1992 Flashback - Houston police go undercover as gay men to bust gay bashers

 

I saw this video Monday night and it moved me so much that I simply had to share it with folks, particularly the younger LGBTQ generation.

From Wikipedia: 

 Paul Broussard, a 27-year-old Houston-area banker and Texas A&M alumnus, died after a gay bashing incident outside a Houston nightclub in the early hours of July 4, 1991. Nine teenaged youths, ages 15–17, and one 22-year-old were intoxicated on drugs and alcohol when they left a high school party in the suburb of The Woodlands and headed for Houston's heavily gay Montrose area in an attempt to gain admittance to dance clubs located in the vicinity. After being refused entry to several establishments, they pulled into a parking lot where they encountered Broussard and two friends, who were also intoxicated. 

They then attacked Broussard and his friends. Broussard was beaten and stabbed twice with a pocket knife belonging to 17-year-old Jon Buice. He died several hours later as a result of both internal injuries as well as what an expert medical examiner termed "a delay in treatment" (in the early days of the AIDS crisis, police and medical personnel were slow to respond to calls from the Montrose area for fear of AIDS contamination). 

 When Houston gay rights leader Ray Hill confronted police about solving the murder, he was told that they had no intention of doing so. Gay rights advocates, frustrated about being ignored and persecuted by city officials, marched through the streets and in front of the Mayor Kathy Whitmire's home for several days in what became Houston's largest and long-lasting gay rights demonstration in history. Ultimately, the juveniles – labeled "The Woodlands Ten" – were apprehended and plea bargained into prison without a trial for the murder of Broussard. 

The video above is what happened after the murder. The outcry after Broussard's murder was so loud that police went undercover in a sting operation to stop groups of teenagers who went looking to bash gays. It sounds like a corny television comedy episode, but it's anything but that. These policemen found out the hard way what gay men go through when several of them got injured. 

 This video is not for everyone, and I strongly advise folks with triggers to be careful in watching it. There is no physical violence, but plenty of ugly moments which reflect a scary summation of how things were for us back in the day.  Probably the most chilling portion of the video starts at 7:32 when an unnamed teenager nonchalantly compares beating gay men with the "joke" of smashing pumpkins during Halloween because he and his friends never thought of us as human beings.

Editor's note - I know how some in the community feel about the police in general, but this post isn't about them. It's about remembering our history, both good and bad.

Pastor publicly blasts Franklin Graham, calling him a 'liar' and 'poster child for Christian nationalism'

With everything going on lately (Biden dropping out of the presidential election and Harris taking up the mantle to run), I've got bogged down and behind on my blogging. I almost missed this incredible moment of basic truth. 

Recently Mark Wingfield, executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global, verbally ripped into Franklin Graham, calling him a " the poster child for Christian nationalism" and " "liar" for his speech during the recent Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump.

The basic point of Wingfield's piece, underscored by the passage below, is that when it comes to Graham, it's all about earthly power and he's willing to exploit his faith to shield any liar who will give it to him.

 To understand the insidious nature of Christian nationalism, look no further than Franklin Graham’s appearance at the Republican National Convention last night. Graham already has demonstrated he knows no shame in endorsing, blessing and lionizing the most corrupt president in American history, yet people continue to send his nonprofits millions of dollars, enriching him as one of our most highly paid partisan preachers.

 . . . Graham started telling flat-out lies. 

“For as long as I’ve known President Trump, I’ve found him to be a man of his word,” he declared. 

Apparently, Graham hasn’t listened to any of the small-business owners who have been jilted by Trump through the years, hasn’t listened to any of the women who say Trump assaulted them, hasn’t paid attention to the hundreds of documented lies Trump spews between breakfast and dinner each day. 

 No, it turns out Graham has some other measure in mind: “When he told me and our country in 2016 that he was going to appoint conservative justices, guess what, he did. In 2016, he said he would defend religious liberty and, guess what, he did.”

 By “religious liberty,” of course, Graham means the liberty of evangelicals like him, not the liberty of all people. 

 And then Graham threw out this whopper: “In 2019, I was with him at the United Nations when the first president in the history of this country stood there to advocate for religious liberty worldwide.” 

 So no other U.S. president in history has advocated for global religious liberty? That is patently false and insulting. It makes Trump out to be a hero he is not. Not only have other presidents advocated for worldwide religious liberty, Trump has not. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Palestinians. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Muslims. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Democrats. 

 Like Graham, Trump has only shown interest in advocating for religious liberty for his political base. All others be damned.

'Moms for Liberty trying to abandon 'extremist' image, LGBTQ actors make Emmy history, 144 out athletes at upcoming Olympics' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

Moms for Liberty tries to abandon 'extremist' image with RNC rebrand​ - It ain't gonna happen. Moms for Liberty got a paper trail and folks aren't going to forget.

