Pat Robertson for reminding us about how, while the lies change, the demonizing and the appeals to fears don't.

In other words, when one lie becomes less plausible or shocking, another takes it place. And that's the thing the LGBTQ community misses out on when we don't remind people of that.  So when people like Pat Robertson accidentally does our work for us, let's spotlight it and add how it's simply and old fear tactic in a string of fear tactics by anti-LGBTQ activists.

'Another homophobe at Trump's HHS, LGBTQ community & allies rock the Oscars, & other Mon midday news briefs

Oscars 2019: Everything LGBTQ that happened at Hollywood’s biggest night - The LGBTQ community and our allies rocked it like we did the Grammys. 

Meet the rabidly anti-gay HHS official behind Trump’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood - Roger Severino at HHS has caused enough havoc. Now they have this guy belligerent fool making problems for women's health: 

 The Department of Health and Human Services may be the worst in the Trump administration (though it’s hard to choose when the pickings are so awfully plentiful). It’s certainly the most anti-LGBTQ, which is saying a lot. The department is run by an evangelical cabal that has made implementing the religious right’s agenda its top priority.

Related post: Meet Roger Severino, the Trump Bigot Working to Erase Trans People - Who is Roger Severino? This guy. 

Healthcare access for LGBTQ members in rural communities 'non-existent' - A huge problem. And it becomes larger when the "religious liberty" nonsense comes into play. 

Over 350 kids and parents showed up bigots protesting a Drag Queen Story Hour in Indiana - Ha! Ha! Haters lose again.

'Members of anti-LGBTQ right oppose Trump's 'plan' to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe' & other Fri midday news briefs

Scott Lively was a main force behind  Uganda's 'Kill the Gays' bill.

Scott Lively Warns Trump: God Will Withdraw His “Hand Of Favor” Over Push To Decriminalize Homosexuality - Trump's bogus desire to decriminalize homosexuality is already getting religious right opposition.  Of course Scott Lively is upset over it. If it was on the up-and-up, it would ruin all of his "work" in Uganda.

Lance Wallnau Prays Against Trump Administration Push to Decriminalize Homosexuality - Second verse. Same as the first. 

 Post from last night. Not necessarily opposition from the Family Research Council. But an extremely weaselly worded approval - Family Research Council tries to squeeze out a little support for Trump's 'plan' to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe

Number of hate groups reaches all time high under Trump presidency - All of your talk about Jussie Smollett can't obscure this.

Should the state now apologize for targeting gay people as a threat in the 1950s? - Two words - HELL YEAH.

Judge grants US citizenship to twin son of same-sex couple - The struggle goes on as do the victories.

Family Research Council tries to squeeze out a little support for Trump's 'plan' to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

Sometimes, some folks need to keep their mouths shut.

Recently, the Trump Administration announced a goal of attempting to decriminalize homosexuality in countries where LGBTQs face persecution. Many in the LGBTQ community looked at this announcement with extreme trepidation because of how the administration has undermined our equality here in America.

And with Trump's showing that he was basically clueless about this policy on Wednesday, it turns out that we were right to be skeptical.

But what really takes the cake is how hate group - and Trump ally - the Family Research Council attempts to show support for Trump's policy.  I should remind folks that the reason why FRC is considered a hate group is how it has continuously smeared the LGBTQ community via junk science and horror stories of us doing awful things, particularly "recruiting" children.

And it has also gone on record supporting other countries criminalizing homosexuality, i.e. the Uganda "Kill the Gays" bill. So it's interesting to read the following from FRC president Tony Perkins:

On February 1, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, wrote in an opinion piece in the German newspaper Bild that “government officials must . . . demand that U.N. members decriminalize homosexuality.” The piece got little attention until this week, when an “exclusive report” from NBC News said, “The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality.” There’s just one problem – besides the ambassador, it doesn’t seem that President Trump – or anyone else in the administration – authorized this “campaign.”. 

Our own criminal laws against homosexual conduct were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 in the case of Lawrence v. Texas. Despite what some on the Left claim, we are not advocating for their return. But that does not mean we should engage in “cultural imperialism” by imposing policies that were imposed upon us by our Court on other countries with different cultures, traditions, and values.. 

