Monday, August 31, 2015

SCOTUS to anti-gay KY clerk Kim Davis - Do your job

SCOTUS tells Davis that SHE should 'talk to the hand.'

This just came in from MSNBC via the Associated Press:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Kentucky county clerk's request to deny gay marriage licenses on the basis of religious objections.  The court issued the one-line order without explanation.
Kim Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, "holds an undisputed sincerely held religious belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, only," her lawyers had said in an application after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer that same-sex marriage was legal across the country.
Immediately after the Supreme Court's June 26th gay marriage ruling, Kentucky's governor, Steve Beshear, ordered all the state's county clerks to comply with the decision and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
When Davis refused, citing her religious objection, couples seeking licenses sued, and a federal judge ordered her to comply. Last week a three-judge panel of the Sixth Court of Appeals agreed. The Supreme Court decision on Monday denied Davis' request for a stay while she pursues an appeal.
It's not clear exactly what Davis will do when her office opens Tuesday. Her attorney said she will pray about it overnight.

It is now YOUR move, Ms. Davis and the Liberty Counsel (her lawyers). Whatever the case may be, tomorrow morning in Kentucky will probably be more anticipated than Superbowl kick-off.

'D-Day is here for anti-gay KY clerk Kim Davis' & other Mon midday news briefs

Enough stalling. Kim Davis must follow the law and that's it.


Kim Davis must issue same-sex marriage licenses starting today - D-Day arrives for anti-gay clerk Kim Davis. If she does what she is supposed to do, I will be highly surprised.

South Dakota Lawmaker Proposes Genital Inspections For Trans High School AthletesLawd hammercy! 

Open Letter to Parents of Gay Kids: This Is Not About You - This is a wonderful letter! 

 HIV Testing Is Down And STDs Are Up As New York City Closes Free Clinics - This is NOT, repeat, NOT good.

Anti-gay leader claims KY clerk Kim Davis is trying to save the freedom of churches

Staver
A lot of attention has been doled out to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk AND elected government official who refuses to grant gay couples their legal right to marry because of her so-called "religious liberty."

Unfortunately, not that much attention has been given to the anti-gay group advising and exploiting her, The Liberty Counsel.  While this becomes an issue of personalities (Kim Davis vs. the lgbt community) and a false narrative on religious liberty, the SPLC-designated hate group has cleverly allowed itself to be hidden in the shadows, pulling the strings and directing the traffic.

That is until now. Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver recently talked to the American Family Association (another anti-lgbt hate group)'s phony news source One News Now as to why it is important for Davis to get her way.

Perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut:

"Kim Davis is not the only person to have this issue within the last few months since the Supreme Court opinion," Staver tells OneNewsNow. "But she certainly represents many people, not just clerks, but others and a wide variety of businesses and professions and occupations that are having their free exercise rights challenged." The attorney warns that churches will be next "on the chopping block," echoing a warning from pro-family leaders in recent weeks after the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in June.

One News Now's piece would have been more accurate if it had said  that Staver was echoing a lie  Since marriage equality was declared legal by SCOTUS, no church has been forced to marry a gay couple, i.e. having its "free exercise challenged." And no church will ever be forced in such a position.

 Most of all, Staver knows this.

There is an old saying which goes "it's better to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt."

In Staver's case,  I think the saying would be more appropriate if the word "fool" was replaced with "pathetically blatant liar."

Friday, August 28, 2015

It is time that the lgbt community shift this so-called culture war and put anti-gay liars on the run

This booklet is key for lgts to put the anti-gay right on the defensive.

It's the weekend, which means I will now engage in shameless self-promotion.

As most of you are aware - and probably tired of me mentioning - in 2013, I authored a free online booklet on anti-gay propaganda, How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America.

To the right are two places where you can read and download it free of charge.

However, I would suggest that you try the new adobe acrobat site. It brings you directly to the booklet, where you can also read, save, and share it free of charge.

My booklet exposes::

How false claims about the lgbt community haven’t changed in over the past 30 years,

The constant flow of researchers and physicians who complain that anti-gay groups distort their work to denigrate the lgbt community,

The simple fact that there is no cohesion in the accusations anti-gay groups make against the lgbt community (i.e. how can lgbts be sad, pathetic people if they make more money than the “regular population” or “recruit” children, control Hollywood, but yet have time to engage in lots of sexual intercourse),

And what the lgbt community, and our media, should be doing to make the public more aware of how anti-gay groups exploit religious beliefs about lgbts in order to peddle their lies.