John Deere to abandon pride festival sponsorships following online right-wing pressure campaign - Simple cowardice which will empower more foolishness. 

 4 out actors were nominated for Lead Actor in a Limited Series at the 2024 Emmys - This is historic and should be recognized as such. 

 We're rooting for these LGBTQ+ nominees at the 76th Primetime Emmys - And those four weren't the only LGBTQ folks rewarded with Emmy nominations. 

 Ohioans explain abandoning Republican Party for love of their transgender grandchild - There are so many stories like this out there. 

 JD Vance faces criticism from advocates for his 'cruel' record on LGBTQ issues - He's a prominent Republican. What do you expect? 

At least 144 out athletes are headed to the Paris Olympics. Meet Team LGBTQ. - Not bad. Not bad at all.

Trump's VP pick JD Vance went from calling Trump 'America's Hitler' in 2016 to allowing Trump to publicly humiliate him in 2022.

 If you haven't heard, Trump picked Ohio senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential pick, which is going to make things very interesting seeing the stuff Vance has said about him in the past. 

From Reuters:

Eight years ago, in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, J.D. Vance was a bitter critic of Donald Trump. Publicly, he called the Republican presidential candidate an "idiot" and said he was "reprehensible." Privately, he compared him to Adolf Hitler .

But by the time the former president tapped Vance to be his running mate on Monday, the Ohio native had become one of Trump's most ardent defenders, standing by his side even when other high-profile Republicans declined to do so. James David Vance's transformation - from self-described "never Trumper" to stalwart loyalist - makes him a relatively unusual figure in Trump's inner circle. Democrats and even some Republicans have questioned whether Vance, who wrote a bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and is now a U.S. senator from Ohio, is driven more by opportunism than ideology. 

 CNN has also come out with more: 

 Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a leading candidate to be Donald Trump’s vice president, liked tweets in 2016 and 2017 that harshly criticized Trump and his policies — including one speculating that Vance could serve in former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s administration. 

Other tweets liked by Vance said Trump committed “serial sexual assault,” called him “one of USA’s most hated, villainous, douchey celebs,” and, in a since-removed set of tweets, harshly criticized Trump’s response to the deadly 2017 White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia – something Vance now defends Trump over. Vance’s past anti-Trump stances have been well-documented, but these new examples, unearthed by an extensive review of Vance’s past social media activity, demonstrate they were more widespread and scathing than previously known. 

 . . . His subsequent transition from vocal Trump critic to staunch supporter has been widely scrutinized. Vance has become a key surrogate for the former president and routinely defends Trump on television, including during his hush money trial in New York last month. Vance also helped orchestrate Trump’s June 6 fundraiser in San Francisco with tech industry donors. Trump is expected to meet with congressional Republicans in Washington, DC, on Thursday. 

In a statement to CNN, Vance cited Trump’s “many successes in office” and claimed that realizing the “corporate media and Deep State’s” coordinated efforts to undermine Trump changed his perspective.

Vance claims he "changed his perspective" because of Trump's supposed successes and the "deep state." However, an incident in which Trump publicly humiliated him in 2022 during an Ohio rally may give a more honest perspective of his embrace of Trump

According to at the time CNN editor Chris Cillizza:

At a rally on Saturday night for Ohio GOP Senate nominee J.D. Vance, Trump made sure the crowd knew that Vance was subservient to him – big time. “J.D. is kissing my ass he wants my support so bad,” Trump said. Trump was reacting to a New York Times story that reported Vance had not actually invited Trump to campaign with him in the state. Instead, Trump’s team had simply told Vance that they would be coming to Ohio for a rally. Trump’s campaign stops have always been, primarily, about Trump. 

You can tell that by the amount of time he spends talking about himself (a lot) versus how much time he spends talking about the candidate for whom he is ostensibly campaigning (very little). But he has rarely thrown a candidate he endorsed so directly under the bus as he did Vance over the weekend. 

“He made J.D. Vance look like a mouse, not a man,” former Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock told CNN of the moment. “It was humiliating.”

JD Vance went from calling Trump "America's Hitler" in 2016 to allowing Trump to publicly humiliate him at a 2022 rally. Vance was probably picked because he embodies the quality Trump looks for - a complete lack of self-respect.

Video: One picnic sparks the South Carolina Pride Movement

 

Citizen Better on PBS decided to feature segment on the Harriet Hancock Community Center in Columbia, SC while we were having one of our monthly potlucks. It was a fun time which shows the wonderful simplicity of LGBTQ lives without any of that nonsense spewed by Libs of TikTok or Gays Against Groomers designed to feed off of fears and stereotypes about us.

 The video is also very informative about the founding of the South Carolina Pride Movement and the woman, Harriet Hancock, who helped to create it all. Harriet's son came out to her in the early 80s and she accepted him. Then she decided to take action not only for him but for all of the other LGBTQ South Carolinians. What she helped to create continues today and thrives very well in spite of the stereotypes one hears about the South and homophobia. 