For the last eight years, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bludgeoned foreign capitals with “diplomacy” designed to advance an LGBT agenda around the world and in the United Nations—doing damage to our relations with many countries as a result. The Trump administration should be ending such efforts, not making them a priority.. 

Now the tide has turned. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo articulated the proper way to think about all this at his confirmation hearing last year. When asked by Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) whether he thinks “LGBTQ rights are human rights,” Pompeo responded: “I deeply believe LGBTQ persons have every right that every other person has.”. 

As our own Travis Weber points out, some may try to argue that protecting LGBT rights is a way of protecting human rights. Yet this misleadingly implies “that same-sex-attracted and transgendered persons do not currently enjoy human rights protections…” As Travis observes, “The [Universal Declaration of Human Rights] and [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] protect every individual from arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing by the State, because all humans have human dignity, regardless of their sexual attraction or gender preference.”. 

Family Research Council vigorously opposes acts of violence against anyone because of their sexuality. According to NBC, there are eight countries which permit the death penalty for homosexuality—most of them also known as abusers of religious freedom and other rights, and supporters of terrorism. An end to those laws, and other physical punishments such as flogging, is a legitimate goal.. 

Let’s find common ground in calling for an end to all forms of physical violence against homosexuals -- but refrain from imposing the values of the sexual revolution on the rest of the world..

This is long-winded crap which shouldn't have been written. It only demonstrates the ignorant audacity of FRC to even think that it could get away with such a fractured piece of bipolar garbage.

New election in NC. Anti-LGBTQ pastor will not be seated in Congress

Mark Harris

Meanwhile, in the non-Jussie Smollett world, i.e. the real world,  anti-LGBTQ pastor,  Mark Harris, who Karen Pence campaigned for in a successful election to Congress, will not be seated just yet after all. The North Carolina state board of elections voted unanimously to hold a new election. This took place a day after explosive testimony from Harris's own son in which he told of warning his father not to hire the shady character who ended up being the center of this scandal of what appears to be severe absentee ballot fraud.

From Right Wing Watch:

North Carolina’s state board of elections has spent the week hearing testimony in an investigation of suspected absentee ballot fraud that prevented the board from certifying what had appeared to be a narrow 2018 election victory for Religious Right candidate Mark Harris in North Carolina’s ninth congressional district. Late on Thursday the board voted to hold a new election to fill the seat. 

One dramatic high point of the hearings came on Wednesday, when Harris’s son John testified that he had warned his father against hiring the campaign operative at the center of the fraud allegations. Another came on Thursday, when Harris eventually reversed his previous efforts to be seated in Congress and said he believed a new election should be held. WBTV’s Nick Ochsner live-tweeted the proceedings. 

Harris is a pastor and a Religious Right favorite who was supported by Karen Pence, “historian” David Barton, Christian nationalist David Lane, and Trump-promoting “prophet” Lance Wallnau, among others. 

John Harris testified that he had repeatedly warned his parents that Bladen County political operative McCrae Dowless was a “shady character.” When Mark Harris took the stand on Thursday, and was asked how to reconcile his son’s testimony with his previous public statements that no one warned him about Dowless, Harris said “I did not believe John’s emails to be a warning.” Responded one board member, “It’s painfully clear your son meant, ‘Daddy, don’t mess with this guy.’”

Harris has a long history of anti-LGBTQ actions and rhetoric.

What Smollett did was wrong, but MAGA Trump supporters aren't innocent. They helped to sow this ground.

I interrupt today's news briefs to talk about the Jussie Smollett situation. Now that it is looking like he faked the incident because he wasn't happy about his salary on 'Empire,' I am of course saddened and angry.

I am saddened because of how difficult this makes it for actual victims of hate crimes (homophobic, racist, or otherwise) to come forward. Those not inclined to believe have further ammunition not to. Hate crimes are real. The vast majority of them aren't hoaxes. This incident involving Smollett doesn't diminish that.

 And of course, if this pans out the way it is looking, I am furious at Jussie Smollett.

You dumbass!!

And now (putting on Vaseline on my face, putting my tennis shoes on my feet, sharpening my claws, and making sure I have my razor) let's get real.

