Attempt to overturn CA law protecting transgender students FAILS!!

This is a HUGE loss for the anti-gay right. They threw everything at this attempt to repeal the CA law protecting transgender students, including the usual lies about men invading women's restrooms and locker rooms. The following is from Karen Ocamb of Frontiers LA:

On Monday, Feb. 24, California’s Secretary of State reported that after a full count of the 619,381 votes submitted by (Frank( Schubert and Karen England’s Privacy for All Students coalition (PFAS), there were insufficient valid signatures to qualify a referendum to repeal AB 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law and that went into effect in January. Despite their best public efforts, the coalition has so far been unable to find a parent or student to complain about the law in their public school environment. Indeed, AB 1266 was essentially a law clarifying an existing law in the Education Code.

 The Secretary of State reported that the coalition only submitted 487,484 valid signatures; 504,760 valid signatures were needed to qualify. In the largest of California’s 58 counties—Los Angeles—PFAS submitted 130,978 signatures, of which 100,315 were valid. “I’m certain this won’t be the last attempt by anti-LGBT extremists to roll back advances in equality for LGBT people, but I’m relieved this attempt has clearly failed,” said L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “All kids deserve the opportunity to do well in school, including transgender kids, and we know this law works because the L.A. Unified School District reports that for eight years it has offered transgender students the same protections guaranteed by AB 1266 and there have been no registered complaints by students or adults.” 

Read the entire article here.

Poor Todd Starnes wants to be a 'Christian martyr' so badly

Starnes

I think it's safe to say that the "turn the gays away" bill passed by the Arizona State Congress is an unmitigated disaster for the anti-gay right and its supporters with more and more people - both liberal and conservative -  urging Gov. Jan Brewer to veto it.

One has to not only ask "what were they thinking," but also what mindset would actually believe such an extreme bill would be passed without the any of the flack that it is receiving.

Look no further than Fox News' Todd Starnes. Recently he appeared on the radio show of American Family Association's Bryan Fischer where he made an outrageous prediction that the government will outlaw the Bible because it supposedly speaks against homosexuality:



For the benefit of those who are not aware, Starnes is known for spinning false, unchecked "articles" of anti-Christian persecution. His lies has been corrected numerous times but unfortunately by the time that this happens, the communities and schools he accuses of being anti-Christian are generally targeted with outrage and threats.

Starnes' lies has gotten so bad that evangelical writer, Alan Noble, blasted him for deliberately spinning phony tales of anti-Christian persecution.

But as you can see by the video clip, being refuted and called out hasn't stopped or deterred Starnes from his lies.

And why is that? Why does Starnes, even after being proved wrong, continue to spin false tale after false tale of anti-Christian persecution?

Do you think that it's a clinical thing? I am not a psychiatrist, but the way Starnes carries on, it does make one wonder. Do you think that while other children played baseball, tag, or hide and seek, Starnes busied himself, as a youngster, pretending that he was tied to a burning stake in the Middle Ages or chased by a bloodthirsty lion in classical Rome?

Does Todd Starnes want to be a Christian martyr so much that it's becoming a fetish for him which controls everything he writes?

Regardless of what the case may be, Starnes should be aware of a few things.

1. The Bible will never be criminalized in any form in America. We love that amendment which guarantees freedom of and from religion.

2. It always amazes me how people like Starnes think that their version of Christianity is the only one. As it is, you can be an lgbt - a sexually active one, even - and a Christian. We can argue back and forth over this one but the only voice that matters in that case is God's.

3. Regardless of points one and two, I can assure Starnes that the lgbt community have more important things to do than to fulfill the seemingly sadomasochistic fetish of victimhood perpetrated by a man whose couldn't even report accurately on an episode of Sesame Street.

Might I suggest to Mr. Starnes that if his desire for victimhood is that strong, perhaps he should buy a gigantic cross and nail himself to it.

'GOP Senators McCain, Flake call on AZ Gov to veto anti-gay bill' and other Monday midday news briefs

Both of Arizona's GOP U.S. Senators call on Gov Brewer to veto 'gay Jim Crow law' - Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake both want Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto that anti-gay bill. WOW! That is a big deal. 

Conservative Lawmakers And Arizona Businesses Urge Governor To Veto Anti-Gay Bill  - And it gets even better. Ladies and gentleman, this is what is called a backlash.

 Watch This CNN Guest Dodge Tough Questions About Arizona's Anti-Gay Segregation Law - Well this is a surprise. A supporter of Arizona "turn the gays away" bill cannot defend it and on national television, too. 

Utah Says Gay Marriage Will Harm These Kids - Children in same-sex households cry foul over court briefs denigrating their families  

Desmond Tutu: Uganda's Anti-Gay Law Has Nazi Parallels - AMEN, Bishop Desmond Tutu!  

Museveni’s Full Speech At the Anti-Homosexuality Bill’s Signing Ceremony - Ugandan president Museveni's reasoning for signing that awful anti-gay bill reveals this man to be insane. Just plain insane. A snippet: 

Since Western societies do not appreciate politeness, let me take this opportunity to warn our people publicly about the wrong practices indulged in and promoted by some of the outsiders. One of them is “oral sex”. Our youth should reject this because God designed the human being most appropriately for pleasurable, sustainable and healthy sex. Some of the traditional styles are very pleasurable and healthy. The mouth is not engineered for that purpose except kissing. Besides, it is very unhealthy. People can even contract gonorrhea of the mouth and throat on account of so-called “oral sex”, not to mention worms, hepatitis E, etc.

I guess he figured the sodomy angle was overused.