 Harriet is interviewed during this video, and she will simply take your breath away. If anyone needs to hear a positive pick-me-up during this turbulent time with regards to our rights and safety, listen to Harriet.

Video - What is Project 2025 and why it should scare all Americans

 

In spite of the clutter surrounding us this election, some critical information has been getting through. Folks are waking up to Project 2025, a detailed plan of what Trump hopes to do should he become re-elected. To put it mildly, it would dismantle our government and give Trump unprecedented control. To put it another way, Project 2025 can be seen as the end desire of far-right conservatives. Their attempts to undermine LGBTQ safety and health was merely a road stop. Project 2025 is their destination. And it won't be a good place for any American to be. That especially includes women, people of color, and LGBTQ people.

 Let MSNBC's Chris Hayes spell it out for you. 

Related post - A guide to Project 2025, the extreme right-wing agenda for the next Republican administration

'Bible in the classroom' Superintendent Ryan Walters dodges questions about content of Bible during interview

 Ryan Walters is a far-right personality. Unfortunately, he is also superintendent of schools in Oklahoma. This means he has spent a large amount of time grabbing the spotlight with his statements and actions all geared on imposing his version of Christianity on to his fellow Oklahomans.

His latest act - mandating that Bibles be incorporated in lesson plans of kids from the 5th to the 12th grades - has of course been extremely controversial (as you can easily guess). The video above is from an interview he gave to CNN on Tuesday.  Let's just say I doubt he converted doubters to his side with his word salads and tangents about the "radical left." To her credit, CNN's Pamela Brown came with the facts checks and would not let him get away with no answering her questions. 

Below is a partial transcript. Hat tip to fellow blogger JoeMyGod (Joe Jervis). (and I know what you're thinking. I was going to post this anyway, but Joe beat me to it so I'm grabbing his transcript 🤪):

CNN HOST PAMELA BROWN: “You’re saying that the teaching of the Bible in the classroom is a must, that every teacher must accept that. The bible includes beheading, rape, and incest. Do you support teaching children about those topics?”

RYAN WALTERS: “I support teaching children our history accurately and what we’ve seen is the radical left and the teachers’ union have driven the bible out of schools. “You can’t talk about our rights coming from God, as Thomas Jefferson referenced, you can’t talk about Abraham Lincoln talking about being on God’s side in what he does and that inspires him? “You can’t talk about the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr., who routinely referenced examples from the bible, including from a “Letter from Birmingham Jail”? 

 “I’m doing the things I’m doing is because of the tenets taught to me by the bible, so it’s essential that our kids understand our history and we’re going to put it back in and the left is going to continue to try to censor our history. Well, we’re not gonna allow it here in Oklahoma.”

 BROWN: “Okay, you didn’t answer my question. We’re going to get to the history and everything, and by the way, Thomas Jefferson, he advocated for freedom of religion, actually not the establishment of a religion for one, but are you okay with all teachings of the Bible? If you want to bring it back into the classroom, rape, incest, beheading. Is that acceptable to you?”

 WALTERS: “Again, I’ll answer your question, you might not like to answer, but it is the answer. It is our history is referenced, the bible was referenced multiple times in American history. It had a profound influence on American history. “It was the bestselling book in American history, to not teach that in the classroom is academic malpractice. Our kids have to understand our history and we’re not going to hide that from them.” 

BROWN: “Okay, so will you allow teachers to teach all aspects of the Bible? How are teachers supposed to know what of the bible to teach and what of the Bible not to teach? It’s a simple question, given the fact that the bible includes, also, you know, pornographic material, something you’ve come out against and actually took a teaching certificate away from a teacher for giving access to students— pornographic material. That’s in the bible.” 

WALTERS: “Yeah, let me be crystal clear. The bible is not on the same plane as Gender Queer and Flamer. These are pornography, the bible is a book that was referenced throughout American history. “We have academic standards that tell our teachers that you are to talk about the bible in reference to the Mayflower Compact, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the Declaration of Independence, so these are all very clear. “It’s very clear from primary sources that these individuals reference history— in our history, they referenced the bible. 

So look, when it’s historically accurate, we’re absolutely going to include that. “I mean, think about how absurd it would be to teach about the Pilgrims if you don’t mention their intention for moving to the New World, it’s crucial and we’re not gonna allow the radical left to continue to push a false history on our kids that said that faith played no role, well, just read the history. It’s clearly there.”

Study: Gender-affirming surgeries are performed more on cisgender minors than trans minors

In the race to demonize gender-affirming healthcare when it comes to trans kids, the facts spoken below have been known for quite a while but ignored.

From a June 27 article in The Advocate:

"Little to no" gender-affirming surgeries are being performed on minors in the United States, and those that are performed are overwhelmingly on cisgender minors. Out of the 151 breast reductions that were performed in 2019 on American minors, 146 (97 percent) were performed on cisgender males, according to a new study published in JAMA. 

