'Donald Trump's homophobic, racist, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, no good, rotten GOP convention' & other Thur midday news briefs

Donald Trump

Everything You Need To Know About The Extremists Who Will Highlight Trump’s Republican Convention - Everything you need to know about the homophobic, racist, and downright ugly B-list of speakers during Trump's GOP convention. I'm gonna watch it drunk or maybe not at all. Why invite misery into my life? 
 

An Openly Gay Speaker Will Address The GOP Convention For The First Time In 16 Years - There WILL be an openly gay speaker but he is one of those "privileged vicious queens." The GOP is hoping that he represents a "spirit of inclusiveness" to folks. Yeah, a rich, white "Queer As Folk" reject who funds lawsuits against companies he has grudges against.  

GOP’s Super-Far-Right Platform Completed But Drama Continues - WHICH will be very interesting, seeing that the GOP platform is viscerally anti-lgbt.  

GOP, anti-gay hate group advocating child abuse in party platform - How anti-lgbt? Supporting parents who want to force their children into "ex-gay"therapy, which the medical community has deemed ineffective and dangerous. My post from this morning.  

Supreme Court About To Enter Legal Fight Over Trans Rights And Bathroom Access - Meanwhile, this case slowly makes it way through the courts. Keep your fingers crossed for victory.

GOP, anti-gay hate group advocating child abuse in party platform

Tony Perkins pushing possible child abuse in GOP platform

As many of you know by now, the GOP platform is a huge mess of homophobic nonsensical junk marshaled in by Family Research Council president Tony Perkins.

Amongst other things, it includes  attacks against marriage equality, the right of transgender men and women to use restrooms of their desired gender identity, and same-sex families.

But one thing in general which has everyone talking is that the platform supports the fraudulent practice of "ex-gay"  or reparative therapy. In spite of the fact that many medical groups, including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association all reject the idea that this type of therapy is successful or healthy,  the GOP platform committee, pushed by Perkins, went ahead and approved the following plank:

 "We support the right of parents to determine the proper treatment or therapy, for their minor children."

There has been so much talk about the inanity of the plank that many aren't paying attention to the cynical and calculating nature of its addition.  Both the platform itself and Perkins are deliberately vague about the support of "ex-gay" therapy. The plank is a measly sentence which doesn't even include the words "ex-gay" or "reparative." In addition, Perkins doesn't mention the words when he bragged about the platform. He said the following::

 I also offered an amendment on conscience, for the right of parents to determine not only the medical treatment for their minor children, but also therapy. As mental health awareness has become all the more common with suicide, addiction, and many other struggles, parents should be able to decide the best treatment and therapy for their children, not the government.

The entire GOP platform is designed to make the party and those who influence it look like defenders of the traditional trope of family against "radical outsiders" whose goal is to destroy it. The innocuous comments and plank supporting  "ex-gay" therapy proves this point in three areas

It makes the push for "ex-gay" therapy sound like that the GOP is taking the sides of parents against a hostile and encroaching government; a serious exploitation of the adage that "parents know best. It fits rather nicely into the talking point embraced by folks like Perkins and groups like FRC that the Obama Administration, i.e. the government in this case, is anti-Christian, anti-moral, and anti-American.

Lastly, the fact that the words "ex-gay" or "reparative" isn't in the plank tells that those supporting it, Perkins probably most of all, are aware of the controversy involving the practice and the harm it causes. I'm sure that they also know the opposition it faces from the medical groups and that New York, New Jersey, and several other states have passed laws banning its use on minors.

But they don't care.

If confronted with these facts and the stories of those subjected to this type of false therapy, no doubt they repeat the talking point, "we just think parents know what's best for their own children instead of the government."

Repeat it? Hell, they'll embrace it like a lost lover.

But the push against "ex-gay" therapy has nothing to do with government encroaching. The scientific community has come out en masse against this type of therapy, declaring that it is useless and harmful. If a parent wants to subject his or her child to a type of therapy deemed harmful by the scientific community, perhaps that parent doesn't know what's best for the child. If anything, it sounds like parental child abuse. And no one has any business advocating child abuse, especially those who are always attempting to seize the moral high ground.