Video - Trump doesn't know anything about his Administration's goal to decriminalize homosexuality across the world

Trump not aware of Administration goal to decriminalize homosexuality on a worldwide scale.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Trump Administration starting a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality on a worldwide scale. Many in the LGBTQ community met that announcement with a great deal of suspicion  Subsequently, we were called out by some in and out of the community as being so hateful of Trump that we wouldn't give him credit for doing something beneficial to LGBTQs.

That wasn't true. Based upon the Trump's Administration past anti-LGBTQ actions and homophobic allies,  we felt that we couldn't trust it to act in our best interest in this matter.  And it turns out that we may have been right:

Trump has no idea about his administration’s push to decriminalize homosexuality around the world, per WH transcript from today’s pool spray: pic.twitter.com/fkzzE8OMFb

— Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) February 20, 2019

Let's go to video on this:

Don't be fooled by Trump's Administration sudden concern over criminalization of homosexuality

The Trump Administration just announced what I call a fast con using the LGBTQ community:

The Trump administration is reportedly launching a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. According to NBC News, Iran is one of the primary targets of the effort, drawing attention to President Donald Trump’s history of conflating support for the LGBTQ community with Islamophobic messaging. 

The catalyst for the decision appears to have been Iran’s hanging of a gay man in January. Iran has long been one of Trump’s biggest international foes, and the president has repeatedly threatened the nation against pushing back on the administration’s decision to reimpose sanctions that were rolled back under the Iran nuclear deal. Leading the new campaign is Richard Grenell, U.S. ambassador to Germany. Grenell, an openly gay man and ultra-conservative, lashed out after the hanging, calling it “a wake-up call for anyone who supports basic human rights.”

 . . . On Twitter, the ambassador has posted dozens of tweets decrying “radical Islam,” a term often used to demonize all of Islam as being responsible for terrorism. He has also implied that Islam categorically rejects homosexuality, even though a growing majority of U.S. Muslims believe society should accept homosexuality. (Far fewer white evangelical Christians agree with that statement, however Grenell has claimed LGBTQ activists are “intolerant” towards Christians for opposing exemptions that would allow Christians to discriminate against LGBTQ people.)

Forgive the vulgarity of my candor but just who the fuck does the Trump Administration think it's kidding?

I appreciate any call to stop the criminalization of homosexuality but I resent the LGBTQ community being used as a wedge issue against Islam.

And especially coming from this Administration.

'Catholic mom sues after Trump-backed foster care agency calls her the wrong kind of Christian' & other Tue midday news briefs

Catholic mom sues after Trump-backed foster care agency calls her the wrong kind of Christian - This should be getting all sorts of headlines. Think Progress says it best:

 Last month, the Trump administration issued a waiver allowing a South Carolina foster care agency to discriminate in accordance with its Protestant religious beliefs. Now, a Catholic foster care parent is challenging the exemption after the agency discriminated against her because of her faith. In a lawsuit filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State last week, Aimee Maddonna argues that this license to discriminate violates the Establishment Clause and denies her equal protection under the law. 

Watch: Out Presidential Hopeful Buttigieg Slams Mike Pence Over Anti-LGBTQ Views - His chances aren't that good but I do love the noise he is making.

NM Student, 11, Suffers Vicious Playground Attack, Social Media Trolling - The media in part is the blame for this. They have a wonderful opportunity to talk about trans issues and include the trans community in the discussion. They - especially Fox News - opt to scare and spook rather than present factual information.

Here are 300 of extreme anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom's reported 3,300 allied attorneys - Meanwhile, an anti-LGBTQ hate group continues to infiltrate.

Repost - The Erasure of ‘LGBT’ From Black History and the Black Community Must Stop

Editor's note - I posted this in the Huffington Post in 2016. It is just as important today as it was back then:

As a gay African-American, I’ve heard the argument about how “you can’t compare the gay civil rights movement to the African-American civil rights movement” more times than I care to count.

The constant so-called moral outrage of some African-American heterosexuals when the topic is mentioned has gotten me to the point where my mind automatically tunes out the monotonous drones of how supposed sinful homosexuals are “high jacking” the civil rights movement or how gays “can’t compare their sin with black skin.”