Out of the 636 breast reductions performed on adults, 507 (80 percent) were performed on cisgender males. The study used data from 47,437,919 adults and 22,827,194 minors who were insured that year, finding that chest-related operations accounted for 1,591 out of 2,664 (59.7 percent) of surgical procedures performed on adults, and 82 of 85 (96.4 percent) of surgical procedures performed on minors.

 The rate of transgender and gender-diverse people undergoing a gender-affirming surgery was 5.3 for every 100,000 adults, and 2.1 for every 100,000 minors ages 15 to 17 years. Among minors ages 13 to 14 years, the rate of gender-affirming surgeries was 0.1 for every 100,000. There were no procedures among minors 12 years or younger.

Study leader Dannie Dai said the following: 

“Our findings highlight a bitter irony: that by banning gender-affirming care for only TGD people, these bills are targeting a group that in reality accounts for the minority of gender-affirming care use and for whom gender-affirming care has been most clearly shown to be lifesaving." 

 In September 2022, an article in The Advocate pointed out that more teens were getting breast implants than trans top surgeries.

''Death to LGBTQs' MAGA pastor loses third bid for SC congressional seat' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

Extreme MAGA pastor Mark Burns lost his third attempt to win a Congressional seat.

“Death To LGBTQs” Pastor Loses GOP House Runoff​ - No Congressional seat for Mark Burns as he loses a third primary run for the U.S House. South Carolina Republicans did something right. Though not by much. 

 From LGBTQ Nation: 

Burns is a notorious opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, having called for the arrest of parents of transgender children, who he compared to the Hitler Youth. He further said that anyone who supports LGBTQ+ youth should be tried for treason or even executed by the government. Biggs was backed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), with whom she’s been friends with for years. In spite of not being endorsed by Trump, Biggs nevertheless promised to “help President Trump win back the White House.” While she is not nearly as extreme as Burns on LGBTQ+ issues, she nevertheless holds many of the same views as him. These include restrictions on abortions, immigration, and taxes.

Drag queen schools Marjorie Taylor Greene on gender: 'You have no idea what you’re talking about' - Poor MTG. She came for a drag queen and got her "edges ripped." 

Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Plan: Allow Anyone To Sue Teacher, Librarian ‘Groomers’ - One of our oldest "friends" on this blog, Janet Folger. Google her name on this site if you have time and a strong stomach. She is a MESS.

Republicans running for governor are some of the most extremist candidates in the country. Here they are - Laaaawd! They don't like us. At all.

LGBTQ elders struggle with health care, housing and isolation - Never forget our elders. 

Number of LGBTQ elected officials jumps nearly 200% since 2017, report finds - THIS is pretty cool.

The LGBTQ Community Should Not Vote for Trump | Opinion - No shit.

Conservative writer mocked for making his (heterosexual) proposal a failed clap back against Pride Month

Conservative writer Addison Smith succeeded in his attempt to go viral by making his proposal to his heterosexual girlfriend a clap back against Pride Month and the LGBTQ community. Now what did he do that for?

 Addison Smith, far-right wannabe social media influencer posted the following on Twitter as a way of making his proposal to his fiancé all about slapping Pride Month in the face. He obviously did this for the engagement and a chance to rile up LGBTQ people and our allies. Smith clearly got the attention he wanted. He and his right-wing friends and his allies are giddy about how his act has gone extremely viral. 

But at what cost?

Smith comes across as someone deliberately jumping face-first in cow manure while pretending that it's oil he struck. Sometimes if one succeeds in their quest to gain attention, it's not a good thing. It only means more people know how much of a jackass you are, and Smith succeeded in making a jackass of himself. 

He also probably embarrassed his now fiancé, proved our evergreen point about how people like him are completely obsessed with us, and definitely made sure this incident is remembered should the "points" expressed about him by responders (who left brutally funny responses before he shut down the comments) turn out to be true.  It all comes down to how certain folks try so hard to dehumanize us that they end up looking simply stupid.  Can you imagine reducing such a special and sacred event such as a wedding proposal into a failed attempt to "own" LGBTQ people?

But when the adrenaline stops pumping and the glitter fades, that tweet will still be around. And I bet it will come up repeatedly during your marriage. That is if there will be one.  If you make your marriage proposal to your heterosexual fiancé all about making fun of LGBTQ people, you've got issues. And she probably will have problems. Just saying.

Sometimes our enemies are their own worst enemies.

Pride month is so defeated.

I love you @charisedwardss pic.twitter.com/zAmr5hSY4O

— Addison Smith (@AddisonSmithTV) June 23, 2024

As I said before, the responses have been brutal.

 

Your first thought when proposing to your wife is gay men?

I predict this will be a pattern. Condolences to your wife.