Don't be fooled by the "aw shucks" okey-doke. The GOP's embracing of  "ex-gay" therapy only proves how much it is beholden to the anti-lgbt right. And it proves just how far the anti-lgbt right will go to continue its narrative of homophobia in the name of God.

GOP platform committee member David Barton lies about past homophobic statements

Barton lies about his anti-lgbt statements.

There is one good thing about the GOP's vindictively homophobic platform - it's bringing much needed attention to the hate and awful propaganda the supposed religious members of that party constantly rain on the head of the lgbt community.

The Daily Beast is shining a light on this madness and like cockroaches, these "Christians" are running away from the brightness of truth:

Donald Trump may be the most gay-friendly GOP presidential nominee of all time. The committee writing the platform on which he’s supposed to run is filled with anti-gay bigots. The committee, which is currently meeting in Cleveland, is charged with crafting an overarching document that describes the general principles of the party. Until mid-week, they will be voting on America’s tax policies and the party’s orientation toward LGBT issues—but there are legitimate questions about their previous words and deeds.

For example, Cynthia Dunbar of Virginia once compared the gay rights movement to efforts “in pre-Holocaust Germany, as far as propaganda and presentation and swaying the whole mindset of a nation.”

Hardy Billington, of Missouri, took out an ad in a local paper saying that homosexuality is killing people at “two to three times the rate of smoking.”

According Right Wing Watch (who brought this article to my attention), GOP platform member  David Barton pretty much lied to The Daily Beast when confronted with his homophobia:

It seems that just about every time a Religious Right activist is asked by the press to comment on some outrageous thing that Right Wing Watch has caught them saying, they respond by simply asserting that those comments were "taken out of context" without ever explaining how our reporting supposedly misrepresented their statements or bothering to explain how understanding the real context would have in any way changed the meaning of what they said.

 And this is exactly what David Barton, a member of the Republican National Convention's platform committee and a longtime Religious Right activist, did when the the Daily Beast asked him to comment on two of the many offensive statements he has made about LGBT people, both of which were first reported by Right Wing Watch:

And David Barton, a committee member from Texas, believes that God is preventing the medical profession from finding a cure for HIV/AIDS, and claimed that gay people die “decades earlier” than others and have more than 500 partners apiece in their lifetimes. Barton told The Daily Beast that these statements did not represent his views, and this was “an example of something taken out of context and mischaracterized. I’m an advocate for faith-based conservative values, which include love, grace, and truth, focusing on traditional family values.” 

Unlike some folks on the right when they make charges (particularly against the lgbt community), Right Wing Watch has the goods. The site points to a recording in 2010 of Barton telling lies about gays and their alleged sex partners and gays "dying early." And the statements don't sound like they could be mischaracterized in any form or fashion.

Also, I'm personally involved in this situation because I wrote a piece in The Huffington Post back then refuting Barton's claims and that piece was used by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell to call out Barton.When O'Donnell raised the alarm about his lies, Barton claimed that the lgbt community was being "hypersensitive."

Barton is sadly typical of religious right spokespeople who lie with abandon about lgbts but then play the victim when caught.

They make sure to play the victim with equal abandon.

Congressional leader dismantles 'religious liberty' talking point during hearing

The above video from Think Progress shows how easy it is to dismantle an anti-lgbt talking point IF one invests time in dismantling them. It happened today during a Congressional hearing about an awful bill which would allow folks to discriminate by pleading "religious liberty."

According to Think Progress

The bill, the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), was introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) last year, and would provide special legal protections to individuals who oppose same-sex marriage and those who oppose extramarital sex.

Under the bill, the government cannot deny tax subsidies, grants, or benefits to individuals or religious organizations who harbor anti-LGBT views. While the bill’s authors and supporters on the panel attempted to frame the bill as a logical extension of the the First Amendment’s freedom of religion clause and claimed it was “not a discriminatory bill,” opponents countered that it would merely sanction taxpayer funded discrimination.

