Chick-Fil-A's pledge to stop funding anti-LGBTQ groups leaves Mike Huckabee with egg on his face

Mike Huckabee

Unless you've been totally unconnected in the LGBTQ community, you have heard about Chick-Fil-A's change of heart with regards to funding anti-LGBTQ causes.

From The Advocate:

Chick-fil-A has pledged to finally stop funding anti-LGBTQ organizations after years of protests against the brand. The popular fast-food chain's foundation has donated millions of dollars to groups such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army. Both organizations have long histories of being anti-LGBTQ and will now allegedly no longer receive money from the company. 

“We made multiyear commitments to both organizations and we fulfilled those obligations in 2018,” a Chick-fil-A spokeswoman said Monday, according to CNBC. The company says it will now be focusing on three pillars of giving, involving education, homelessness, and hunger.
 The company has faced criticism in the past for its charitable donations as well as the CEO Dan Cathy’s public comments opposing marriage equality. And as Chick-fil-A has recently attempted to expand outside the U.S., activists have put pressure on the company and forced quick closures of some locations.

While the LGBTQ community have been mostly reticent about the entire situation (many of us have either chosen a "wait and see" or "we don't believe it" attitude), Chick-Fil-A supporters such as right-wing spokesman and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee voiced their anger and feelings of betrayal.

In Aug 2012, I coordinated a national @ChickfilA Appreciation Day after they were being bullied by militant hate groups. Millions showed up. Today, @ChickfilA betrayed loyal customers for $$. I regret believing they would stay true to convictions of founder Truett Cathey. Sad.

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 18, 2019

In 2012, Huckabee initiated a huge campaign designed to show support for Chick-Fil-A and to issue a figurative middle finger in the face of  LGBTQ protests And the campaign (Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day) was hugely successful with reported record breaking sales for the fast food restaurant. Many lined up at Chick-Fil-A to show their support for the restaurant's supposed "Christian" values.

At the time, Huckabee said the following:

"People are voting with their feet today. I guess you could also say they are voting with their faces, they are stuffing them with chicken sandwiches, those lovely Chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A."

So at the present, Huckabee probably feels like a real dummy because that's what Chick-Fil-A's possible change of heart makes him look like.

A real dummy.

On that score at the very least, I think Chick-Fil-A's alleged change of heart is a success for the LGBTQ community. Anything making Mike Huckabee look like the fool that he is has to be a positive in my book.

'There are more LGBTQ characters on television than ever before' & other Mon midday news briefs

There are more LGBTQ characters on television than ever before - This is wonderful. We deserve this visibility.

Pope Francis compares leaders persecuting LGBTQ people to Hitler, Nazis - Nice, but it's like hot and cold with this guy.

‘Paris’ will ‘burn’ again, now with unseen footage - One of the greatest documentaries ever made. This time with an hour of unseen footage. 

Pete Buttigieg is struggling with black voters — and not just because he's gay - This is true. He has a lot to work on.

'Transphobic White People Can't Rap' & other ways anti-LGBTQ activists made public fools of themselves

Before we dip into another week of Trump led mess (because whether we have impeachment hearings or not, with Trump in the White House, it's always a hot mess), I wanted to provide yet another moment of levity.

In America and Canada, where we love our freedom of speech, some folks have used this principle to speak out against what they call the "gay agenda." They do it by repeating bad information or by making complete public asses out of themselves in an attempt to be "hip." Bad for them, but good for us. It always helps when someone makes a colossal fool out of themselves when attacking the LGBTQ community. It helps proves our point about their ignorance. And at the very least, it's downright comforting to watch someone's attempts to denigrate us blow up in their faces.

So, pulled from past posts on this blog and Youtube, I present 'Transphobic White People Can't Rap' & other ways anti-LGBTQ activists made public fools of  themselves.

4. We gotta save the kids from men kissing with size 14 shoes kissing each other on the moufs. - In 2015, Birmingham, AL minister Cedric Hatcher was very upset that there were public gay marriage ceremonies on the first day that marriage equality became legal in the state. And he gets so caught up that he really never finishes his point when complaining about it at a city council meeting. It would be insulting, except it's simply so funny to hear him ramble.

3. OOOOOOO! Homosexuals just makes me so mad! - North Carolina pastor Flip Benham is known around that state for his anti-LGBTQ activism. One thing he used to do was to show up at Charlotte City Council meetings and just rail on how homosexuality is causing so many problems. He likes to rail in front of an audience until his face turns red. In this 2016 video, he is blaming the passage of an LGBT rights bill for a police shooting:

VP Mike Pence's office unhappy with NBC article about Trump's anti-LGBTQ adoption rule

Mike Pence

VP Mike Pence's office called an NBC reporter requesting that he change an article regarding a proposed Trump Administration rule. This rule would allow faith-based adoption and foster care agencies to receive tax dollars which refusing to work with potential LGBTQ parents.