As such, I almost missed the epiphany which occurred two weeks ago.

I was vaguely scanning comments on a conservative site by an anonymous African-American female as she went on and on about how gays were never subjected to slavery, segregation or declared three fifths a person. While the logical side of my mind was gathering up the customary argument of how wrong it was for disadvantaged people of any stripe to play the “Oppression Olympics,” the emotional side of my mind struck immediately.

“This is the most ignorant crap I’ve ever heard,” I thought. “Just where in the hell does she think gay black people were during slavery and segregation? On a spaceship orbiting the Earth? “

I was instantly struck by oddity of what I had thought. Not that my outrage wasn’t coming from a place of truth, mind you, but how the simple fact never entered my mind that yes, gay people were subjected to slavery, segregation and racism because of our skin. Just as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people of color exist now, we existed back then. Then it suddenly struck me again that I’ve never recalled any acknowledgement of this fact during the myriad of discussions, I’ve read, listened to or seen regarding comparisons between the gay and civil rights movements.

And why is that?

There have been numerous debates, articles, columns, movies and documentaries about how the legacy of racism has had a negative effect on so many aspects of African-American community, from our families to the way we interact with each other. It stands to reason that the legacy of racism didn’t leave LGBT people of color unscathed. But information about what LGBT people of color did during those awful times in our history or what effect it has had on us is practically nonexistent.

It is a subject hardly ever mentioned. No one talks about it in the black community and that includes leaders, intellectuals, journalists, authors or any other person with some type of platform. And this leaves me feeling as if the events of black history, which are supposed to be a part of my heritage, are nothing more than hand-me-downs donated to me out of charity because there are very few, if any, events which are specific to me as an LGBT person of color.

Or at least that’s what I am led to believe by the black community at large.

'Federal judge rules ban on 'ex-gay' therapy' does NOT stifle free speech' & other Fri midday news briefs

Federal judge rules ban on conversion therapy doesn’t stifle ‘free speech’ - BAM! Score one for the good guys!

Teacher Under Investigation for Unauthorized Reading of Marlon Bundo Gay Bunny Book to 1st Grade Class: WATCH - Come on folks! This is horseshit. Worse things have been read to children without complaint. This is perfectly innocent. 

LGBTQ youth are flooding the child welfare system, but they’re treated the worst - When groups like the Family Research Council, the Alliance Defending Freedom and that lying snake  Roger Severino at HHS talk about "protecting the religious liberty" of "Christian" adoption and foster care agencies, don't think for a second that they aren't deliberately creating circumstances for these kids to fall through the cracks. 

Lawmakers introduce Valentine's Day bill to make tax code LGBTQ-inclusive - Sweet! 


Lastly,  because it's the weekend and Trump is getting on my damn nerves, I'm leaving everyone this present. Apologies if you are offended and the song is definitely not NSFW. But on the positive side, I can remember when I was able move like this:

Whoever made this is gonna bust Hell wide open. 🤣😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/FI1VoRbxa4

— Did Olivia Carolyn Pope teach you heauxs nothing?? (@DamoneWilliams_) February 14, 2019

Family Research Council wants God to overlook all of the lies Trump told about his border wall

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council wants God to overlook all of the lies Trump told about his border wall.

With all of the known lies Donald Trump has told about his border wall (from the claim that Mexico will pay for it to the false story that it is needed because illegal immigration is a crisis), what does it say about the audacity of the Family Research Council to issue a generic prayer for him in the wake of him possibly issuing a "national emergency" to bypass Congressional approval to pay for it?

From Right Wing Watch:

“Heavenly Father, we have departed far from you as a people, and to the degree we have, we have lost our common sense. We appeal to your mercy, Lord. Grant us time to repent. Save us from our foolishness and mischief. Guide our president and Congress to craft sensible measures to protect our borders, expand and strengthen our border walls, and stop illegal immigration into our country. Lord, even as the ancient Jews pleaded with you to strengthen their gates and the walls of their cities, please strengthen ours. We look to you to be our strength and our security!”