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) June 24, 2024

Why are you thinking about other men while proposing to your fiance? kinda sus!

— Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) June 24, 2024

Imagine proposing to someone and immediately thinking about how it affect gays. Which it doesn’t.

— Kevin Kelly (@kevinkelly) June 24, 2024

When my wife asked me to marry her, all I could think about was how much I loved her. That your first thought is about gay men suggests that your Pride message is for yourself, not us. Don't drag this lovely woman into a lie. Love her enough to sort out your gay questioning,…

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) June 24, 2024

https://t.co/gqmwNn5EVd pic.twitter.com/d9a3eZZM2L

— Jim Stewartson, Counterinsurgent 🇺🇸🇺🇦💙🎈 (@jimstewartson) June 24, 2024

Defeating pride by turning off comments after the ratio pic.twitter.com/O2oeweK6jR

— Liberal Hegemony Enjoyer (@Danofran) June 24, 2024

The fact that you centered the LGBTQ in your proposal post is... "interesting". pic.twitter.com/oGBvb2cFC1

— jade wants you to know... (@jadeljordan1) June 24, 2024

Son, straight married man here.

Pride is not about keeping people like us from getting married. It's about letting everyone who wants to get married do so.

You didn't "defeat" anything. You just made the day you proposed to a woman about gay sex, somehow.

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) June 24, 2024

Why do right-wing pastors talk more about gay sex than most gay men I know?

Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon fumes about Pride Month: "Don't forget, the key characteristic of the gay community is butt sex. It's feces. It's AIDS. It's disease." https://t.co/SNnfCbznlw pic.twitter.com/iCj7s2f4Q3

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 20, 2024

From LGBTQ Nation: 

 Christian Nationalist hate preacher Joel Webbon shared his vision for a wholly Christian nation in a recent conversation on his Right Response Ministries YouTube show, advocating the death penalty for homosexuals, citing a seemingly made-up statistic about gays eating feces, and gay people dying young.

 . . .The wide-ranging discussion with two far-right wingmen, Michael Belch and Wesley Todd, centered on the perversion of gay men and their corrupting influence on American society. 

 . . . Webbon asserted good people “have been lied to by Modern Family, by Will & Grace” into believing that LGBTQ+ people are like everyone else. Degenerate popular culture dictates LGBTQ+ people are “marked by compassion or they’re marked by artistic expression,” Webbon told his Christian Nationalist fellows. “Well, don’t forget the key characteristic,” he continued. “The key characteristic of the gay community is butt sex. That’s the key characteristic. It’s feces. That’s the key characteristic. It’s AIDS, it’s disease. And it needs to be said, because nobody has said it for a very long time.” 

 . . .Belch jumped in with statistics that he claimed backed up Webbon’s embrace of disgust. “17% of homosexuals” consume human feces, Belch claimed, citing discredited data from anti-gay researcher Paul Cameron and his Family Research Institute. The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Cameron and his so-called institute a “one-man statistical chop shop” which “churns out hate literature masquerading as legitimate science.” Citing Cameron again, Belch asserted that the “median age of death” for gays and lesbians is 42 and 45, respectively. Webbon joked, “Sounds like if society won’t enforce the penalties, God’ll do it.”

 There they go again. I swear that gay men don't have as much sex as the haters imagine we do. And the vast majority of us certainly aren't as sexually active as they think we are. I'm almost disappointed that he didn't bring up the "gay men stuff gerbils up their rectums" lie.

Reading all of that gave me an ugly blast from the past such as this 1984 anti-gay booklet:

It was even endorsed by a United States Congressman, William Dannemeyer:

And to label this comic as homophobic would be an extreme understatement:

 

Combatting junk like this is why I began this blog in 2006.  Nowadays though, our community is in less danger of three idiotic men drooling over what they imagine us doing sexually. 

It's the covert attempts to undermine our community that's the actual danger.  We have legislators teaming up with far-right groups to write laws they claim will protect kids, but whose actual intent is to wreak havoc on our lives, the safety of our children (particularly trans kids) and our culture.

We've got social media leeches shilling for engagement and clout via distorted videos and pictures which appeal to the worst but mostly unexpressed fears and stereotypes about our community, particularly when it comes to children.

All of it goes to prove that there are still people who believe the worse about LGBTQ and will still embrace some of the most unbelievable lies about us. And they either do it openly like the men above or behind a veneer of respectability. We should never be astounded or upset that people like this exist because they will always exist.

The key is to never allow them to shape our lives or make us live in accordance to their stereotypes and fears. And despite how things have been these days, I think we've done a good job at holding our own. 

At least thus far.

Trump-supporting hate group leader accuses Biden Administration of being aligned with Satan

Donald Trump (left) and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins (right)

If having a lack of cognitive dissonance was an Olympic sport, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins would win the gold medal every time. 

From People for the American Way:

.