The article, Pence praises rule that would let adoption agencies exclude gay parents, said in part:

During an event celebrating National Adoption Month, Vice President Mike Pence praised a proposed Trump administration rule that would allow federal funding to flow to adoption agencies that refuse to place children with LGBTQ families, among others. 

"We’ve reversed the rule implemented in the closing days of the last administration that jeopardized the ability of faith-based providers to serve those in need by penalizing them for their deeply held religious beliefs," Pence said at an event Tuesday at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington. "We will stand for the freedom of religion and we will stand with faith-based organizations to support adoption." 

Pence said he "couldn't be more proud" of the "decisive action" taken at "President Trump's direction" on this issue.

The article also focused on the negative effect the rule would have on the LGBTQ community and children seeking adoption and foster care.

On Thursday afternoon, the article's author, Tim Fitzsimons, tweeted out the following:

I asked Katie Waldman the following question:

Fitzsimons: "This allows groups that decline to place these children with same-sex parents to receive federal money. Am I incorrect there?"
Waldman: "No."

She went on to claim reverse discrimination.

— Tim Fitzsimons (@tfitzsimons) November 14, 2019

While Fitzsimons didn't indicate what the vice president's office wanted changed, from his description of the conversation he had with Waldman, Pence's press secretary, it appears to center around what exactly Trump's rule would do. Perhaps Pence's office isn't happy that the article focused in part on how the rule would harm the LGBTQ community and children, instead of attempting to make it sound like a victory for religion and faith, like Pence attempted to do.

And Waldman's claim of reverse discrimination is odd. Is she saying that not allowing faith-based adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, while having access to LGBTQ tax dollars, is some sort of "reverse discrimination?" The idea is an illogical stretch of the definition of discrimination.

But then again that illogical stretch would be coming from the Trump Administration. And if there's one thing we all should have learned after three years is to not put anything past Trump or anyone who works for him.


Editor's note -Fitzsimons also made another point with regards to Waldman. Take it as you will:

https://t.co/5gOjLdUMnL More on Waldman here

— Tim Fitzsimons (@tfitzsimons) November 14, 2019

How many characters do you recognize in this 'History of Homosexuality on Film?'

A little fun change of pace for today. The video above was created in 2015 (and I've featured it before) but it is by no means dated. It is very quick look at the history of homosexuality on the silver screen. I think it deserves continued viewing, particularly by our LGBTQ kids. There is so much history they are missing in terms of how we were portrayed on the silver screen. Back in the day, we weren't as prominent or kindly viewed. I think it will be a culture shock to some of them.

 And there is something for us older folks to do. See how many characters you recognize and count how many of the movies featured in the clips have you seen. I can tell you that I've seen almost all of them (although not Brokeback Mountain . . shut up.)

'Transgender ex-cashier sues Dunkin' Donuts saying managers didn't stop harassment by coworkers, patrons' & other Thur midday news briefs

Transgender ex-cashier sues Dunkin' Donuts, saying managers let coworkers and patrons harass her, then fired her - Terrible. Simply terrible. 

Gay right-winger Dave Rubin tells Donald Trump Jr. it’s OK to call him a “f**” - Self-righteous, self-hating, selfish prick. Read the article. Ignore the video.

Bar receives bizarre letter accusing it of turning neighborhood gay - I wonder if I could lure Rob Kardashian here.

Turkey urged to drop case against LGBT activists charged over Pride march - The struggle is real, y'all.

VP Mike Pence proud of effort to steal LGBTQ tax dollars

While Trump's credibility was deservedly and relentless battered during the first day of impeachment hearings, his vice president, Mike Pence, was reminding folks of how less he thinks of the LGBTQ community:

Vice President Mike Pence, in a speech intended to honor National Adoption Month, extolled on Tuesday a proposed Trump administration rule that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to refuse child placement in LGBTQ homes. 

Pence made the comments at the Department of Health & Human Services in D.C., which was holding a celebration in promotion of adoption with top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of Health & Human Services Alex Azar. 

Telling the audience the Trump administration “understand[s] the role that communities of faith play in adoption,” Pence invoked the proposal, which was unveiled late last month to the consternation of advocates for LGBTQ families. 

“We’ve reversed the rule implemented in the closing days of the last administration that jeopardized the ability of faith-based providers to serve those in need by penalizing them for their deeply held religious beliefs,” Pence said. “We will stand for the freedom of religion and we will stand with faith-based organizations to support adoption.”