Apparently FRC has the same minuscule amount of respect for God as it does for its supporters.

'Kansas legislators targeting LGBTQ community with a series of 'nasty' and unnecessary bills' & other Thur midday news briefs

These Kansas legislators show their naked homophobia by proposing several awful bills which do nothing but simply target the LGBTQ community.

Kansas bill claims LGBTQ community is a religion to justify every kind of discrimination against it - This right here is some EVIL shit designed specifically to target LGBTQ Americans. That, and our media are so jaded about it, is the problem.

These 7 GOP Lawmakers Just Introduced Some of the Most Vile, Hateful Anti-LGBTQ Legislation We’ve Ever Seen, in Kansas - And these seven folks are behind it. There simply is no reason for this legislation. It doesn't make things better. It simply targets LGBTQ Americans.

Kansas GOP introduces the ‘most vile, hateful & disrespectful’ anti-LGBTQ bills in the country - Yes another article because we need to drill into people's heads just what these bills represent. It is about hatred and homophobia to the lowest regard. 

A rough day in Nebraska: hired gun for antiLGBT Alliance Defending Freedom gets openly mocked in Judiciary Committee hearing - oh sweet! a hate group employee gets his ass handed to him during a Judiciary Committee because the folks questioning him did their homework.

Anti-trans lesbian joins Tucker Carlson as trans-exclusionary radical feminists increasingly align with the right - See this right here is a serious problem. It's easy to falsely claim that you are "debating" an issue when you can control who gets access. Fox News won't have any transgender men and women on its network, but it will feature THIS TRASH.


Photo taken from Towleroad

James Dobson, other anti-LGBTQ activists team up to defend racist Congressman Steve King

Congressman Steve King has gotten into trouble for making racist statements and defending white supremacy, but religious right figures below are defending him.

James Dobson

With the anti-LGBTQ right, it's all about "priorities."  Isn't it simply wonderful how these religious right groups and activists took time out of their "busy schedules" of condemning the LGBTQ community to stand up for a Congressman who reportedly can't understand why white supremacy is such a bad word.

From Americans  United for the Separation of Church and State's Rob Boston:

The so-called “pro-family” Religious Right – a movement that claims to be all about promoting morals and decency – is all too happy these days to endorse any politician who agrees with them on certain issues – no matter how alarming that person’s statements and views may be. 

For more evidence of that, consider that hundreds of allegedly “moral” organizations and individuals just signed a letter to Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives demanding that U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) be given his committee assignments back. 

King lost the assignments because he has a long track record of saying incendiary, racist

Janet Porter

things and snuggling up to extreme organizations that preach hate. Although GOP leaders tolerated his antics for years, King finally went too far last month when, during an interview with The New York Times, he questioned why the term “white nationalist” is considered offensive. 

“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization – how did that language become offensive?” King mused. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” 

Bill Owens

King later claimed to have been misquoted. It’s almost certainly a lie, but even if it were the case, it hardly matters – there are plenty of other damning statements by King. He has been spouting racist rhetoric for a long time and last year went so far as to endorse a candidate for mayor of Toronto who had granted an interview to a podcast run by the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website. King once retweeted a neo-Nazi and has been accused of anti-Semitism. He has also met with fascist politicians abroad and has repeatedly endorsed The Camp of the Saints, a paranoid, openly racist 1973 novel that portrays a future Europe overrun by hordes of non-whites.

 . . .  So why is the Religious Right defending this guy? Well, King also has a long

Peter LaBarbera

history of promoting that movement’s pet ideas. In 2002, while a member of the Iowa legislature, King introduced a bill requiring that public schools teach that the United States derives its strength from “Christianity, free enterprise capitalism and Western civilization.” In 2005, King, now a member of Congress, cosponsored legislation that would have stripped the federal courts of their ability to hear any legal case that would challenge any government’s decision to acknowledge “God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.” He has been a reliable vote for the Religious Right ever since.