For the record, the Biden Administration is not targeting Christians. And if Perkins' attempt to connect the transgender community with Satan sounds familiar, then you are correct.

He once made the same claim about the LGBTQ community in general 13 years ago.

 

 And thereby lies two points we should remember. Perkins's affinity for playing the "Satan" card underscores how people like him and groups like FRC have recycled their anti-LGBTQ talking points and lies to specifically target the trans community. It's not without cause that the Family Research Council was designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. 

 The other point is as much as Tony Perkins has defended, lied for, and basically acted like a groupie around Donald Trump, he should know better than anyone else just who could be aligned Satan and who isn't.

Related posts:

Evangelical Tony Perkins whines about 'biblical worldviews' while hoping we forget how he spent four years kissing up to an orange devil 

Conservative evangelicals want to give Trump a 'mulligan,' but they gave Obama hell

'Marlon Wayans claps back at the objections after posting Pride pics honoring his trans son' & other Mon/Tue news briefs

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marlon Wayans (@marlonwayans)

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A post shared by Marlon Wayans (@marlonwayans)

Marlon Wayans defied haters by posting Pride pics honoring his trans son - "While Wayans’ post drew hundreds of thousands of likes, the ratio wasn’t all good vibrations. But the negative commenters didn’t cow the In Living Color comedian, though, who responded with more selects from the shoot and some fire for his detractors. “Yeah and just for the HATE MONGERS … I’m posting ANOTHER,” Wayans wrote.

Right-wing host forced to remove videos after calling gay dad a 'pervert homo' (exclusive) - Somebody got his wig snatched.

Trump campaign makes bizarre pitch to LGBTQ+ voters - "Former President Donald Trump is asking LGBTQ+ voters worried about an expansion of his anti-LGBTQ+ agenda in a second term to see the forest for the trees — and to ignore everything they’re seeing on the ground. “President Trump’s second term agenda will create a safer and more prosperous America for ALL Americans, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or creed!” 26-year-old campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told The Hill about her boss’s LGBTQ+ policies if he wins a second term." 

Related post - Donald Trump’s 8 Worst Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community - Trump obviously thinks that the LGBTQ community is stupid. For those who are tempted to be that stupid, Trump's first term wasn't exactly a wonderful time for LGBTQ people. What would make anyone think that his second would be any different? 

Trump-Linked Pastor Admits to Inappropriate Behavior With ‘Young Lady’ After Being Accused of Sexually Abusing a 12-Year-Old - A far-right Trump supporting pastor revealed to be . . . you know where I'm going with this. We've been on this road so many times, we might as well buy a house.

Physician faces felony HIPAA charges for leaking private medical of transgender children to anti-LGBTQ activist

Houston physician Eithan Haim (seen here being interviewed by Fox News personality Laura Ingraham) claims to be a "whistleblower." In reality, he is facing federal HIPAA charges for leaking the private medical information of trans children to a conservative activist. The conservative activist in question, Christopher Rufo, once encouraged his followers to falsely label drag queens as "trans strippers" who are coming into schools.

While this story has been mostly ignored by the mainstream news, conservatives and the anti-LGBTQ industry have been wallowing through it like pigs in mud. The physician in question has already appeared on Fox News. Other right-wing sources have anointed him as a "whistleblower." In reality, he is facing felony charges for leaking private medical information of transgender kids to a far-right personality who once advised people to label drag queens as transgender strippers.

From LGBTQ Nation:

Houston surgeon Eithan Haim has been indicted on four felony counts after he shared public documents revealing the private information of transgender patients – in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that protects patients’ medical privacy.

Haim leaked internal documents from Texas Children’s Hospital in 2023 to conservative activist Christopher Rufo, alleging that the hospital had violated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) opinion, which called gender-affirming care “child abuse.” Haim claims that the hospital continued to provide care up until the passing of S.B. 14, a gender-affirming care ban.

 . . . Mandatory reporters for medical abuse concerns are required to first go to the Texas Medical Board and not journalists. Reports for child abuse concerns are required to first go to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 

 . . .HIPAA regulates how healthcare professionals can share patients’ medical information with third parties and places strict limits in order to protect privacy. Haim claims he had a duty to report what he believed was child abuse, but the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ website says that they are the agency that needs to be reported to, not rightwing activists like Rufo. 

 Moreover, Haim claims that the medical records he leaked to Rufo were anonymized, but Assistant Clinical Professor Carmel Shachar of Harvard Law School told Assigned Media that the records Haim leaked were not de-identified in compliance with HIPAA, meaning that people could figure out who the records originally belonged to. 

This could potentially make the children whose records Haim leaked targets for harassment and bullying. In an interview with Fox News, Haim stated that he believes the charges were “politically motivated.” Shortly after Haim’s documents were released to the public, an investigation was conducted by Paxton into Texas Children’s Hospital’s alleged continuation of gender-affirming care. Houston Public Media reached out for an indication as to whether this investigation is ongoing but did not receive comment. 