The Washington Blade also pointed out that Pence said he was "proud" of Trump's rule.

You will notice that Pence said nothing about how this is unfair to the LGBTQ community. It was deliberate on his part. According to Alex Bollinger of LGBTQNation:

Pence’s comments highlight how conservatives frame discrimination in adoption. There are currently 444,000 children in the foster care system in the U.S. and over 123,000 of them are up for adoption. It’s hard for conservatives to just say that they’re against LGBTQ people adopting because that’s not just discriminatory against potential parents, but comes across as cruel to the kids. 

This is why Pence and other conservatives focus on the agencies that want to discriminate. In their narrative, the reason these children don’t have homes isn’t a lack of families willing to take them in, but a lack of agencies willing to place them with the abundance of families available for them. 

Of course, HHS grants could just be sent to agencies that don’t discriminate. The money could help non-discriminatory agencies expand, open new offices, and hire staff, and federal money would be used more effectively to help kids find homes. If the problem is the number of agencies that can work with families, then that’s a problem that money can solve. But if the issue is the availability of families, then HHS’s rule change is unspeakably cruel.

Pence also didn't address another crucial problem with Trump's rule - the fact that it would allow tax dollars to go to entities which discriminate against LGBTQ taxpayers. As long as this fact isn't brought up, Pence and company can go on with the false narrative of how the theft of LGBTQ tax dollars is actually "religious freedom."

It's not surprising. Pence is a homophobic bigot who thinks that his religious beliefs is justification to  debase and stigmatize the LGBTQ community. Remember that when he was governor of Indiana, he refused to answer when asked eight times whether or not he opposed anti-LGBTQ discrimination.




Since Pence has a problem saying whether or not the LGBTQ community should be protected from discrimination, we shouldn't be surprised that he also thinks that our tax dollars actually belong to those who would discriminate against us.

'Five ways you can support bullied LGBTQ youth' & other Wed midday news briefs

While people are cheering the gay youth, Jordan Steffy, who fought back against his bully, we shouldn't forget that not all situations involving LGBTQ youth end this way. 

5 Ways You Can Support Bullied LGBTQ+ Youth Like Jordan Steffy - The story of this LGBTQ youth who practically "cropdusted" his bully has gone viral. But the situation does need to be moved past violence. Not all stories involving our kids ends this way.

Bullied gay teen punches his tormentor who called him a “fa***t” - For those who are curious about the situation which led to the post above. 

Puerto Rico will vote on some horrifically anti-LGBTQ laws. Ricky Martin is trying to stop it. - Fingers crossed. 

Cuomo signs law giving LGBTQ veterans access to N.Y. benefits - Good for NY!

Franklin Graham throws tantrum on the eve of Trump's televised impeachment hearings

On the eve of the televised impeachment hearings of Donald Trump and on the day that we found out that Trump may have lied to Robert Mueller during the Russia investigation, Franklin Graham has decided to throw yet another tantrum.

Graham, who has bent over backwards to defend and justify Trump's behavior and cajoled the nation to pray for Trump, is rather steamed over the entire situation. On his Facebook page, he gave a comically ridiculous rant on how there is a plot against Trump by the so-called "liberal media."  It's no different than what we've heard before, but it's always hilarious when Graham thinks that the rest of us are as clueless as his supporters and followers:

Long-time journalist Bill Moyers said Sunday that for the first time in his life, he fears for the nation’s survival. Why? “Society, a democracy, can die of too many lies…” I agree with him 100% on that—we just don’t agree on the source of the problem. For two years day after day, night after night, we heard Russian collusion—lie after lie, pushed by the liberal media. Then it was Ukraine and the whistleblower. Bill Moyers shares in the interview that his “hope” is that as citizens watch the impeachment hearings (which are totally partisan), they will “begin to doubt” in President Donald J. Trump so there can be a shift that would sway the 2020 election. It’s all about politics and winning the election, they don’t care about anything else. They are scared to death of conservative values and threatened because President Trump can’t be pushed around and intimidated politically or personally. The lies of the progressive left and the hyper-liberal media are what is a serious threat to the future of our nation. The Bible tells us, “The Lord detests lying lips…” (Proverbs 12:22).

It would be exhausting to point out all of Graham's distortions and lies in this piece but so I won't. Except for one. Isn't it ironic that Graham quotes the Bible saying "The Lord detests lying lips . . ." while defending a man who has lied over 10,000 times while in office (including Tuesday's lie that his daughter, Ivanka, created 14 million jobs.)