 So who signed this letter? According to ThinkProgress (click on the link to find out more details about the folks below), a number of prominent anti-LGBTQ activists:

'Anti-LGBTQ hate group plays 'religious persecution' card because of money exposure' & other Wed midday news briefs

AZ Atheists Aren’t Censoring Christians by Publicizing a License Plate Program - Dig this. Simply publicizing the fact that a hate group working to undermine LGBTQ rights, put gays in jail for simply being gay, and sterilizing transgender people is making money via an Arizona license plate program is "anti-Christian" bigotry.

Nashville signs pro-LGBTQ order while Tennessee Republicans push license to discriminate - Juxtaposition from hell. 

Will & Grace Star Sean Hayes to Be Honored with GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award - Sweet! Way to go, Mr. Hayes! 

Ellen Page Reminds The World That Trans And Queer Rights Are Not Up For Debate - PREACH!!

GOP Lawmaker Under Fire for Saying He’d Drown His Kids if They Were Gay Now Says He Just Did It to Own the Libs - "I meant to do that." The Pee Wee Herman argument of homophobia.

Hate group fears the LGBTQ rights, safety being protected under the law

With Trump attempting to seize all of the oxygen in the room, it is difficult to pay attention to other crucial issues, such as LGBTQ equality. But thanks to hate group the Family Research Council, let's have a reminder:

It’s a sweeping and wrongheaded extension of #ENDA to add in sexual orientation and gender identity and at least 25 areas of law as opposed to just hiring practices.
Do not pass the #EqualityAct or its sister proposal, the Fairness for All Act. @WashTimes https://t.co/J5NYdeXm0W

— FRC (@FRCdc) February 12, 2019

Don't be fooled by the nonsense of this piece but please pay attention to the fear FRC has about any extension of LGBTQ equality. When ENDA was being considered, the group freely lied about what it would lead to and it is lying about the Equality Act and the Fairness for All Act.

Remember that FRC's entire brand is undermining LGBTQ equality and safety. Don't let them fool you as to where it stands regarding the LGBTQ community and our children:






Related posts:

Family Research Council: LGBTQ rights shouldn't be protected under law because of children and  'health hazards'

2011 Flashback - 16 Reasons Why the Family Research Council is a Hate Group

'Chris Pratt avoiding legitimate questions about anti-LGBTQ history of his church' & other Tue midday news briefs

Chris Pratt need not avoid the anti-LGBTQ history of his church.

Chris Pratt Responds To Ellen Page’s Claim His Church Is ‘Infamously Anti-LGBTQ’ - I hate to be involved in this but I smell how the religious right are going attempt to use this in order to make the LGBTQ community seem like bullies. Pratt sidestepped several points about his church and I be DAMNED if the LGBTQ community will be looked at as bullies because we are making legitimate call outs, like such: 

Chris Pratt attends an anti-gay church with a history of child molestation and ex-gay therapy  

Is Hillsong Church anti-LGBT? What you need to know about its views 

Inside Hillsong, the Church of Choice for Justin Bieber and Kevin Durant  

Sex Abuse & Gay Conversion Therapy: The Dark Past of Justin Bieber’s Megachurch Hillsong

NYC Lawmaker Says Chamber Controlled By ‘Homosexual Community,’ Won’t Apologize - This is what is wrong with the media. Framing the story as if his ignorance is somehow courageous. We don't need the jerk to apologize. Call him out with the facts. Stop asking an asshole not to be an asshole.

West Virginia lawmaker says there’s no reason to punish him for comparing LGBTQ community to KKK - Second verse same as the first. Stop demanding apologies. To hell with their apologies. Call out their words. 

This Republican told LGBTQ youth that homosexuality is equal to bestiality & pedophilia - A part of a larger problem. "Ignore them" we are told by some people. You can't ignore ignorant people who have the power to make policy which will affect your life.

Hate group called out for junk science attack on LGBTQ children

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

'LGBTQ women and allies dominate the 61st annual Grammys' & other Mon midday news briefs

2019 Grammy Awards: LGBTQ women shine at 61st annual music event - From Janelle Monae to Lady Gaga. From Brandi Carlile to St. Vincent to Kacey Musgraves. Was there any doubt who stole the show at the Grammys this year?

‘I’m Gay’ Uttered on Disney Channel for First Time in Groundbreaking Episode of ‘Andi Mack’ - Yes this is a huge deal. Our kids are watching.