And with marriage equality now a reality,  this booklet is needed.  Our opposition is slowly transforming themselves to the so-called victims of an alleged onslaught of gays seeking to maliciously destroy their way of life.

It's a false narrative aided by the fact that there has been little to no attention on their past exploits to reduce lgbt lives to caricatures of over-sexed, diseased monsters.

The general media will do very little to correct this narrative. That's an unfortunate, but well-known fact. And I hate to say it, but our own media, too busy with topographical cultural icons and somewhat annoying arguments over academic terms having little or nothing to do with the actualities of lgbt lives are derelict in calling these people out.

That is now our job- the ordinary lgbt citizen who merely wants to live our lives in peace. We must take it upon ourselves to call out, educate, and demand the truth be told.

Don't let anti-gay groups like the Liberty Counsel exploit willful idiots like Kentucky clerk Kim Davis without reminding the world about their history of vile homophobia.

Don't let groups like the Family Research Council seize the narrative on what is the true definition of Christianity without demanding that they give an account on their distortions of legitimate science.

And don't let anti-gay groups and personalities plot and plan their next move against our God-given equality unscathed without letting them know that we know every move they make and every lie they tell because we have studied their past techniques.

THIS BOOKLET is the first step. It is the primary step and hopefully it won't be the last into shifting this so-called culture battle into one from lgbts having to constantly explain our existence to our opposition FINALLY explaining their long oxymoronic history of lies and propaganda done in God's name.

The new site to read, download, save, and send out How They See Us is here. Take advantage of it. In less than a month, it has reached over 10,000 reads. Let's make the second 10,000 in a shorter time.

I hope that my booklet is just the beginning and that someone else publishes a better tome free of elitist academic language and embraces the commonality of simple truth-telling and how it can inspire a community.

'Anti-gay activist needs $25,000 to promote unnecessary law' & other Fri midday news briefs

Jonathan Saenz
Anti-LGBT activist who was ditched for another woman wants $25,000 to promote ‘pastor protection law’ - Uh pastors are NOT forced to marry gay couples. But if people want to waste $25,000, I would suggest they send it to me. 

Calgary Driver Says He'll Quit If Forced To Drive Pride Bus - Hey Kim Davis, take some notes. Even though I really don't understand his problem. Sounds like a fun bus.

CNN's Bizarrely Homophobic Coverage Of The Virginia Shooter - I am not saying a word. If I start raising hell over this situation, I won't be able to stop cursing. Just read this wonderful piece by Carlos Maza.

 How a Kentucky Clerk Became an Ultimate Symbol of Bigotry - I have to disagree with Michelangelo Signorile here. If Kim Davis faces any jail time for her illegal actions, the right may view it as a victory which they can exploit, but ultimately it will be a serious loss. As I said yesterday, if she had a private business, she would have more leverage. However, folks aren't exactly on the side of a government official who has decided that she will NOT do her job AND deserves to get paid taxpayer money for the "privilege."

  Rafael Cruz: 'The Devil Overplayed His Hand' With SCOTUS Gay Marriage Decision - Don't be alarmed, Rafael. The devil still has your crazy behind talking.

Houston newspaper DEBUNKS lies about 'transgender bathroom predators'


Welcome to today's world when we get excited because a newspaper does the job it is SUPPOSED to do.

From Equality Matters:

The Houston Chronicle thoroughly debunked a popular myth being peddled by opponents of the Houston Equal rights Ordinance (HERO). Other Houston news outlets, which have been uncritically repeating the false talking point for months, should follow the Chronicle's lead.

The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, is a broad non-discrimination ordinance that was passed by Houston's City Council in 2014. HERO prohibits discrimination in areas like housing, employment, and city contracts on the basis of 15 characteristics, including race, sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Anti-LGBT conservatives in Houston have fought to repeal the ordinance, successfully lobbying to put HERO up for a public vote on Houston's November ballot.

