'GOP candidates teaming with ANOTHER homophobic pastor' & other Thur midday news briefs

Rick Scarborough

Five GOP Candidates To Join Pastor Who Says AIDS Is God's Punishment For Gay People - And the fact that this is under the radar except for a few places is one of the reasons why people don't trust the media and pundits. 

Mike Huckabee Throws A Fit While Defending Duggar Family In Iowa - Or what happens when you confront a posturing anti-gay talking head on his hypocrisy. 

 Here's Why It's Important That Kim Davis Was at the State of the Union - You may get tired of hearing about Kim Davis, but you had better knock off the jaded apathy and understand what and WHO she represents. It's DEFINITELY NOT over.

 I Watched Charlie Sheen on The Dr. Oz Show So You Don't Have To - Charlie Sheen talked about being HIV positive on the Dr. Oz Show and it was not a good thing. My friend Mark S. King breaks it down.

 TN Lawmaker's Bill That Would 'Void' Same-Sex Marriages Scheduled For Vote - An illegal bill, but look out for it.

 Florida Experts Debunk The Transgender "Bathroom Predator" Myth - Slowly but surely we are going to destroy this lie.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence wants to get spanked on lgbt rights again

Anti-gay talking heads flanked Pence when he signed the 'religious liberty' bill last year.

There is a line from Shakespeare's King Lear which I repeat at times:

"To willful men, the injuries they procure must be their own schoolmasters."

What it means is that if a man is so stubborn that he will not change a disastrous course, well then he must learn from the mistake by the negative results of his actions.  Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is one such man.

After the huge debacle last year when he signed a vicious anti-gay bill into law (under the guise of religious freedom), one would think that Pence would at least have learned from it. One would think that he wouldn't want to go through all of that national embarrassment again.

Think again. From The New Civil Rights Movement:

For a brief moment during Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's State of the State Address on Tuesday, it sounded as though he might have learned his lesson from the state and national outcry over his decision to sign an anti-LGBT “religious freedom” law last year.

It sounded as though, after 10 months of studying the issue, Pence would finally heed the calls of Democrats, some business-minded Republicans, LGBT advocates and hundreds of the state’s employers, by endorsing a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Our state Constitution declares that all people are created equal, and I believe that no one should be harassed or mistreated because of who they are, who they love, or what they believe," Pence said near the end of his widely anticipated speech. "We cherish the dignity and worth of all our citizens. Here in Indiana, we are an open and welcoming state that welcomes anyone, and anyone that doesn’t know that doesn’t know Indiana."

Then, things took a dramatic turn for the worse.

"Hoosiers also cherish faith, and the freedom to live out their faith in their daily lives," Pence added. "Whether you work in a church or a synagogue or a temple or a mosque, religion brings meaning to the daily lives of millions of Hoosiers and no one should ever fear persecution because of their deeply held religious beliefs."

And of course folks aren't happy. According to Yahoo:

After Tuesday's speech, the group Indiana Competes, which represents prominent state business interests — including Cummins Inc., Eli Lilly and Co. and the NCAA — expressed disappointment with Pence's remarks.

"We were looking for a moment of leadership, and what we got is a shoulder shrug," said group spokesman Peter Hanscom, who said Pence's conciliatory words won't stop discrimination against gay people in employment, housing and public accommodation.

Pence's stance is ridiculous. He is yet another politician who places lgbt equality and religious beliefs in opposing camps while knowing fully that this notion comes from anti-gay industry talking heads masquerading as voices of faith. 

Apparently he has learned nothing from the last go round.  I have a feeling that he will learn this time. So well in fact that he will know it in his sleep. That is if he doesn't already.

'59 reasons why the fight for lgbt equality is not over' & other Wed. midday news briefs

President Obama

59 Anti-LGBT Bills Are Active Nationwide - Fifty-nine reasons to stop pussyfooting and start taking religious right groups more seriously than we are. These bills are coming from someone somewhere who is getting paid big money to cause all of this havoc. We need to recognize the main enemy of lgbt equality and it's NOT religion. 

GOP Lawmaker Moves To Ban Same-Sex Parents From Fostering Children With 'Family Structure' Proposal - Even AFTER the ruckus and controversy about discriminating against same-sex couples, some in Kansas are pushing this mess. We can't let our guard down for one minute.

  Creepy Virginia Toilet Proposal Could Require Genital Inspections, Critics Fear - And in Virginia, folks seem to be so scared of fictional trangender "predators" that they may be willing to expose their children to actual predators. 

 Obama's State Of The Union Speeches Show His Dedication To LGBT Rights - Yes, in spite of what some have said, Obama is committed to lgbt equality. A good question is what are we going to do after he is no longer president to continue to ensure our equality.  

Tony Perkins' Selective Posturing on Religious Liberty - When it comes to religious liberty, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is a huge hypocrite.

Dear Kim Davis, you are being exploited!!

Dear Kim Davis,

I don't know you and I don't want to know you and frankly folks are tired of you. However, a lot of us do respect your beliefs, just not the way you choose to push them. So I say this as a concerned person. The people handling you and pushing you to the public don't care about you. They are using you to harm marriage equality. They are exploiting you to garner attention and pity. Think I am wrong?

Then ask yourself this. If they bent over backwards to garner you an invitation to the State of the Union, then why didn't they advise you that being attired like a honkytonk hitchy mama from hell wasn't exactly the best thing to do? Not ragging on your physical appearance and all, but you make $80,000 a year. So girlfriend, why:



Just something to think about.

Revealed - How Kim Davis got her SOTU invite

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) provided the ticket for Davis

Thanks to the Huffington Post, we now know how the anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council got Kim Davis an invite to Obama's State of the Union address:

It's been a mystery all day on Capitol Hill: Which member of Congress invited controversial Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to the State of the Union address? Well, we finally have an answer. It was House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

There's a reason the secret was kept so well. Jordan did not know he had invited Davis until The Huffington Post asked him about it and he checked with his staff.

"I didn't invite anyone," Jordan initially said late Tuesday afternoon, as he was jogging to House votes. When pressed on whether he had given his ticket to the Family Research Council, which then gave it to Davis -- which is what a Democratic aide told HuffPost had happened -- Jordan said he would have to confirm with his office. "I don't know," he said.

"My understanding is they gave them to the Family Research Council," Jordan said, promising to call his staff and get back in touch.

Jordan was later spotted in the Capitol basement, on the phone with his communications director, confirming what had happened.

"Yeah, so we gave a ticket to -- at the request of the Family Research Council -- we gave the ticket to Kim Davis' family," he said

Oh well.  We all can take luxury that while Davis and her lawyer from another anti-gay hate group, the Liberty Counsel, will be sitting in a floor seat mad at the fact that marriage equality is a reality, Jim Obergefell - the plantiff in the case which legalized marriage equality - will be sitting with First Lady Michelle Obama as a special guest.

As far as I'm concerned, that's VERY appropriate

'NOM wants empty seat at SOTU address to protest marriage equality' & other Tue. midday news briefs

So who gave Kim Davis the formal invite to the SOTU.  No one is talking.

NOM: Leave An Empty Seat At SOTU To Represent The '50 Million Voters Whose Votes Were Stolen' By SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling - Oh you are breaking my heart! If NOM and its allies had done their work honestly instead of relying on lies to scare voters, they would have had a coherent SCOTUS argument against marriage equality instead of it all blowing up in their faces. 

Who Invited Kim Davis To The State Of The Union? - We know that the Family Research Council arranged it. We just don't know who made the formal invite. Ooooo tell me, please!!!  

The Brutalism of Ted Cruz - THIS is the guy the religious right supports because supposedly he is going to bring "morality" to the Oval Office. Hardly. 

 Tony Perkins: 'Blood On Our Streets' Because Of Gay Marriage, Family 'Confusion' - What?!! Again, how did this man and his organization get in the position to invite people, such as Kim Davis, to the president's State of the Union address?  

First Openly Gay Nominee For Army Secretary Steps Down As Acting Secretary After John McCain Tantrum - Now see, this here is some bull@!%#  

16 LGBT Must-Dos in 2016 - Eh. I've never been one for fun and frolic, but have at it.

Anti-gay hate group gets Kim Davis a seat at State of the Union address

So anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is attending President Obama's final State of the Union address.

That's not the real story. The real story is that the equally anti-gay (so much so that it has been declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) Family Research Council arranged for her to attend. How many hate groups do you know can arrange for someone to attend such a high function as a State of the Union address?

Perhaps the lgbt community should stop focusing so much on the pawn (Davis) and make a greater effort in stopping the entities pushing the pawn (FRC, etc).  The fact that FRC continues to have influence in spite of its history of lies, distortions, and homophobia is not only an indictment of the culture in Washington, but it's also a serious indictment of the lgbt community and our leadership.

There is simply no excuse for pussyfooting around and allowing this organization to push its falsehoods without some seriously intelligent pushback:

Related post - What Reporters Should Know About Ted Cruz's Evangelical Hype Man

Ben Carson puts his entire foot in his mouth, heel and all

Dear Ben Carson,

Please stop talking. It just destroys me that your ridiculous run for president is ruining your legacy as a top-notch surgeon. But if you keep talking about the lgbt community like this, I swear you are going to start making Sarah Palin seem like Einstein:



No,no, no! This is not what an intelligent black man of any political affiliation is supposed to sound like on television. It just makes you want to take up pimping.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'LGBT community pays tribute to David Bowie' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Tributes are pouring in for David  Bowi

How David Bowie Undeniably Changed The Way We Think About Gender And Sexuality - I never really heard of David Bowie before his "Let's Dance" album but because of it, I sought to learn a lot about him. He was definitely a trendsetter. 

 LGBT People Reveal Why David Bowie Was So Important To Them - Yes he was . . .  

Redefining What It Means to Be a Gay Black Man -  Wonderful post. Goodness KNOWS we need redefinition. Might I recommend that first we receive more visibility for our diverse talents.

 Va. bill would block local anti-LGBT discrimination ordinances - Ugh! And if it's successful, welcome to the new war on lgbt equality.  

Santorum: Allowing Gay Marriage Like Changing 'The Chemical Equation For Water' - It's depressing to realize how much attention people like Rick Santorum gets from the regular press. That's why we have to cover him. 

 Roy Moore Can't Be Impeached And He Can't Be Re-Elected, So Guess Why He's Attacking Gays Again? - Cause he wants to be governor of Alabama. Whoops! I ruined the surprise. Well it really wasn't one.

David Bowie dies at 69 of cancer

Well this is crappy news to begin a week with. From David Bowie's webpage:

David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.

He may not have been gay, but he was a hero to many of us with his outrageously public embrace of flamboyance and androgyny. Of course that didn't cover up the fact of how talented he was as an artist or the various styles of music he mastered.

R.I.P. David Bowie

Below is my favorite David Bowie song:

'Six reasons why Roy Moore should have NEVER been a judge' & other Fri. midday news briefs

Roy Moore

6 Things You Should Know About Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore - I'm sorry but what the heck is wrong with folks in Alabama for giving THIS bozo power?

GOP Lawmakers In Two Southern States File Bills Comparing Same-Sex Marriage To Forced Sterilization - It is my unfortunate duty to tell you that one of those states is my own - South Carolina.

What It’s Like To Escape Ex-Gay Therapy — And Then Defeat It - Ah yes. The disappearing fraud of ex-gay therapy. Thank goodness. I once participated in my own ex-gay therapy in high school. It was weird. Sort of like the 'Miami Vice' arc when Crockett's evil personality took over his mind.

Will Obama include LGBT issues in final State of the Union? - He'd better.

This 8-Year-Old Boy's Very Special Dream Just Came True - This is so wonderful. I approve of this BIG TIME!