 . . .  At the hearing, the ranking Democrat on the committee Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland asked Franke a series of questions about whether the bill would preclude federal enforcement of civil rights laws and family leave protections to employees in same-sex relationships. After she indicated that it did, Cummings asked the full panel of witnesses to raise their hands if they believe it is acceptable for businesses to discriminate against people because of their race, gender, disability, or because they are in a same-sex relationship. None of the witnesses raised their hands, including the ones in favor of FADA.

Signorile blisters the 'LGBT for Trump' idea' & other Tue midday news briefs

Michelangelo Signorile

The Complete Moral Bankruptcy Of ‘LGBT For Trump’ - Michelangelo Signorile nails it as usual.

Openly Gay Delegate Makes Impassioned Plea To Soften GOP Stance On Gay Marriage - I'll give her credit for attempting to talk calm to the hurricane even though she got swept away.  

White House calls ‘religious freedom’ hearing ‘disturbing’ - This sham hearing is happening now even as I speak.  

Bryan Fischer: 'It's Not Okay For Christians To Have Diverse Opinions' - This is what we call a demagogue, folks.  

Christian Rock Singer Comes Out, An Ex-Gay Freakout Ensues - Oh this is lovely!

'Jesus is going to kill all of these sodomites'

In my nine and a half years as blogmaster of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, I have covered many elements of visceral homophobia whether it dealt with policy, lies, or statements.

But I don't think I will ever see or hear anything so nauseating. I'm only posting it because we need to be aware of it. I am not too familiar with this young man, Theodore Shoebat, because he is almost too comical to be real.

And I guess it would be easy to laugh at him and predict how long will it be before he gets "caught" in a homosexual orgy.  But there comes a time when you can't laugh because it's just too scary. And it's important to remember that behind almost every so-called respectable face of homophobia is the raging madness this young man spews.

From Right Wing Watch:

Last week, extremist anti-gay activist Theodore Shoebat posted a video in which he gloated that when Jesus Christ returns, he'll slaughter every single gay person in the world.

 . . ."In a biblical society," Shoebat stated, "every fag would be rounded up and killed. But that's not going to happen, but believe me, when Jesus comes back, Jesus is going to kill all these sodomites. You're going to be praying to be living under a Catholic society from the Middle Ages because when Jesus comes back, it's going to be a lot more brutal." "He's going to find all you bastards and he's going to slaughter every single one of you," said Shoebat with a smile on his face. "I can't wait for that day to come. It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful world."  

Take a look at the men, women, & children the GOP platform unfairly targets

If the GOP wants to gain some degree of power and credibility beyond its base and the Fox News crazies, the party needs to divest from members of the religious right.

Today we have seen how much pull people like the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins has in the Grand Old Party by what members of its platform committee adopted as official party policy. And almost all of it has a nasty homophobic vent.

An amendment offered by the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins offered support for the controversial practice of “conversion therapy” for children who identify as LGBT.

 . . . The subcommittee strengthened the platform’s language in opposition to same-sex marriage. The initial draft circulated late Sunday to committee members stated: “Our laws and our government’s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman and actively promote married family life as the basis of a stable and prosperous society. For that reason, as explained elsewhere In this platform, we do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the States.”

And of course:

  Republican delegates adopted tough language opposing the Obama administration’s policy on transgender schoolkids in a platform subcommittee hearing Monday morning.

 . . . Tony Perkins, a delegate from Louisiana and the president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, said the party should include the position to support the 11 states that are suing the Obama administration over the policy. West Virginia delegate Melody Potter said, “I believe it’s time for Republicans to take a stand on it. It’s a safety issue.”

Safety for who? The "predator in the women's restroom" talking point/urban legend has been continuously refuted.  If those working on the GOP platform really cared about safety, they would get to know the transgender community before using their power to demonize them. Such as the folks in the video at the top of this post.

Video courtesy of The National Center for Transgender Equality

News brief special: GOP convention promises to be surreal with mixture of extreme homophobia, Trump, & Caitlyn Jenner

The GOP has gone anti-lgbt buck wild in their party platform. LGBTs, in our own little way, will strike back by the airing of the above commercial during their convention next week. See the article in the news briefs 

RNC quietly passes anti-LGBT resolution - So the Republican Party is creating its platform for the 2016 election. Did you really think that they would welcome us with open arms? 