Reports: Ugandan president signs anti-gay bill making homosexuality a 'life sentence'

Museveni

Sad news to report this morning according to the Washington Blade:

 Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed a bill into law that imposes a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts.

Ofwondo Opondo, a spokesperson for the Ugandan government, said on Twitter that Museveni signed the so-called Anti-Homosexuality Bill at his official residence in Entebbe. Opondo noted the Ugandan president was in an “upbeat mood.”

Museveni signed the controversial measure less than a week after he rebuked President Obama’s criticism of him over the issue.

  . . .Opondo noted on Twitter that Arizona lawmakers last week approved a bill that would allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians based on their religious beliefs.

“What is [President] Obama saying to Arizona state law just passed to deny gays services on religious grounds,” said Opondo.

 . . .  Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a Ugandan LGBT advocacy group, blasted Museveni.

“President Museveni’s scientific inquiry is a smokescreen for what is truly going on: political homophobia at its worst,” Mugisha told the Washington Blade. “Last month the President said he would not sign this fascist bill. But now, it seems he has sold us out for the votes of his party. It is politics – plain and simple – all at the expense of LGBTI Ugandans.”

President Obama has already harshly condemned the possibility of the bill becoming law. Now that it is, the ball is now in his court as to what is to be done.

But one more thing to consider.  Museveni signed the bill five years to the day that many of us began to learn about the bill and arch homophobe Scott Lively's trip to Uganda, which caused this legislation to be passed. We learned about this thanks to an excellent article via the blog Box Turtle Bulletin.

Speaking of Lively, on Friday, he and another anti-gay leader Peter LaBarbera announced the launching of a new international group which would encourage other countries to pass anti-gay laws.

In Arizona lawmakers passed a law which would allow businesses to refuse services on the grounds of "religious liberty" - a law expressly written targeting lgbts - and is awaiting Governor Jan Brewer's signature.

This law is being considered in several other states.

It's safe to say that the opponent of lgbt equality seem to be casting off the veneer of morality and are slowly but surely declaring open season on the lgbt community.

However, unlike forest animals caught in the middle of an open season, the lgbt community have the power and means to fight back. And we will (in a peaceful but definitive manner).

And we don't intend to lose.

Former Bush aide compares AZ 'religious freedom' law to past laws justifying slavery, war, and murder

Mark my words, if Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signs that awful anti-discriminatory bill, the backlash against Arizona will be immense. Former aide to President George Bush, Matthew Dowd spoke out this morning against the bill and he also had some very harsh words for anti-gay Christians:

“This is one of those problems when people use religion as a way to sort of enforce discriminatory practices,” he continued. “People used religion back in the 1860s when they defended slavery. They used religion to defend slavery. We’ve used religion to go to war. People have criticized Islam because they use religion to fight people and kill people. This is the problem with that [bill].”

Count the minutes before Fox News' Todd Starnes, Tony Perkins, and the rest of the anti-gay right start whining about being victims. Whatever the case may be, I never thought I would see the day when I am cheering on a former aide to President Bush.

Arizona proves it. Anti-gay groups have FINALLY gone too far

I am predicting it. In their zeal to hinder lgbt equality, anti-gay groups and their supporters have finally gone too far. The video above shows a protest in Arizona over the passage of that awful bill which would allow business to discriminate against lgbts on the grounds of "religious liberty." All it needs is Gov. Jan Brewer to sign it.

If she does, expect there to be a rocket-like attempt to push other bills throughout the nation. Granted, there is already a failed attempt going on, but if this particular bill becomes law in Arizona, it will give a sense of momentum to anti-gay groups.

And it will be a false momentum. If that bill becomes law in Arizona, not only will you see a raising of hell by the lgbt community at large to rival anything done in the past, but America in general will finally be able to see anti-gay groups without their masks of religious piety.

This country will finally see the face of hypocrisy that the lgbt community has known about too well. Granted, anti-gay groups will still have their supporters but they won't be able to fool unsuspecting Americans into thinking that they are Christian groups fighting for tradition and morality.

To many Americans, the pushing of Jim Crow-like legislation against the lgbt community will be their introduction to groups like the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council. And these Americans will NOT like what they see.

So proceed at your own risks, guys.  The next move you make may begin your funeral dirges.

Know Your LGBT History - Gerry Studds

From the Huffington Post: 

 . . . if we asked you to name the first openly gay member of Congress, could you? Members of older generations may. But younger people -- including more than a dozen political operatives we tested -- could not. Perhaps that's because this story of coming out was so shrouded in scandal, so drenched in professional embarrassment, that its broader significance may forever be overshadowed.

This is the legacy of Gerry Studds, the long-serving Massachusetts Democrat who was, for those who followed his lead, every bit the historical figure as the first gay athlete, movie star and politician, but is best known as the congressman censured by his own colleagues in 1983 for a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male congressional page.

"I think that people in politics and especially people like me who are in politics and lived through that will remember him as being a real hero, because he was willing to be first," said Richard Socarides, a longtime Democratic operative who served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. "Even though he was forced into it a little bit by circumstances, I think that people think of him as a hero and someone we look up to and someone who was a trailblazer."

Looking back at Studds' story three decades later, Socarides and others marvel at the circumstances that surrounded it. Certainly, the congressman was chiefly responsible for the drama -- he admitted missteps, though insisted that his relationship with the page was consensual. But the turbulence that accompanied his coming out seems more like a relic of the past. Part of the reason Michael Sam's highly controlled outing portends a smooth breaking of NFL barriers, they argue, is because Studds forged the way. 

Read more about this remarkable Congressman here.

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts: