Former CA highway patrolman wins $2 million settlement in anti-gay lawsuit

In spite of what some people may think, LGBTQ folks can do any job we set out to do, including that of police officers. Some may stereotype us as weak, but as the case below proves, it is the homophobes who are weak. Ex-California highway patrol officer Jay Brome's successful lawsuit against his former employer proves that point. To the tune of $2 million.  

His victory took place in  October but based upon how Brome was harassed, this entire situation needs more attention focused on it.

From Q Voice News: 

Brome was a CHP officer from 1996 to 2015, when he took medical leave due to the stress of the homophobia he encountered. It began when he was in the police academy and continued throughout his CHP career. 

“There was bullying or name-calling — ‘fag,’ ‘gay,’’’ Brome told The Sacramento Bee in 2018. “I had an instructor that told me … to take my skirt off and start acting like a man.”

 At one point at the academy, according to his lawsuit, a fellow cadet aimed a training gun at his head and said, “I know you’re gay, tell me you’re gay or I’ll pull the trigger.” 

And as the article points out, once Brome graduated from the academy, things got worse. Exceedingly worse.

'Seventh-grader dies by suicide after being told he'd go to hell for being gay' & other Tue midday news briefs

Seventh-grader dies by suicide after being told he'd go to hell for being gay - Breaks my heart and really p!sses me off. After all of that nonsense about Critical Race Theory and supposedly gay pornography books in school libraries shoved down our throats, we get nothing but crickets for this. THIS is more important, but apparently right-wing think tanks aren't funding the survival of our kids

Florida Dept. of Education yanks anti-bullying resources from website - Who else but that SOB DeSantis? 

A 74-Year-Old Man Was Arrested For Threatening To Shoot And Bomb LGBTQ Groups And Attack NYC Pride - For crying out loud!

Federal Court To South Carolina: Fulton Doesn’t Do What You Think It Does - South Carolina thought SCOTUS gave them an avenue to practice anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Guess what? 

Bob Dole dies at 98; anti-LGBTQ record is part of his legacy - Sorry, Bob.

Hilariously fake Christmas card accidentally reveals Donald Trump's true personality

Time for something frivolous and funny. Earlier today, the Christmas card above was sent out on Twitter supposedly from former president Donald Trump. 

After much, much derision and vulgar comments (I even contributed a "Winter White House, my black ass!!"), it was determined that the card was a fake. 

Damn.

Oh well. A fake Christmas card for a fake president.  Even better - it matches his personality.  Donald Trump has always been a surly dick

'Strip searches, trauma, isolation: Trans men describe life behind bars' & other Mon midday news briefs

Strip searches, trauma, isolation: Trans men describe life behind bars - No matter what, everyone deserves to be treated like the human beings they are.

Multiple NFL players are supporting LGBTQ-friendly causes on the field this weekend​ - Good for them! Visibility for our kids is always a positive thing.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Says Fauci ‘Overhyped’ COVID-19 Like He Did AIDS - Sen. Johnson, a couple of folks would like to have a word with you . . . 

Maggie Gallagher lost the fight against marriage equality, but is now back with another anti-LGBTQ group - Repost from last night because the return of that awful Maggie Gallagher needs to be big news. 

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's LGBTQ comments could cost the GOP, some Republicans say - That would be lovely because this man as governor scares the heck out of me. Heck, him as dogcatcher scares me.

Maggie Gallagher lost the fight against marriage equality, but is now back with another anti-LGBTQ group

Since losing the fight against marriage equality, Maggie Gallagher has stayed somewhat out of sight. But now, she's back with a new anti-LGBTQ group.

Last week,  People for the American Way's Right-Wing Watch alerted me to the return of an old enemy of LGBTQ equality:

The anti-LGBTQ American Principles Project has launched its first state chapter in the Lone Star State with the goal of mobilizing conservative Texas families in politics and fighting so-called “gender ideology” in schools. APP Texas’ first targets aren’t Democrats however; they’re Republicans. Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican legislators passed anti-trans legislation this fall that APP President Terry Schilling says doesn’t go far enough in discriminating against trans people.

Abbott signed House Bill 25 into law on Oct. 25, effectively preventing trans kids from playing on teams that correspond to their gender identity. The law requires kids to play on the sports teams corresponding to the sex assigned to them on their birth certificates, but it only applies to K-12 schools and does not include Texas colleges. That’s likely a result of an NCAA statement made this spring. In April, as scores of anti-trans bills were introduced in state houses across the country, the NCAA released a statement supporting trans athletes and said the collegiate conference would only have games and tournaments in states “where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

 In other words, the American Principles Project is going to be another one of those dreary 'traditional values' groups attempting to denigrate and stigmatize LGBTQ people (as if we don't have enough of those.) I caught a quick look at its webpage and saw a familiar face in its listing of staff members.

Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at American Principles Project, and a co-author of the APP reports, Building a Winning GOP Coalition: The Lessons of 2012 and The Case for Politics: Why Conservatives Must Invest Seriously in Politics. She has been a thought leader on life, religious liberty, and especially marriage for more than 25 years. Ms. Gallagher is the author of four books on marriage, including The Case for Marriage with University of Chicago Prof. Linda J. Waite, and her latest book, Debating Same-Sex Marriage, which she co-authored with Prof. John Corvino. 

After founding and running a think tank on marriage — the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy — Ms. Gallagher went on to co-found the National Organization for Marriage in 2007, which The Washington Post called the “pre-eminent organization” fighting the imposition of same-sex marriage. Her Weekly Standard piece “Banned in Boston” launched a national debate over the religious liberty consequences of same-sex marriage.

Allow me to give a short summary of just who Maggie Gallagher is in light of her return.

For those who don't know, Gallagher was the public figure and face against marriage equality during those tumultuous fight. She was very good in forming narratives against marriage equality, particularly the one which claimed that those who opposed it were the victims because they were being 'unfairly cast as victims' simply because of their religious beliefs. And she portrayed herself as someone who supposedly had no problems with LGBTQ people, but was concerned about how we were supposedly going to harm the " long standing traditional meaning" of marriage. Her side had a lot of success in winning statewide ordinances against marriage equality AND anti-discrimination ordinances. 

And she loved gloating about it:

Flashback: When #Oregon native Maggie Gallagher gloated that “it’s really fun to win.” She is absolutely right!!! http://t.co/icGhrEjo2e

— Jeremy Hooper (@goodasyou) May 19, 2014

But the success began to trickle away and part of it was due to Gallagher herself.

'Joe Rogan - a sad man full of transphobia and COVID misinformation' & other Fri midday news briefs

Joe Rogan signals America's intellectual downward spiral.

Joe Rogan Wrapped: A year of COVID-19 misinformation, right-wing myths, and anti-trans rhetoric​ - Joe Rogan is the personification of how America mistakes wallowing in ignorance for creating nuanced and intelligent public influencers. 

Univ. of Colorado creates first full scholarship to support LGBTQ inclusion in sports - Huge kudos to Colorado. 

She was the school principal for 16 years. Until she hung up a rainbow flag. - The religious right hounded her until she left. BUT she is suing. 

15 celebrities who came out in 2021 - Every bit helps.

With unanimous vote to ban 'ex-gay' therapy, Canada House of Commons puts America to shame

 A recent vote in Canada just demonstrated how progressive a country can be when government officials aren't caught in a strange hold by so-called religiously moral figures and false precepts.

From The Hill:

Canada’s House of Commons on Wednesday voted unanimously to outlaw LGBTQ+ conversion therapy, a rare example of harmony in a Parliament often fraught with discord. The bill, first proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in March of last year, will now go to the upper Senate chamber for approval. An earlier version of the bill died after the government prorogued Parliament last August and was reintroduced the following October.

 “There are clearly people in the Conservative caucus who exercised a great deal of leadership on the issue, and I thank them,” Canada’s Liberal justice minister, David Lametti, told reporters Wednesday. “This is what we can do when parliament works together.” "We said we wanted people to be on the right side of history on this issue. No one can consent to torture," Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, one of eight openly queer, trans, and Two-Spirit candidates elected to Parliament this year, told reporters Wednesday. 

According to The Guardian:

The governing Liberals had made repeated attempts to pass legislation banning the practice, which aims to change individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity, and has been deemed harmful by health experts globally. The Liberals first introduced the bill in March 2020, but it died after the government prorogued parliament. Trudeau’s party reintroduced the bill again but it died when parliament dissolved ahead of the September federal election. 

 The Conservative leader, Erin O’Toole, has become an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights since taking control of the party. By voting to fast-track the bill, lawmakers avoid having to record their vote. Previously, 62 Conservatives voted against the motion in June. The bill will now go to the senate for a separate vote before it becomes law.

 A recent UN report found that conversion practices are performed in at least 68 countries, although experts say some version of conversion practice is still found in all nations. Aversion therapy, where a person is subjected to a “negative, painful or otherwise distressing sensation”– including electric shocks – to create a negative association, has been used in many countries. 

 The vote puts Canada one step closer to joining a small number of nations – Brazil, Ecuador, Germany and Malta – that have outright banned the practice.

Canada's vote is a stark contrast to some of what's happening in America these days. While Canadian officials are working together to ensure fairness for all of their citizens,  the autonomy of certain facets of our government seem to be under attack with the end result being the personal beliefs of conservative evangelicals taking precedent in issues such as  women's health, simple LGBTQ fairness, the fight against the COVID pandemic, and the taxpayer subsidization of private religious schooling.