Trump, anti-lgbtq right will repeat history with 'license to discriminate' executive order

Those who do not learn from history

Are doomed to repeat it:

Rumor control has it that Trump will be signing an anti-lgbtq executive order on Thursday.

Anti-lgbtq evangelicals and religious right groups are no doubt pinching themselves in delight. They have been pushing the idea of "religious liberty," i.e. the right to refuse services based on "personal religious beliefs", because they claim that Christian business owners have been deliberately targeted by the lgbtq community.

That's the latest load of junk from that crowd who have said in the past that allowing gays to adopt would corrupt children, marriage equality was a plot to destroy the church, and that giving any shred of dignity or equality to the transgender community would enable predators.

It's always a moral panic with these folks; the constant need to nauseate or scare instead of presenting facts. We all know what happens almost every time they've had to defend their positions with facts via the courts.

They lose badly and then lick their wounds while whining about "activist judges."

But thanks to Trump, they have another avenue. It's bad enough that he is planning to sign that monstrosity but planning to do it on Thursday, on the National Day of Prayer, is another slap in the face to the lgbtq community. It furthers the narrative that "religious liberty" is an effort to protect people of faith from the lgbtq community.

That's simply hateful. Why would the faith community need protection from us when we are a part of the faith community? I'm a gay man and a person of faith. And I also know how to pray. Goodness knows I've prayed many a time to be magically transformed into a heterosexual. That is until God let me know that He blessed me with my gay sexual orientation.

I got off lucky because I never had to pray that bullies at school wouldn't beat me up for being gay. But I'm sure that a lot of my lgbtq brothers and sisters did. So thank you Donald Trump in advance for  mocking our pain and prayers.

Folks may be disturbed at the montage of pictures above. I posted them to make a point because when it's all said and done, it doesn't matter what excuse you use, be it religious or pseudo-scientific.

It doesn't matter what moral panic you create to justify it, whether it be "protecting the sanctity of the Southern white female," "upholding customs and tradition, "preserving your heritage," or even "religious liberty."

Encouraging any type of discrimination is wrong. It's hateful. It's hurtful. It's never justified.

And it is always, always wrong.

Related post: Civil Rights Groups Are Ready To Sue Trump If He Signs A Broad Religious Freedom Order

'Franklin Graham not happy with possible nationwide ban of fraudulent 'ex-gay' therapy & other Tue midday news briefs

Historically, lgbtqs were never a danger to civilizations. Fanatical demagogues like Franklin Graham were.

Famous Evangelical Pastor Dangerously Attempts To Rebrand Conversion Therapy - With his defense of Russia persecuting its lgbtq citizens in 2014 and now with this absolutely ridiculous defense of "ex-gay" therapy which has been proven to be dangerous to the lgbtq community and especially our kids, Franklin Graham puts to rest the bull @!%# narrative that gays are persecuting people of faith like him. Read your history, Franklin. Some of the most dangerous people were those who made OTHERS suffer in defense of THEIR interpretation of Scripture. This fanatical demagogue has ceased to be a religious leader a long time ago and should stop being treated as such. 

Parents of gay, bi men in Chechnya told: Kill your children or we will - Has Graham even spoken about Chechnya? 

Proposed Obamacare repeal deal could drastically cut access to transgender healthcare - Yet another reason to oppose that awful repeal. 

Rep. Hoyer urges Trump to recall Mark Green nomination - Damn right! He shouldn't have been nominated in the first place.  

Military professors oppose Trump’s Army secretary nominee - This is getting good. Folks are organizing to oppose this man.  

Equality Act Reintroduced in Congress with Unprecedented Corporate Support - Keep your fingers crossed and if we get disappointed this time, that doesn't mean we stop pushing.

Two hundred TX faith leaders decry anti-transgender bill, supports lgbtq equality

One unfortunate side effect of this so-called culture battle is how the anti-lgbtq evangelical and religious right have co-opted the concept of religion and Christianity.

This mindset of the lgbtq community versus Christians and people of faith is a huge lie, particularly because of the fact that many lgbtqs are people of faith. And don't even start listing Biblical verses which supposedly speaks against homosexuality. I generally don't like to debate such things because I believe the final judgement belongs to God.

But that doesn't mean I don't get angry with people pushing the narrative that all Christians and people of faith in general believe one way about the lgbtq community. According to an excerpt below from a recent article in the San Antonio Express News there are many Christians and other people of faith who lgbtq equality:

Some 200 ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders wrote to select House members Thursday asking them to support policies that treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans on an equal basis with other people. The letter went to lawmakers including members of the House State Affairs Committee, which is considering legislation that would restrict the restrooms transgender people can use. The religious leaders didn’t confine their message to the bathroom bill, although they cited it among other legislation.
 “Our faith compels us to oppose anti-transgender legislation (‘bathroom bills), 

discriminatory laws masquerading as “religious freedom,” or any other attempts to treat Texas’ LGBT community as second-class citizens,” said the letter from Texas Believes, which according to its website is a project of the Texas Freedom Network and Equality Texas. The Texas Freedom Network describes itself as a watchdog of far-right issues and a defender of individual liberties. Equality Texas works for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans, “We will continue to speak out against all attempts to use religion to demonize, discriminate against or bring harm to our LGBT sisters and brothers. And we encourage you, as leaders in our state, to support policies that treat all Texans equally under the law, including the LGBT community,” said the letter. 