Is Trump Letting Religious Right Leaders Have Their Way With GOP Platform - A "religious liberty" amendment, an anti-marriage equality amendment, and an anti-transgender amendment. What do you think the answer to that question may be?  

Transgender Rights Ad To Air During Republican Convention On Fox News - Ah yes, the nice surprise in the middle of the "Trump coronation." See the video above  

Tony Perkins Wants The GOP To Endorse Ex-Gay Conversion Therapy - Interesting. The only anti-lgbt amendment the GOP didn't want

Caitlyn Jenner will attend LGBT Republican event at GOP convention - And things are going to get surreal. I wanna say something so bad but I will just leave the post here with no comment.

Repost - Why I get a nagging feeling about the phrase 'religious liberty'

Editor's note - in lieu of the recent situation in which a baker has refused to make a birthday cake for a married lesbian couple due to her "religious beliefs," I am reposting this 2011 piece I wrote on "religious liberty."

I think we are in the stage I predicted. The anti-lgbt industry slowly but steadily made "religious liberty" a repeated talking point. Now they are prepared to take argument as far as it can go:

Those who are my friends know that I am a serious fan of the 1970s detective drama Columbo. The thing I really loved about this show was the fact of how the character of police detective Columbo never considered a murder case completely simple. He never bought into the idea of an "open-and-shut" case if he had a nagging feeling, no matter how insignificant it was.

That nagging feeling is what I get when I hear about  marriage clerks, hotel owners, Catholic adoption agencies, and recently - cake bakers who refuse to serve gay couples. No doubt you have heard about them and will probably hear a lot more as religious right groups trying to hinder marriage equality will canonize these folks as "saints and martyrs" besieged by so-called radical gay activists supposedly trying to force them choose between their livelihood and religious freedom.

In fact they have a term for this sort of thing. They call it "religious liberty."

There is a certain simplicity to these cases which garners them a degree of support. Some of these folks (excluding Catholic charities who have no right to taxpayer money to discriminate and marriage clerks who should put the needs of constituents over their own desires) seems to have a right to serve whomever they wish. And one could even make the case that they are in fact forced to choose between their livelihoods and their "religious liberty."

But then there goes that nagging feeling again. These cases aren't as simple as they are made out. What about the rights of couples refused service? No matter how you attempt to soften the blow, the idea that someone will  not serve you because of how they inaccurately view you still hurts. It's dehumanizing, it's cruel, and it's embarrassing.

In a recent situation in Iowa, a cake baker scheduled an appointment with a lesbian couple who desired her services only to use that time to not only tell them no, but also to criticize their sexual orientation.

Then that same cake baker made several news appearances to decry about how she was victim, backed by several religious right groups spinning the same talking points.

'Anti-lgbt industry pushing 'new' & phony study on same-sex parenting ' & other Fri. midday news briefs

In the midst of chaos and madness, the necessity of good and accurate information becomes even more vital.

Another Regnerus-Like “Research” Paper On Gay Parents Making the Rounds - At this stage of the game, those in the lgbt community who refute such things need not approach every anti-lgbt study as a new thing. It's always the old lies and distortions presented in deceptively new ways. In this case, thank you Jim Burroway from the GLAAD Media Award-nominated blog Box Turtle Bulletin for taking this down. 

 Same-Sex Parents Win Key Court Victory - Wonderful but also sad when one sees what happens when a same-sex couple breaks up. We need not exploit the policies of those who want to keep us underfoot. 

 Fighting The LGBT Community’s Invisibility - This combats the most common but not generally thought about invisibility when it comes to our community. I'm all for it. 

 Mississippi Governor To Appeal Order Halting Anti-LGBT Law - Unfortunate and surprising no one.

Anti-transgender bill in Washington State fails to make the Nov ballot

Washington state just proved that transphobia has its limits.

From The Stranger:

Just Want Privacy, the anti-trans group that wanted to make the state vote on trans people's civil rights, did not get enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. David Ammons, communications director for the Secretary of State, confirmed that Just Want Privacy has canceled their scheduled 9 a.m. signature delivery appointment tomorrow. Trans rights activists won in Washington State. They did it. Fear and hatred won't win, not this time.