Watch Queer “Family Feud” Contestant Shock Steve Harvey With Perfect Answer - Seemingly innocuous incident which underscores just how America does not talk about the reality of gay families and how the anti-LGBTQ industry count on that to render our families invisible.

ICE confirms 45 transgender women being held at Texas detention center - This right here is some mess.

Exclusive: Rep. Kennedy leads congressional resolution against Trump trans military ban - Good for Congress and good luck.

'Alumnus of Karen Pence's anti-LGBTQ school speaks out' & other Fri midday news briefs

Luke Hartman

Student Voice: For LGBTQ teens, ‘hope does exist’ - This is important. The manufactured issue of "religious liberty" gives the religious right and its allies like 2nd Lady Karen Pence an opportunity to bogart the conversation when it comes to the LGBTQ community and particularly our children. We forget how this narrative erases LGBTQ children and silences their voices. People like Luke Hartman reminds us of this. His one voice speaks for the generation that Pence and her cohorts are attempting to drown out. 

School forced to shut down after inviting lesbian politician to speak for Black History Month - Cause apparently some folks think that LGBTQ history and black history don't intertwine.

Tennessee lawmakers kick off legislative session with litany of anti-LGBTQ bills - A huge grouping of every anti-LGBTQ aspiration from undermining gay adoption to attacking the trans community. What may be successful here could be a ground game for the rest of the country. Bring it on. 

Report: Missing Migrant Children Being Funneled Through Christian Adoption Agency - Not LGBTQ per se, but we may be hearing more about this as time goes on.

So homophobic, Jesus can't help you . . .

Randy Short don't like the LGBTQ community or the National Black Caucus

As if the LGBTQ community doesn't have enough to deal with how the Trump Administration is empowering overt attacks on us and our families, even the dregs of bigotry are attempting to take wild shots.

A press conference I referenced earlier this week took place and according to Right Wing Watch, it was a doozy:

Imagine an anti-LGBTQ gathering that included remarks by a trio of aggressively anti-gay activists—Scott Lively, Peter LaBarbera, and Brian Camenker—and now imagine that none of them was the most ridiculous, obnoxious or extreme speaker. Such was the scene at the National Press Club on Tuesday afternoon, where a new group calling itself “Gone Too Far” introduced itself with tirades against the LGBTQ equality movement, the proposed federal Equality Act, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus who support it. 

Three right-wing African American pastors—Randy Short, Stephen Broden and E.W. Jackson—are part of the group’s organizing committee, as are Lively, LaBarbera, and Camenker. (Notably, the latter three were all part of a group of Religious Right leaders who defended Rep. Steve King when he was punished by his House colleagues for his most recent racist comments.) Additional organizing committee members include Arthur Shaper, head of the California branch of Camenker’s MassResistance; Paul Blair, president of Reclaiming America for Christ; and his Oklahoma clergy colleague, Dan Fisher. Blair is also a promoter of “nullification”–the notion that the individual states hold the power to nullify federal laws. 

The press conference began with the blowing of a shofar, prayer, the singing of “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and “God Bless America,” and the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. When Short took to the podium, things went downhill quickly.

Trump makes accidental but very accurate condemnation of anti- LGBTQ religious hypocrisy at National Prayer Breakfast

Look out!

Trump and the conservative evangelical right exploits the National Prayer Breakfast to seize the spotlight, justify anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and make a very interesting but accurate Freudian slip:

President Trump gave a shout out to Karen Pence at today’s National Prayer Breakfast for teaching at “a Christian school,” one that recently garnered national attention for barring #LGBTQ employees and students pic.twitter.com/FtIzaPeNp8

— NBC Out (@NBCOUT) February 7, 2019

Trump just openly defended adoption agencies who wish to refuse service to same-sex couples, unmarried couples, and couples of different religious faiths. PURE DISCRIMINATION. pic.twitter.com/AAfOBne4uw

— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) February 7, 2019

All leading to this:

By saying people of faith are behind abolishing civil rights, Trump Freudian-slips the most accurate definition of #ReligiousFreedom EVER!pic.twitter.com/H87NHmKpNz

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) February 7, 2019