'Why anti-lgbt propaganda must be stomped down' & other Thur afternoon news briefs

This bozo, conservative commentator Larry Tomczak, is a perfect reason why we must never stop combatting anti-lgbt propaganda. Many of us know that the Paul Cameronesque junk he spouts is false. But I've been hearing it for 20 years and unfortunately there is always someone willing to believe it.

Tennessee House Panel Rejects Natural Marriage Defense Act - Sanity reigns in Tennessee . . . at least for now.

 Senator seeks protections for same-sex marriage objectors - A bill in Georgia easily worse than the monstrosity which "ate" Indiana.

 Poll: Damage from RFRA lingers, but severity unclear - Speaking of which, Indiana is still trying to recover.  

Employer To Pay Transgender Woman $115,000 In Job Discrimination Settlement - Sweet! Give it up! Turn it loose!

Lgbts, Democrats - don't screw up the 2016 election

Editor's note - Today's news briefs will be delayed until this afternoon

I've been mostly staying out of this Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sander primary fight because I know how nasty these things can get. I am ready to vote for whoever comes out on top.

But for all of you "purists" (particularly in the lgbt community) who will either vote for your candidate or no one at all, let me just say don't cut off your nose to spite your own face. There is a choice here and it goes way beyond the primary.

And if you don't make a choice, one will be made for you. And the alternative is a serious bitch. Just a few videos to remind you of this fact:

The Prancing Elites bring a breath of fresh air to both the lgbt and African-American communities.

I've never really been one for reality tv shows, but I can make an exception for the Prancing Elites. They are a wonderful group of talented guys who bring much needed diversity to the public faces we see in the lgbt community and also challenges the false idea of the uber masculine black men which unfortunately exists in African-American community:

From The Huffington Post:

 "The Prancing Elites Project" follows a group of queer, black, gender non-conforming individuals from Mobile, Alabama as they navigate the nuances (and dangers) of being queer in the deep south while coming to live as their authentic selves. Made up of Adrian Clemons, Kentrell Collins, Kareem Davis, Jerel Maddox and Tim Smith, "The Prancing Elites Project" is a bold and powerful look at a group of queer people who are thriving in a part of America traditionally considered extremely homophobic.

 . . .  "We are a black gay male and gender non-conforming dance team from Mobile, Alabama, and we're fabulous!" Clemons told The Huffington Post. "We were rejected in high school from auditioning for the dance teams, so we came up with our own group called The Prancing Elites. Here in Mobile, we struggle with a lot of discrimination because of who we are and what we do. Basically we stand to let everyone know it's OK to be who you are, and to feel comfortable in the skin you’re in. Also live your life for you, because honesty starts within yourself! We, The Prancing Elites, live to BUCK another day!"

'Tenn lawmakers willing to harm the poor to stop marriage equality' & other Wed midday news briefs

Tennessee Lawmakers Will Throw Poor People Under The Bus To Oppose Marriage Equality - Tennessee lawmakers want to pass an anti-marriage equality law which will not stand, but will cost the state's taxpayers $8.5 billion; money which partially  would be cut from the state’s health care program (TennCare), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Because Jesus said destroy gay marriage even if you have to starve poor folks in the effort . . . I think.

 Republican Frontrunner For Montana Governor Has An Extreme Anti-LGBT Past - And he is trying to hide it. A millionaire funder of anti-gay hate groups just steps away from a gubernatorial office. Spooky as hell. 

Montana Governor Honors MLK Day By Signing LGBT Anti-Discrimination Executive Order - Which means no more good acts like this.  

Australia’s “Embarrassing” Marriage Laws Exposed By Same-Sex Couple’s Honeymoon Tragedy - An awful tragedy made worse by ignorance. One half of a gay couple dies on their honeymoon, but Australia won't recognize the marriage.  

Washington State Lawmakers: Transgender People’s Bodies Are ‘Security Concerns’ - The influence of anti-gay groups on state policy. A little notch we need to to tend to.

 Jennifer Roback Morse: Leaving 'The Gay Lifestyle' Takes More Courage Than Coming Out - This sister is blowing an out-of-tune horn in a played-out band.

James Dobson + Franklin Graham = bigots obsessing about 'gays recruiting children' & bisexual orgies

Franklin Graham

Two virulent homophobic religious leaders, Franklin Graham and James Dobson, recently got together to talk about lgbt issues and its a miracle that the microphone didn't melt.

 

What you are about to hear is a serious reason why the media needs to practice discernment in deciding who to anoint as "go-to" religious leaders in this country. I mean I know they can find folks, shall we say, less "obsessive" about the lgbt community:

James Dobson

On his radio program today, Dobson played excerpts from his discussion with Graham at the event, in which called for Christians to keep their kids away from gay people and to take over school boards across the nation in order to remove gay-friendly programs.

 "We have allowed the Enemy to come into our churches," Graham said. "I was talking to some Christians and they were talking about how they invited these gay children to come into their home and to come into the church and that they were wanting to influence them. And I thought to myself, they're not going to influence those kids; those kids are going to influence those parent's children." "What happens is we think we can fight by smiling and being real nice and loving," he continued.

 "We have to understand who the Enemy is and what he wants to do. He wants to devour our homes. He wants to devour this nation and we have to be so careful who we let our kids hang out with. We have to be so careful who we let into the churches. You have immoral people who get into the churches and it begins to effect the others in the church and it is dangerous."

 Graham then went on to lament that "homosexuality is taught to be okay" in schools and "that is why I want to get the school boards back" before insisting that he loves gays and therefore feels obligated to tell them that "you cannot stay gay and call yourself a Christian." That eventually promoted Dobson to rail against the entire LGBT agenda by once again absurdly misunderstanding bisexuality. "You know what the 'B' stand for?" Dobson asked. "Bisexual. That's orgies! That is lots of sex with lots of people!" 

These aren't religious beliefs. These are lies and prejudice obscured by the cloth of Christianity and covered up by the Bible. It's no different than an anti-Semitic claiming that "Jews killed Jesus" or a racist using the story of the Tower of Babel to justify segregation and the New Testament to justify slavery.

Regardless of what their religious beliefs are about homosexuality, the need to prop it up with horror stories about recruiting gays children and bisexuals getting into orgies more than proves the fact that behind the facade they put up, Dobson and Graham are two very nasty charlatans.

They are Christianity's real problem, and not the lgbt community.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch

'GOP panders to anti-gay groups, Clinton gets HRC endorsement' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Clinton gets HRC endorsement.

Seven GOP Candidates Seek To Out-Pander One Another In Courting The Religious Right - Those who don't think lgbt issues won't be a part of this election are only fooling themselves. 

MLK Day Speaker Doubles Down on Anti-Gay Views, Says He Loves LGBT Community – VIDEO - We got a problem in Florida. 

 Anti-Gay Lawmakers Revive 'Witch Hunt' Against LGBTQ Youth Conference - We have a larger problem in Iowa and it demonstrates how we cannot ignore anti-gay leaders and organizations no matter how insane their rhetoric seems. This particular one has gotten state lawmakers to "investigate" and LGBTQ youth conference. And you know what I mean by "investigate."

  Shutt receives South Carolina Leadership in Law Award - One of the great unsung advocates of lgbt equality (and a good friend of mine) in the South gets her due Just more proof that we are doing amazing stuff down here in the South.  

Hillary Clinton Scores Endorsement From Biggest LGBT Rights Group - Something sure to make some folks on my side of the spectrum go into orbit in a positive and negative way.

Family Research Council's hypocritical money request about religious liberty

Tony Perkins

Tony Perkins and the anti-gay hate group, the Family Research Council likes to create alternate realities in which there are dark smoke-filled rooms of folks (mostly lgbts) plotting to destroy Christianity. It would be funny if they weren't so serious. Imagine waking up and reading the following in an email like I just did:

Christian faith forms the very foundation of America's greatness.

President Obama and others who want a society where religion is limited to the four walls of a church on Sunday need a lesson in American history. Biblical values and morality are not impediments to "progress" that need to be bulldozed out of the way. In fact, they kindle the light that makes America, in Ronald Reagan's words, "the shining city on the hill." President Obama is so focused on forcing his radical cultural agenda on America that he seems to neglect everything else. With ISIS terrorizing the world, our economy stalled, unemployment rampant, and our nation's borders vulnerable, he is obsessed with pushing gender-neutral bathrooms and accommodating those in the military who identify as transgender. The net effect of Obama's leadership, or lack thereof, in the next twelve months will have a lasting impact on the future of your family. Under President Obama, America is suffering less from a political crisis than from a moral crisis.

But "only if." 

Only if we allow President Obama and his allies on the Left to proceed unhindered.

Yes, their attack on religious freedom in the next twelve months will likely be very deliberate. In fact, the tip of their spear will be an attempt in Congress to force the deceptively titled "Equality Act" on the American people. This sweeping legislation, if signed into law by President Obama, would grant special privileges to those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. At the same time, it would strip Christians and others of their religious freedom and require them to comply with the LGBT agenda in many areas of public life under threat of the law. 

I wonder which "others" would Tony Perkins be talking about, seeing that he doesn't believe that religious liberty should apply to the Muslim community.

And that last paragraph is a serious hodgepodge of anti-gay talking points - "special privileges," "LGBT agenda," "religious freedom" ?

I was partially expecting him to go for the classic "recruiting children."