And from MyNorthwest.com

 According to the secretary of state’s office, Campaign Chief Joseph Backholm informed the office that the campaign did not gather enough signatures.There is a 246,000 minimum for signatures — the state recommends getting 325,000 to account for duplicate and invalid signatures. I-1515 failed to get the minimum. At around noon Thursday, the Just Want Privacy Campaign posted a call for help to gather more signatures, and did not yet mention its failure to gather enough.

In March, ThinkProgress labeled the initiative "The Most Radical Anti-Trans Ballot Initiative Ever Submitted In Washington State."  It would have:

• Declared “null and void and of no effect” the Human Rights Commission’s rules guaranteeing bathroom access for transgender people.
• Banned the Human Rights Commission from ever adopting rules related to gender identity in sex-segregated facilities.
• Clarified that the state’s nondiscrimination laws still allow restrooms and locker rooms to be designated “for the exclusive use by biological male persons only or biological female persons only” and that no others (i.e. transgender people) are guaranteed such access.
• Preempted municipalities from passing their own bathroom protections for transgender people.
• Prohibited transgender students from accessing sex-segregated bathrooms in schools, only allowing them to access to “single-stall bathrooms, uni-sex bathrooms, or controlled use of faculty bathrooms, locker rooms, or shower rooms.”.
• Allowed students to sue schools for $2,500 “for each instance in which they encountered a person of the opposite sex while accessing a public school student restroom, locker room, or shower room designated for use by the aggrieved students’ sex,” as well as monetary damages “from the offending public school for all psychological, emotional, and physical harm suffered.”

Just Want Privacy was allegedly helped by national anti-lgbt groups  such as the Family Research Council and yet still failed to get enough signatures.

How sweet it is!!

'Homophobes patronize black people to demonize lgbts' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Peter LaBarbera: Gay Rights Movement Is 'A Liberal Cult' And 'Anti-God' - Noted and nauseating homophobes Matt Barber and Peter LaBarbera get together to talk about lgbts and the African-American community and it is probably the single most ill-conceived and patronizing incident this year. Example as follows:

“The blacks are a noble people, certainly, and there are many … Bible-believing Christians who are offended and disgusted by these illegitimate comparisons between mutable, changeable, deviant behaviors, homosexual behavior, and immutable, neutral characteristics such as skin color,” Barber said. He claimed that “black leaders have completely sold out to the radical LGBT lobby and are complicit in making these illegitimate comparisons.” 

Gee, Matt. That's "mighty white" of you.

Texas, 12 Other States Push To Block Feds From Enforcing Trans Bathroom Guidance - By all means please waste that taxpayer money.

 This 16-Year-Old Came Out To Her Family At Disneyland And It’s The Best - Other than a Broadway musical, isn't Disneyland THE place to come out . . . shut up.  

Trump now apparently backs North Carolina anti-LGBT law - Dear Caitlyn and the rest of you Log Cabin folks . . . 

Gay Collective: “The Virus Divides. It Doesn’t Have To.” - Wonderful post by my friend Mark S. King

Confirmed - The organized plot to destroy lgbt equality

Don't be sarcastic and remember that this revelation is a good thing:

From Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans know in their bones there is a “vast right-wing conspiracy” out to deny them their humanity and dignity. A conservative cabal actively working the levers of power to block their rights. Well, now we have the evidence that one actually exists. Freedom for All Americans (FFAA) is a “bipartisan campaign seeking nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people nationwide” that was created last year in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. FFAA executive director Matt McTighe told me that the immediate backlash against that historic decision, such as Indiana’s so-called religious freedom law, was expected. But he said that it was the emerging coordination of the resistance that pushed his organization to sift through public filings to unearth the ties that bind anti-LGBT efforts around the country.

 . . . The chart below from FFAA shows the organizations doing the coordinating and the people leading or bankrolling those efforts. If you click on this link it will take you to an interactive site that will give you even more information.

Family Research Council hides homophobia behind semantic phrasing

FRC head Tony Perkins

Last week, a federal judge blocked a Mississippi anti-lgbt law hours before it was to go into effect.

According to the Huffington Post:

Mississippi’s “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” shields those believing that marriage involves a man and a woman, and sexual relations should occur within such marriages. It protects the belief that gender is defined by sex at birth. The law allows people to refuse to provide wide-ranging services by citing the religious grounds, from baking a wedding cake for a same-sex couple to counseling and fertility services. It would also permit dress code and bathroom restrictions to be imposed on transgender people.

In putting an injunction on the law, U.S. Justice Carlton Reeves said it discriminated against lgbts and that it favored one religion over others.

Naturally, the anti-lgbt hate group Family Research Council was not pleased. On its webpage, FRC president Tony Perkins practically threw a fit. And he also accidentally gave a good reason why Justice Reeves blocked the law. Check out the following paragraph from Perkins's ramblings (important point in bold):

The Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act had barely been signed into law when intolerant liberals vowed to file suit. Now with the help of Reeves, the Left has another victory from the courts that it couldn't achieve legislatively. Under this law, churches wouldn't be the only ones protected from government punishment for their natural marriage and sexuality beliefs -- so would businesses, wedding vendors, and even public officials. Now, thanks to one unelected, activist judge, those protections will have to wait. In his opinion, Reeves claims the law gives preference to certain religions.

Notice the semantic phraseology Perkins uses:  

"Under this law, churches wouldn't be the only ones protected from government punishment for their natural marriage and sexuality beliefs -- so would businesses, wedding vendors, and even public officials."

One could easily see why churches should be protected under the guise of religious beliefs, but why should secular businesses and even public officials?  A better way of saying this would be:

"Under this law, businesses, wedding vendors, and even public officials would have an excuse to discriminate against same-sex couples under the guise of religion."

 In the matter of churches, there should be no government interference concerning beliefs and acts of worship (within reason, of course). But a public official, such as a clerk of court signing a marriage licenses, or a businesses accommodating all customers is not an act of worship. It's an act of fairness buoyed on many occasions by taxpayer dollars. And the last time I checked, lgbts pay taxes.

No matter how noble or pretty FRC tries to paint the picture of anti-lgbt discrimination,  the organization can't hide it's ugliness. Secular businesses who don't follow accommodation laws should be punished and public officials who pick and choose who they will serve should also be punished.

Long ago, people freely paid an unfortunate and unnecessary price for their faith. Nowadays, some seem to think that their faith is a golden ticket which absolves them from the rules the rest of us have to follow.

'GOP obsession over attacking lgbt community' & other Wed. midday news briefs

House Republicans Are Truly, Madly, Deeply Obsessed With Queer People - Just despicable. And a good reason why we can't underestimate anti-lgbt groups. Who do you think are the puppeteers of this mess? 

 Over 70 Groups Urge Rep. Chaffetz to Cancel Hearing on Anti-LGBT Legislation Scheduled a Month After Orlando Shooting - Relating to the first news post - Chaffetz probably won't but he will probably muck this up like he did the Benghazi hearings.

Churches File Nonsense Suit Challenging Iowa’s LGBT Protections - Another reason why we can't underestimate anti-lgbt groups. They get paid gobs of money to find gullible folks to exploit. And this ridiculous lawsuit is an example of it. It's just fishing with a capital B-U-L-L . . . you know the rest. 

Police and firefighters dance for Orlando in new viral video campaign - Works for me. 

Kim Davis violated Open Records Act, attorney general says - Guess who's back? Did you miss her?

Trans 102 - Taking on religious right lies & anti-trans misconceptions

THIS is how you handle a misconception, particularly one that your opposition exploits. You don't ignore it. You don't sidestep from it. You take it head on.

From The Huffington Post:

A new video campaign is bringing together transgender and gender-nonconforming activists from around America to reflect on the current state of political and social life for the trans community, as well as the complexities and nuances of the subjects’ own personal identities. Called “Trans 102,” this first episode of this series focuses on bathroom access for trans and GNC people, a contested issue in the current political climate surrounding anti-queer legislation such as House Bill 2. “Trans 102” features a number of recognizable trans movers and shakers, including activist Jenn Richards of “I Am Cait” fame.