 Besides State Affairs members, the letter went to House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who opposes a bathroom bill approved by the Senate; Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, the author of a House version of the bathroom bill; and several members of the Calendars Committee, which schedules legislation for House debate.

It is up to all of us to not allow the anti-lgbtq evangelical and religious right to nab the concepts of Christianity and religion in general. They don't have nor do they deserve sole ownership.

'KY judge refuses to hear same-sex adoption cases' & other Mon. midday news briefs

There will be NO undermining of same-sex families

Kentucky judge refuses to ever hear same-sex adoption cases - This religious liberty crap is getting out of hand. Personal feelings are bull in the face of the facts which show children not being negatively affected by same-sex households. I dare the religious right to defend this. No. I WANT them to defend this. PLEASE! My blogger finger is just itching. 

Why Donald Trump’s Second 100 Days Will Be Even Worse For LGBTQ Equality - Potentially worse. As he continues to lose support, he will definitely be going to the group who loves him no matter what - the evangelical and religious right. He may push their mess with more stridency. Then WE push back big time.  

These Gay Republicans Mocked Transgender Women At A Forum In New York City - THEN they got nasty about it on twitter, leading me to read, check, and school a bunch of them. But that's a possible other blog post. This is just sad.  

Weinstein Company wins battle for PG-13 rating for ‘3 Generations’ - A quiet but wonderful victory. '3 Generations' is coming-of-age movie about the transgender community.

Jerry Falwell Jr - Trump 'a dream president' for evangelicals

Jerry Falwell Jr.

The self-degradation of the evangelical and religious right over Donald Trump continues:

Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., an early backer of Donald Trump, enthusiastically praised the president’s first 100 days of office. “I think evangelicals have found their dream president,” Falwell said on Saturday during “Justice With Judge Jeanine” on Fox News. Falwell cited “reuniting Israel with America” and appointing “people of faith” throughout the administration as the reasons evangelicals in general remain highly supportive of Trump. Falwell also trashed moderate Republicans, who he said “make my blood boil.”

It's relatively sad to know that with the religious right, you can get away with almost any type of behavior - from bad policies to bragging about sexual harassment to consistently lying - as long as you "make them feel wanted" and embrace their positions.

In other words, don't count on the religious and evangelical right to be a moral voice against Trump's excesses. They are too busy gurgling mouthwash and applying lip balm after every meeting with him.

Anti-lgbt activist melts down during word salad about gays, domination, sodomy, and children

I promise that this will probably be the wildest thing you have seen today.

Behind every coordinated anti-lgbt group and personality is a mindset like the woman on this video.



I think it goes without saying that everything this woman said is false. A lie. A delusion. A product of bad weed.

 But here is a little background courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

Earlier this month, the Texas chapter of the anti-LGBTQ hate group MassResistance hosted a “pro-family conference” featuring a variety of anti-LGBTQ activists like Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, Brian Camenker of MassResistance, and Robert Oscar Lopez, who runs the Texas chapter of Camenker’s group. 

Sharon Arkme, who claimed that she was a victim of anti-Christian persecution when she was denied certification in a master’s program she had enrolled in at Texas State University “because I would not agree with their LGBT agenda,” told attendees that LGBTQ advocates are warring against “Christ and Christians” and “brainwashing our children.” 

 “I did not realize the full agenda of the radical left,” Armke told the audience. “They are in a war with Christ and Christians, whether we realize it or not. They are not content with society and Christians treating them with outreach, courtesy and respect that should be given to any other human being just because they are human. They want us to approve their behavior. They will not stop until they dominate.” 

 “They intend, and they are very successful so far, in brainwashing our children to believe that sodomy is right and good,” she continued. “We are trying to show parents what is happening to our children and, excuse me if I say this, we should be screaming bloody murder in the streets. We should be screaming bloody murder in the street. This is not right! … Those teachers that do this, that teach sodomy to little children, many people call them child abusers and I agree.” 

 “I learned the hard way the true agenda of the radical left, it’s domination of our children and our culture,” Armke fumed, eventually growing so upset that she couldn’t even finish her remarks, simply declaring “may God have mercy on us” as she walked off the stage.

I couldn't find anymore information on this Armke except for on the Mass Resistance webpage which claimed her stance kept her from becoming a principal.

Sounds like we dodged a nuclear missile with THAT one.

'Bill pushing for a nationwide ban on 'ex-gay' therapy' & other Fri. midday news briefs

‘LGBTQ people were born perfect’: A new bill would ban conversion therapy nationwide - Probably has no chance of passing, but the vision of figurative exploding right-wing heads is so darn lovely. 

Fox Contributor: Gay Men In Bars Should Expect To Be Assaulted And Women Shouldn’t Breastfeed In Church - I'm not sure about the breastfeeding thing but saying gay men should expect to be assaulted if they make people "feel uncomfortable" is disgustingly intriguing. Does that mean I can slap this Fox contributor because the thought of him reproducing makes ME feel uncomfortable?

 Study confirms some men use anti-gay and sexist jokes to shore up their masculinity - Fascinating how this news brief is related to the one before it. 

 19 senators urge Trump’s HHS to restore LGBT questions to elder surveys - Damn right!

Harvard Transgender Rights Pamphlet Prompts Conservative Backlash Online - While not complaining about snowflakes, transphobic folk are acting like snowflakes.