 LGBTQ Nation goes on to point out how anti-LGBTQ and far right personalities such as Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik have come out publicly in support of Haim. LGBTQ Nation also shared several questionable tweets and comments Haim has made: 

 Haim has expressed numerous fringe views on his social media as well. In May, he claimed that trans women breastfeeding is “the plight of Western Civilization.” 

 He also said that former President Donald Trump’s felony charges were a “Stalinist show.” 

 Haim said that Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the United States through the COVID-19 pandemic, should be imprisoned.

 An independent investigation by journalist Evan Urquhart found evidence of Haim expressing such views directly in an interview with Rufo, believing that support for gender-affirming care is only an extension of the left-wing “capture” of medical organizations. 

 Christopher Rufo, the person Haim is accused of leaking information to, is himself a controversial figure. Along with various other right-wing personalities, he is heavily involved in falsely claiming that LGBTQ people, specifically drag queens, are sexually grooming children. In 2022, he encouraged his supporters to falsely label drag queens as "trans strippers" coming into schools.

Federal court permanently blocks Florida law banning gender-affirming care for trans minors, restrictions on care for trans adults

A huge victory in Florida for the trans community and it tells us something we already knew about anti-trans laws - that they are coming from bigoted animus instead of genuine concern for children. In other words, the opponents of gender-affirming care manufactured justifications to pass laws against it, but the arguments simply didn't stand up in court.

From The Advocate

A federal court has permanently blocked Florida from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrictions on the care for trans adults.

 “Transgender opponents are of course free to hold their beliefs,” Judge Robert Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida wrote in his ruling, issued Tuesday. “But they are not free to discriminate against transgender individuals just for being transgender. In time, discrimination against transgender individuals will diminish, just as racism and misogyny have diminished. To paraphrase a civil-rights advocate from an earlier time, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

 “In the meantime, the federal courts have a role to play in upholding the Constitution and laws. The State of Florida can regulate as needed but cannot flatly deny transgender individuals safe and effective medical treatment — treatment with medications routinely provided to others with the state’s full approval so long as the purpose is not to support the patient’s transgender identity.”

Hinkle also asserted, “Gender identity is real.”

He had temporarily blocked the law last year. When hearing the case in December, he had ripped into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for spreading lies about trans care for young people. 

 Journalist Chris Geidner from his (GLAAD Media Award nominated) substack LawDork pointed out how Hinkle ruled the law was a product of personal animus against the trans community. 

 U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s fiery, 105-page ruling is a complete and proper repudiation of the campaign of hate against transgender people employed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies in the legislature and appointees within his administration.

 “A majority of unbiased legislators and Board members likely would have concluded there was no legitimate reason to ban gender-affirming care across the board for all minors,” Hinkle found in his ruling, which followed a full trial on the law, passed as S.B. 254, and the actions of the Florida Board of Medicine and Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine. “The plaintiffs have shown that animus motivated a sufficient number of statutory decisionmakers.” 

 Hinkle, a Clinton appointee, ruled that the across-the-board ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors is unconstitutional. He also ruled that several of the restrictions placed on similar care for adults or for minors already receiving care are unconstitutional, including limiting provision of care only to physicians, requiring annual X-rays and bone-density scans and other follow-up care regardless of individualized needs, requiring use of a misleading “informed-consent” form, and limiting mental health assessments to being performed by psychiatrists or psychologists.

Under the judgment in the case, which is a class-action lawsuit, the relevant state and local officials are permanently enjoined from enforcing the unconstitutional provisions against any adults or minors seeking gender-affirming medical care in the form of puberty blockers or hormones 

 The ruling does not address surgery, as none of the minor plaintiffs challenged that provision and the remaining adult class representative is not seeking surgery at this time. As such, Hinkle wrote, “This order does not address surgery issues on the merits.”

Geidner goes on to meticulously point out just how Hinkle ripped the law and its justification apart. It's an entertaining read for those of us who've watched the war of lies waged against the trans community and gender-affirming care.

LGBTQ History - The 'Sissy' Stereotype in Classic Hollywood

For Pride Month 2024, I am going to post a segment every now and then on LGBTQ history because frankly I think a lot of folks - particularly our younger generation - are taking things for granted. Back in the day, I ran a feature every Friday on this blog called Know Your LGBT History. Its point was to spotlight the past portrayals of LGBTQ history in film and television no matter whether they be positive or negative.

In the spirit of that segment, I'm featuring this video about the "Sissy Stereotype in Classic Hollywood."

"In a time when homosexuality was illegal, 1930s Classic Hollywood films commonly had so-called “sissy” characters. Clearly coded as gay, their effeminate demeanor was presented for laughs and ridicule. While these characters were meant to be mocked, they triumphed in their own way. They were bold in expressing their identity, were typically engaged in careers they were passionate about, and lived how they pleased, without caring what anyone thought of them."