'Lesbian couple in Sweet Cakes controversy still getting harassed' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Lesbian Couple Still Facing Harassment Thanks to Sweet Cakes - This couple did nothing but stand up for their rights and are still catching hell for it. Meanwhile, the offenders are scooping up money and attention by the handfuls via playing the victims with the anti-lgbt industry behind them. Will the lgbt community ever learn - "He who controls the narrative makes the rules."

The hate keeps coming: Pain lingers for lesbian couple denied in Sweet Cakes case - The above post provides a quick view of the mess. This article is a long, detailed telling of the mess.

Pope Francis accepts anti-LGBT Dominican cardinal’s resignation - Ding dong, the fool is gone . . .

Black Lives Matter Protest Proves Pride Needs More Empathy, Less Prejudice - Controversial protest brings up many issues. 

Gary Bauer: Trump Administration Will Give 'Key Positions' To Religious Right - All of you lgbts whining about Clinton, let me put this post in another fashion. Gary Bauer worked in the White House during the AIDS crisis and he was one of the main folks blocking Surgeon General C. Everett Koop from getting Reagan to talk about it. His actions made the crisis worse. Now you all can get angry at Clinton for comments she made at Nancy Reagan's funeral, but it seems to me that when a man who helped further the AIDS crisis vouches for a presidential candidate, we should do what we can to keep said candidate from setting one foot in the White House.

Lifting the ban on transgender soldiers - Anti-lgbt industry vs. reality

I'm rather surprised at the muted response of the anti-lgbt right to the news that the Obama Administration is lifting the ban on transgender men and women serving in the military.

One would think that they are so busy scaring people about bathrooms that this particular news caught them by surprise. However, never fear. I can always count on the American Family Association's fake news service, One News Now, for a biased and very uneducated take on the subject. Look at their poll for example:

And this little nugget of nonsense is accompanied by a column by Bryan "gays were the founders of the Nazi party" Fischer, who has no expertise in military intelligence.

By contrast, the following video provides the facts we should know, including:

There are already 2,500 to 7,000 transgender soldiers in active duty, 1,500 to 4,000 reservists

This isn't some type of social experiment. Seems to me that the lifting of this ban was way over due. Transgender men and women are fighting for our freedom, therefore they deserve the right to do it openly, with all of the benefits and support we can give them:

Judge to Mississippi anti-lgbt law- 'Oh no you don't!'

This is big and hopefully a sign of things to come. A federal judge just issued an injunction blocking that awful Mississippi anti-lgbt law hours before it was supposed to take effect.

From The Huffington Post:

A day before it was due to come into effect, a federal judge has blocked a Mississippi law permitting those with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and impose dress and bathroom restrictions on transgender people.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves found on Thursday the wide-ranging law adopted this spring unconstitutionally discriminated against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and others who do not share the view that marriage is between a man and a woman.

 . . . Mississippi’s “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act” shields those believing that marriage involves a man and a woman, and sexual relations should occur within such marriages. It protects the belief that gender is defined by sex at birth. The law allows people to refuse to provide wide-ranging services by citing the religious grounds, from baking a wedding cake for a same-sex couple to counseling and fertility services. It would also permit dress code and bathroom restrictions to be imposed on transgender people.

'GOP to have sham 'religious freedom' hearing on one month anniversary of Orlando tragedy' & other Thur midday news briefs

GOP Chair Schedules Anti-Gay 'Religious Freedom' Bill for One Month Anniversary of Orlando Massacre - One would think they would have the good taste and kind sensibility to at least reschedule this farce of a hearing.  It is here where I HATE my progressive leanings because I got some CHOICE profanity I want to publicly say.

Pentagon to lift trans military ban today - Expect the religious right to go into orbit.

  Texas Attorney General Wants Schools To Out Transgender Students To Their Parents - Pick on children. How "Christian" of you.  

How Growing Up With Two Dads Shaped This Diver’s Olympic Dreams - I need a positive story, at least for my own sake.