Monday, March 08, 2021

Hate group leader's attack on The Equality Act backfires

The Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver

It's like I've said from time to time - when we give spotlight to some who oppose our equality instead of ignoring what they say, they tend to make our case for us.  The latest example of this is anti-LGBTQ hate group the Liberty Counsel and its head, Mat Staver.

I don't know which urban vernacular to use in describing the Liberty Counsel's list of reasons why people should oppose the Equality Act. Staver is either too extra or does too much.

Take a look at this, for example (Editor's note - I apologize for Staver's transphobic language. I'm printing it as if to demonstrate his ignorance)

"This [situation] involves a young lady, Ann*, who is getting married in May," says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. "She was shopping for a bridal dress with her mother and sister and she's been saving herself for her husband." According to Staver, the store employee helping "Ann" in and out of dresses in the dressing room turned out to be a man dressed as a woman. "This young woman felt completely violated and deceived by the bridal store," says Staver. "This day was [supposed to be] a day of celebration and joy – and it turned into a disaster. And it should never have happened."

Seriously? Talk about pushing going heavy on fear tactics from the get-go. What does being helped by a transgender woman have to do with the bride "saving herself for her husband?"  Also, one would think that the store would ask if she needed help, regardless. Lastly, it stands to reason that if her mother and sister are with her, she would already have help in trying on dresses.

On his group's webpage, Staver turns the dial up with a litany of reasons why the Equality Act is "dangerous," each one more ludicrous than the last:

'GOP hoping that attack on transgender Americans will help in upcoming midterm elections' & other Mon midday news briefs



GOP seizes on women’s sports as unlikely wedge issue - The GOP is hoping that their attacks on trans Americans will help them in upcoming midterms. Here is a question. IF your opponent is giving you his or her gameplan, do you - A. engage in ridiculous discussions about how it might work, thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophecy or do you B. - use your opponent's stupidity in telling you what they intend to do against them and undercut their goals. The answer should be easy. It depends upon all of us. This is not nor has it ever been about "protecting women's sports" just like it was never about "baking a cake."


25 Years Later, ‘The Birdcage’ Is Hollywood’s Most Monumental Gay Movie - Not the most but definitely one of the most. Nathan Lane was my heart in that movie. He was incredible  in how he created a three dimensional portrayal of Albert in what could have easily been done as a stereotypical performance.