'Social media creator Ms. Rachel brushes off backlash against Pride Month post' & other midweek news briefs

Ms. Rachel

Viral kids creator Ms. Rachel brushes off conservative backlash toward Pride Month post - Good for her. Don't let the haters intimidate you.

SPLC Designates Genspect, SEGM As Anti-LGBTQ Hate Groups​  -   "In a major move, the Southern Poverty Law Center has formally designated the anti-transgender pseudoscience organizations Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine as anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups. This designation is part of the civil rights organization’s latest release of its “Year In Hate & Extremism” report, which tracks hate groups and extremist groups throughout the United States. Members of these and other anti-LGBTQ+ organizations listed have played significant roles in the passage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and policy by concealing and underplaying their ties to anti-LGBTQ+ extremism. Most recently, members of the newly designated hate group, Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, helped advise the Cass Review in the United Kingdom, which has led to the criminalization of possession of some forms of transgender care there and is currently being used to argue for heavy restrictions in the United States."

A Wichita pastor checked out LGBTQ books in protest. Librarians say the strategy could backfire - It always does.

 High turnout at first White House LGBTQ-inclusive Pride Month blood drive - Wonderful news but at the same time, I'm kinda glad it flew under some people's radar. 

These 5 athletes came out as LGBTQ+ in 2024 (so far) - "So far" is right.

Trans man win $4 million appeals court victory in decade-long legal battle with school district

Score another one for the good guys. Some folks have to learn the hard way about bigotry.

From The Missouri Independent:

An appellate court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a transgender man who formerly attended the Blue Springs School District was discriminated against when he was barred from using the boys' locker room. After a decade-long legal battle, a transgender man and former student of the Blue Springs School District should receive over $4 million in damages for discrimination that occurred when he was an adolescent, the Missouri’s Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. 

 Judge Anthony Gabbert wrote the court’s unanimous decision, ruling that the school district discriminated against the student, identified by his initials R.M.A., on the basis of sex when it barred him from using the boys’ locker room. A key part of the appellate court’s decision was the factor that spurred the school district’s discrimination. Attorneys for the Blue Spring School District did not contest that R.M.A. was treated differently, according to Gabbert’s ruling, but said it was because of his “female genitalia.” 

 “School district employees suggested that R.M.A. had been excluded from the boys’ restrooms and locker rooms because of [the] school district’s belief that he had female genitalia,” Gabbert wrote. “[The] school district did not actually determine the nature of R.M.A.’s genitalia, however, and does not speculate, inspect or otherwise inquire as to the genitalia of other male students.” 

 The admission of different treatment based on assumed genitalia, Gabbert wrote, was itself discrimination on the basis of sex.

Pictures - SC Outfest fun way to start Pride Month 2024

 Editor's note - A nice short post today. I should have posted it Sunday, but I had other obligations. 

Last Saturday, SC Pride held Outfest in downtown Columbia to commemorate the beginning of Pride month in June. While the big event - Famously Hot SC Pride - is held in October, Outfest is a wonderful big block party where everyone is invited to have fun. Below are a few pictures I took.  They are a small reminder how Pride is everywhere, even in the Southern states which don't get as much positive attention from the community as they should.

Gay man supporting Donald Trump has meltdown after guilty verdict is announced

The meltdown of a gay man who supports Trump perfectly captures the moment we are in after guilty verdict in hush money trial.

By now, y'all know that Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in hush money criminal case involving porn star Stormy Daniels. That means for now, the presumptive GOP nominee for president is a convicted felon. 

And of course, folks are either happy or prognosticating what it may mean for the November election. I say let's rejoice in this moment because Trump had it coming for a long time. However, let's also not get carried away that we forget that an election is still in November, and he still has a chance to get back into the White House. 

Those of us who oppose Trump should use this verdict and what it brings as a way to remind people just how of a disaster this awful man was in 2016-2020, not to mention how much of a larger disaster he would be if he gets back in.  And how much better and calmer things are with a credible president like Joe Biden in office.

Or to put it another way, this is our opposition below, courtesy of journalist Oliya Scootercaster. According to his t-shirt, this man claims to be a gay supporter of Trump and he has a lot of impolite things to say. One on hand, his tirade is comical and definitely not safe for work or with the volume turned up. On the other hand, he is a perfect example of why the LGBTQ community and other folks in America must do all we can to keep Trump away from the Oval Office.

#BREAKING Jury has reached a verdict in Trump's Hush Money Trial. Expected to be announced in 30 minutes.
"We'll go inside the courthouse and tear it apart!" Trump Supporters react outside pic.twitter.com/dTWeScCR9o

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 30, 2024

Now this is really scary. Before the verdict was read, he was threatening to take apart the courthouse.

Ment to add this video. Video above is from minutes prior to verdict https://t.co/b8rEVZDLIL

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 30, 2024