Since the start of the debate over HERO, Houston media outlets have made a consistent habit of uncritically repeating right-wing misinformation about the ordinance, including peddling the widely-debunked myth that HERO would allow sexual predators to sneak into women's restrooms by pretending to be transgender - a bogus talking point championed by HERO's opponents.

In an August 25 columnThe Houston Chronicle's Lisa Falkenberg did what other local news outlets have failed to do - investigated and debunked the bogus "bathroom bill" claim:
The so-called HERO ordinance, which will appear on the November ballot, really has little to do with potty time. It's about protecting people against discrimination in employment, housing and other sectors. It protects gay and transgender people, but also bans discrimination based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status. So why are we talking about bathrooms? Because one small aspect of it would let transgender people use the bathroom of their choice.
That means a transgender woman who may wear dresses and makeup can use the women's restroom, rather than turning heads at the urinals. A transgender man who may sport lumberjack attire and a burly beard can use the men's restroom. It's really quite simple. It's about reducing drama, not creating it. As one transgender activist explains in a popular Twitter hashtag, #wejustneedtopee.
This simple accommodation has become the bogeyman's best weapon. Critics suggest it will lead to men dressing up as women to assault women and girls in bathrooms.
[...]
As Richard Carlbom with the pro-ordinance Houston Unites campaign told the Chronicle: "Nothing in the equal rights ordinance changes the fact that it is - and always will be - illegal to enter a restroom to harm or harass other people."
If this ordinance posed a real danger, opponents wouldn't have to find some future parent to feign fear of becoming a victim "one day." They could surely find a real victim in one of the other cities that passed anti-discrimination ordinances decades ago.
[...]
In 1997, the city of Cambridge became one of the first jurisdictions in Massachusetts to amend its human rights ordinance to include gender identity and expression, police spokesman Jeremy Warnick said Tuesday.
He sent me the full testimony of police Superintendent Christopher Burke before the state House in 2011, advocating for a statewide bill for transgender equal rights.
Burke, speaking "as a member of the law enforcement community, husband, father and citizen," testified that the bill would not harm women and children. He said there had been no incidents or issues regarding people abusing the Cambridge ordinance.
Massachusetts passed the law. Houstonians should do the same.
Even if you insist on voting against it, pick another reason. Maybe you don't want to condone a transgender lifestyle. Maybe you believe protections for some groups are already extended by federal law, and you don't want a local ordinance that could offer relief more quickly and less expensively for your fellow Houstonians.
But don't vote against the ordinance because of urban myths about sexual predators in bathrooms. Sexual predators exist. But if they wanted to attack you in a public bathroom, they wouldn't need a city ordinance to do it.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

'Anti-gay KY clerk appeals to SCOTUS' & other Thur midday news briefs

Kim Davis

Anti-Gay Kentucky Clerk Defies Court For Third Time, Appeals To SCOTUS - Most specifically, her lawyers at the anti-gay Liberty Counsel will be appeal to SCOTUS. I have no idea what SCOTUS will do, but I am baffled by the Liberty Counsel's actions in this entire situation. First of all, with anti-gay groups uniquely talented at choosing people who can stand as symbols for their positions, choosing this woman is an abysmal decision. We aren't talking about a private business where there could be a bit of leverage here. We are talking about a government official who will not do her job and has made it clear that it's not about her "religious liberty" per se, but the fact that marriage equality shouldn't exist. In the public arena, Davis is not popular because of that fact. People tend to get angry at public officials not wanting to do their jobs. Right now, I think Kim Davis and the Liberty Counsel has the potential to wreck the anti-gay talking point of religious liberty before they can really get anything from it. 

A Lesbian Officer Maligned in Ted Cruz’s Religious Liberty Ad Tells Her Side of the Story - About time that this old anecdote is destroyed. It's been exploited by several groups, including the Family Research Council in several letters asking for donations.  

Same-sex documentary banned in Australian schools - This is what the anti-gay right in America wants to accomplish here - to deliberately omit our families.  

Watch Bernie Slam Republicans For ‘Family Values’ Hypocrisy: You Know What They REALLY Mean - It's about time SOMEBODY did.

Denver Lawmaker Posts Screenshots Of Racist Threatening Hate Mail After Criticizing Chick-Fil-A - Letters from folks claiming to be Christians. Nauseating.