Hate group Family Research Council applauds Roy Moore's sad, illegal attempt to halt marriage equality

Roy Moore

Come on, Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. Even YOU know better than to applaud Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore's illegal  - and FUTILE - action to halt marriage equality in Alabama

Then again:

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is used to being in headlines -- but Wednesday's weren't exactly accurate ones. Like several of the country's clerks and judges, Roy Moore made no secret of where he stands on same-sex marriage -- and he's fought it with every judicial tool at his disposal. And while some have accused him of defying the Supreme Court's decision to redefine marriage, the reality is that Moore is simply holding out until an official decision is reached in his state.

Most people are probably wondering: Didn't the Supreme Court already make that determination for Alabama in Obergefell? The answer is yes and no. Last spring, before five justices decided to rewrite thousands of years of natural law, the Alabama Supreme Court had upheld the state's marriage amendment. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, there's some confusion as to what the state's decision means in light of that. Right now, the Alabama Supreme Court is currently considering the impact of Obergefell on its ruling last March.

FRC president Tony Perkins

Until it rules, Chief Justice Moore is telling probate judges to continue to follow his administrative order from last March: "Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect."

To be clear, this is an administrative order -- not a ruling on the merits. All it does is simply reaffirm Moore's position while the Alabama Supreme Court deliberates. The media, however, seized on the memo to probate judges as proof that Justice Moore is somehow rebelling against the courts. In reality, he's simply doing what he can to delay the process and force others to act -- instead of willfully allowing same-sex "marriage" in Alabama on his watch. Nothing that Justice Moore has done is outside of his authority or the boundaries of his role. Until the state supreme court rules (and there's little doubt as to how they will), no outcome from the high court is final. In the meantime, we applaud Justice Moore for morally and constitutionally opposing an unjust ruling -- and ensuring that the state's process is followed before the redefinition of marriage is unleashed there.

There is NO confusion. SCOTUS declared marriage equality legal and that's the end of it. Let's not play games here. Roy Moore is a cheap, dictatorial demagogue who seems to think that HIS religious beliefs supersedes America's laws and court procedures.  He is a fool with power, which makes him a somewhat dangerous fool, but a fool nonetheless.

And the fact that the Family Research Council jumps through hoops to defend his madness more than adequately demonstrates its anti-gay animus and gives proper justification as to why it was declared to be an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Now meanwhile, in the REAL world:

Two federal prosecutors in Alabama say that Alabama probate judges are not free to disobey the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage and deny gay couples marriage licenses, despite an order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

"The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has issued an administrative order, directing probate judges that they may not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on marriage equality," according to a statement issued Wednesday night by U.S. Attorneys Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama and Kenyen Brown of the Southern District of Alabama.

"We have grave concerns about this order, which directs Alabama probate judges to disobey the ruling of the Supreme Court," Vance and Brown stated. "Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not to disobey it. This issue has been decided by the highest court in the land and Alabama must follow that law."

Anti-gay activist Theodore Shoebat furious that other bigots think of him as too mean

If this is an indication of how 2016 will be, I am going to be eating lots of popcorn.

From Right Wing Watch:

One of the reasons that we started regularly covering extremist right-wing activist Theodore Shoebat and his open calls for gays to be put to death was because he was featured in Janet Porter's anti-gay documentary "Light Wins" along with Republican presidential candidates, members of Congress, and leading anti-gay activists. Once Shoebat's views began to be exposed, his allies in the "pro-family" movement began to distance themselves from him, and Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, who is an anti-gay extremist in his own right and who also appeared in Porter's documentary, disavowed Shoebat and his call to execute gays. That, of course, did not sit very well with Shoebat, who blasted LaBarbera in his latest video as a "filthy pig" and a "traitor" for refusing that stand by Shoebat and his calls to put gays to
death

.

Shoebat is a disgusting piece of garbage but I fail to see how 'Porno'  Pete LaBarbera is any different. or how he can attack Shoebat without taking into account his own words and actions. Shoebat wishes for lgbts to be violently executed. LaBarbera wants policies and laws in place which would slowly but surely kill our souls and spirits.  That's vile enough, but when you destroy a person's spirit, you put them in a position where they wish for death and act accordingly either by suicide or embracing dangerous behaviors (such as drug abuse, etc). Shoebat and LaBarbera are two sides of the same coin. LaBabera is too cowardly to be proud of the potential blood on his hands. Shoebat isn't.

'Roy Moore flails helplessly against marriage equality' & other Thur midday news briefs

Roy Moore

Alabama Chief Justice Screwed 66 Judges - First of all, the title of this article makes me nauseated and jealous at the same time. That aside, it's amusing to see Moore think that he can overrule SCOTUS. People say we should ignore this. I say we use it because Moore has obviously teed off more folks besides lgbts with his antics. 

Anti-Gay Activists Rally Behind Roy Moore, Who Touts 'States' Rights' - And his supporters aren't exactly helping his fruitless cause either.  

A Dejected Mike Huckabee Is Now Just Burning Bridges With The Religious Right - MEANWHILE, poor Mike Huckabee is acting like a stone cold wiaaaatch (minus the "w", add the "b") because the religious right have deserted him for Ted Cruz. This is just too fun to watch.  

Methodist Minister Comes Out As A Lesbian During Sermon - One of the times I'm mad that I missed going to church. 

 LGBT and the War on Christianity - Wonderful post about bogarting and attempting to entitle yourself to designate people as Christian or not Christian.

Anti-gay hate group attacks ad for featuring same-sex family

The anti-gay American Family Association is going into orbit about a commercial featuring a same-sex family.

In fact, the organization  has begun an online petition decrying it. According to the Huffington Post:

 . . . (the petition calls) for supporters to urge the insurance company to "stop its promotion of normalizing homosexual parenting when children's welfare is at stake."
The petition reads:

The Allstate promotion does not share the reality that this child will grow up without the nurture that only a mother can provide. Nor does Allstate recognize the emotional trauma and questions this child will endure growing up in a home with two men.

Pointing to a debunked 2012 study that claimed to prove children of same-sex parents fared worse than those raised by heterosexual couples, AFA officials said, "Allstate has abandoned God's design for the family, and thus promotes a lifestyle that is not good for children."

Many have given their opinion on this nonsense and many of those opinions have been wonderful.

But as for me, I can't help wondering how does presidential candidate Marco Rubio feel about the situation? After all, he is making a campaign issue about rallying to the side of those against marriage equality. He even whines about marriage equality opposition being called "bigots." 

One wonders this includes those who will blatantly attack same-sex families.

Self-immolation of progressive minister still a mystery after two years

Editor's note - the cable/internet war is over and I won. Now to continue in hopes that my readers are still interested in what I have to say:

Moore

You can take whatever you want out of this - a brave cry for social justice, a depressed man attempting to do something about the chaos around him, or whatever. One thing is for sure - it does create a certain clarity as to how one sees life:

From Unicorn Booty:

The evening of Monday, June 23, 2014, Charles Moore — a 79-year-old retired Methodist Reverend — drove to a Dollar General parking lot in his rural hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire. For hours afterwards, neither Moore’s witnesses nor his family had any idea why.

Moore had grown up in Grand Saline — a sleepy, livestock and farming town of just 3,136 people — but he left in 1954 to attend university. Outside of a brief stay following his first divorce in ‘78, he hadn’t spent much time there. For the last seven years, he had been living with his third wife Barbara in Allen, a suburb just outside of Dallas, where he would play with his grandchildren at the local park, watch Cowboys games with his stepson-in-law, gripe about Tea Party politics and write alone in his study. 

But unbeknownst to them, he’d fallen into a depression after his retirement in 2000. After decades of preaching in churches across Texas, rebuilding impoverished communities around the world and doing activist work for death row inmates, poor people and LGBT outcasts, he wrote in his journal, “I am not proud of the timidity [those years of work] represent or their avoidance of physical danger.” He felt ashamed for being “completely inactive” since his retirement and for living in an “arch-conservative” Dallas suburb, adding that he’d “been nothing but a cringing coward” ever since.

“My life has been, and is, a great misery over these issues,” Moore lamented, “and I have done absolutely nothing about any of them for a long time.”

Read the full piece here

'Ben Carson confronted at town hall about his homophobic rhetoric' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Editor's note - The cable/internet battle of Senate St continues at my residence(see my last post) and will hopefully end by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, enjoy these news briefs :

Ben Carson gets called out for his homophobia

Ben Carson confronted at town hall event: ‘Do you think I chose to be gay?’ - Presidential candidate Ben Carson gets confronted by a voter because of his past anti-gay rhetoric and it is spectacular. The only thing missing seems to be the defiant cigarette jab to the skies used by Angela Bassett in "Waiting to Exhale" when she burned her cheating husband's belongings.

Ben Carson Says He Would Consider Banning Gays In Military, Decide On 'Evidence' (Video) - As seen by this, certain confrontations are needed.

 Gordon Klingenschmitt Says Gays Are Driven By A 'Demonic Spirit Of Lust' To Persecute Christians - Klingenschmitt gives us such an embarrassment of riches that it's simply too easy to take advantage.  

Legislators, leave your gay neighbors alone - This is a wonderful column by someone I am proud to say is a very good friend of mine.  

Georgia Lawmakers To Push Pair Of Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Liberty’ Bills - Goody! Goody! Let's dance!

'Meet the anti-gay billionaires who are backing Ted Cruz' & other Mon midday news briefs

Upate - Due to technical difficulties beyond my control - I.e. a cut cable wire, at least until Wednesday afternoon, news briefs will be the only thing I can post  because I have no home internet service. Don't desert me just yet, loyal readers.

Editor's note - It's 2016 so let's just slowly ease into this year with a few news briefs before we really begin so. me fun:

Forget the Koch Bros for a second. The Wilks Bros are more dangerous

Inside the Anti-Gay Church That Loves Kim Davis and Ted Cruz - It's scary when real life beings to resemble a James Bond movie and a comic book. The second most dangerous people in the world are those who think their religion should shape society. The first most dangerous people is the second most dangerous people who have an obscenely large amount of money. 

Reno juvenile hall stops preaching against homosexuality - A victory for our lgbt children.  

Celebrating Our Right to Marry While Acknowledging the Psychological Scars - A piece I wrote last week which I reshaped for The Huffington Post. There is nothing wrong with lgbts admitting that we aren't bullet-proof or that we can "sashay, shantay" away our psychological scars. Acknowledging that they exist is the first step to defeating them.

 Charlotte Council to Take Up LGBT Protections Despite Threats From Anti-Gay State Lawmakers - Charlotte City Council comes out swinging for lgbt protections. I like that!  

Scott Lively Begs For Money And Calls For Passage Of Russian-Style Anti-Gay Laws Around The World - Modesty and good taste precludes me from saying what I want to say about Scott Lively. I have to remember that as long as he talks, the better lgbts look to the world. 

 Scalia: Constitution Doesn't Ban Government From Supporting Religion - Naturally he probably means the religion HE believes. Scalia is a nasty fungus on SCOTUS. He should have never been appointed and there needs to be some type of "how we got over" party when he leaves. If his remarks here doesn't convince you on that, then nothing will.

'The top 15 anti-lgbt villains of 2015' & other Thur midday news briefs.

Editor's note - unless something incredibly juicy happens, this will be my last post for 2015. It's been wild and it's been fun. We won a lot in 2015. Hopefully in 2016, our minds will be not becoming stagnant or complacent. Hopefully we will be aggressively working on keeping what we have won and gaining more. Thank you to all of my readers and supporters. You mean the world to me. Have a safe and happy new year. And let's come back to gain more. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert gets 'dubious' honor

Here Are 15 Of The Worst Anti-LGBT Villains Of 2015 - You must always know your opposition, as well as keeping in mind that while they may have won some battles, the victory in the war has been ours. 

 Campaign Ad Shows The America Ted Cruz Values: Christian Crosses, Ten Commandments And Guns (Video) - In 2016, we will be electing a new president. And THIS guy is in the running. Ignore Ted Cruz at your own peril. 

 The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children - Reposting the piece I put up this morning. In 2015, we won marriage equality and we must never forget that we won it not only for ourselves but our lgbt children. 

 Indiana Lawmaker Introduces ‘Pay To Pee’ Bill For Transgender People - Another nonsensical thing we will be fighting in 2016. In 2015, the transgender community became more visible. As they did, some nasty individuals began to reduce the dignity of their lives to horror stories about who will use what bathrooms and monsters preying on children. Expect more of the same in 2016, unfortunately. 

 Kim Davis: ‘I am just the first of what’s going to be very many.’ - No you won't be, honey. But in the event that you will be, you ALL should expect to lose. Raise them up and the lgbt community with the law on our side will knock every single one of them down. One. By. One.  

Anti-Gay Bakers Finally Pay Their Fine. Conservatives Throw Them A Pity Party. - While this article may be repeating information which a lot of you already know, it is important to take it in. The anti-gay bakers in Oregon are the epitome of anti-gay lies and deception plaguing our community and the country in general.

The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children

In 2015, marriage equality was officially legalized and it was about damn time.

The legalization of marriage equality represents so much. After a long campaign in which we lost many painful battles, the often dreamed possibility became a reality and millions of same-sex couples and their children had the legitimacy they should have had in the beginning.

But it means so much more.

Granted, some of our own aren't exactly happy about having the right to marry. Some claim that things like marriage is forcing the lgbt community into "conforming" to heteronormative behavior and roles. Some claim that our uniqueness as a community is falling by the wayside because we are attempting to "become" like heterosexual couples.

I don't know a thing about all of that. But this is what I do know.

Before I realized that I was gay, I had the usual dream of wanting to be married and having a family. But after I realized that I was gay, that dream dissipated because at that time, very few thought of gays having families and children. All of the messages drummed into me by society was the quite the opposite.

So my dream was destroyed. It wasn't that I decided not to go that direction. Someone had already decided to deny me what I felt should be a crucial part of my life's desire. Needless to say,  it devastated me.  It was a nasty message sent to me that because I am gay, I am inferior. That I don't get to pick my life's paths. That I was not worthy of having a family, nurturing, or raising children, not because I didn't prove myself of being capable, but because someone else had already decided for me.

That message played a huge role in the depression which gripped me back then and it wasn't pretty. I wish I could say that now things have changed and that hurt of realizing just low I placed in the so-called pecking order of society disappeared when marriage equality became legal. But it hasn't.

Today, I'm 44-years-old and I am not pining for marriage. If it happens, great. If not, then I will be okay. But even now, there is a part of me who is still that young gay man with a void unfairly carved into his heart by the ignorance and religious self-righteousness of others. I am still that young gay man who watched his heterosexual friends love, lose, cry and go through the rituals of having a relationship while silently hating them all with such a hot jealousy that I am ashamed to admit it even now. 

And I'm confused. Am I okay with no longer having the dream of being married and having a family because  I gave up a part of my soul in order to survive?  Is there a small part inside of me so deeply hidden which hasn't rejected the message I was given as a young gay man, i.e. the message saying "you're a fag. And fags don't have families, children, or happy endings."

I don't know and I don't think that I ever will know. But at this juncture in my life, I take solace that younger lgbts are no longer being told by society what I was told. I want our kids to have choices. If they want marriage, family, and the stereotypical white picket fence life, then it's there for them. But if they don't want that, then that is also okay.

But it's their choice No one  has the right to deprive our lgbt kids of their desires or dreams of however direction they want to take their lives.  And most importantly, no one has the right to inflict upon our children psychological scars which can continue to haunt them even as adults.