To me, it's not sad that Graham continues to debase himself.  I never trusted or liked him. But it is sad that so many people are falling for his lies. Don't ask why, but I took the time to post the following on his Facebook page. Forgive the bad grammar:

You are making a colossal fool of yourself. The only reason why you support Trump is because you think he will appoint judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade. You are so willing to overlook and explain away his incompetence and dishonest. You once unbelievably said Trump doesn't lie while ignoring the many documented times he lied. Now you make excuses for the impeachment mess he has gotten himself into via his own unscrupulous tactics. Mr. Graham, you may fool the majority of these sad paper Christians and simpering sycophants who affirmatively answer to your tirades and dip themselves elbow deep in the manure of hypocrisy you feed them and partake in, but you aren't fooling God. And just like all of us, you are going to have to answer to him. And you will answer for this vile blanket of lies you are ruining your witness by covering yourself in.

'What the battle over a seven-year-old trans girl could mean for families nationwide' & other Tue midday news briefs

What the battle over a 7-year-old trans girl could mean for families nationwide - EASILY one of, if not the best article I have read in 2019. How the anti-LGBTQ industry and their allies exploited a family and could possibly damage a seven-year-old trans girl in pursuit of their war against our community.

More than half of top US newspapers failed to cover Trump’s anti-LGBTQ foster care and adoption rule - THIS is unacceptable.

Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen says criticism of anti-LGBTQ positions is “anti-Catholic bigotry” - Typical of the lying "LGBTQ equality vs. religion" narrative.

VICTORY! Rhode Island Governor Signs Bill Restoring Benefits to LGBTQ Veterans Discharged Due to Sexual Orientation - Good for Rhode Island!

Trump's betrayal of the LGBTQ community is central to the dishonesty of his joke of a presidency

If one want to make a case for the laziness of the American media, one can easily point to how Donald Trump's betrayal of the LGBTQ community hasn't been spotlit as an issue as much as it should be.

Granted, the vast majority of us knew that he wasn't being truthful when he sent out tweets and statements claiming that he is an ally and would fight for us:

or when he showed his supposed support of our community by unfurling an LGBTQ flag during a 2016 rally; something which got him a good bit of positive press. 

Before and after the 2016 Republican convention,  some of the media gushed about him being an ally. The LGBTQ community chose not to believe Trump and did not support him in large numbers in the 2016 election. But that is irrelevant.  It doesn't give him an "out."  He was elected as "President of the United States," not "President of the United States except for the LGBTQ community." Whether we voted for him in a mass number or not, it is his duty and responsibility to own up to what he promised to do for us.

But from actions such as:

banning transgender men and women from serving in the military based upon false rationale,

pushing a bogus "conscience protection" rule via HHS which would have had detrimental effects on LGBTQ health, or

supporting a policy which would allow religious-based foster care and adoption agencies to discriminate against the LGBTQ community and still be allowed access to tax dollars,  Trump did a 90 degree turn and has become the most anti-LGBTQ president in history. He's embraced the anti-LGBTQ industry and opened up the doors of his Administration to them and their lies  and "coded language" about "freedom" and "religious liberty."

Because no one has pressed the issue, he has silently but successfully disavowed the LGBTQ community, as if he never promised to be an ally.  He doesn't even attempt to fake progress with us as he does with the African-American community.  Donald Trump's unashamedly open betrayal of the LGBTQ community is an issue central to the dishonesty of his joke of a presidency. And it's not the media's job to be nonchalant or blase about it.

He should be asked about it at least more than once.

Who faked the justification for Trump's anti-LGBTQ healthcare 'conscience' rule?

Roger Severino was behind the creation of the Trump Administration's anti-LGBTQ 'conscience' rule. Now that two courts have struck it down, he needs to be asked who faked the justification for the rule?

For the second consecutive day, a court has ruled against the Trump Administration's anti-LGBTQ healthcare 'conscience ' rule.

From The Hill:

A federal judge in Washington State on Thursday struck down a Trump administration rule intended to allow health providers to refuse to provide care based on moral or religious reasons. The latest ruling marks the second time in as many days that a judge has ruled against the administration's policy, and “provides an extra layer of protection against appeal” by the Trump administration, said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Washington was one of a number of states, cities and advocacy groups — including New York, California, San Francisco, the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood — that had sued over the rule, which was scheduled to go into effect Nov. 22.

Yesterday in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer struck down the rule. In his comments, Engelmayer made a point which needs emphasis - The Trump Administration was not being truthful in justifying the need for the rule.

'99 LGBTQ candidates won elections on Tues' & other Thur midday news briefs

Editor's note - Tuesday's election was a bigger success for our community than I would have imagined. Enjoy the fruits of hard work and let's not rest on any laurels:

At Least 99 LGBTQ Candidates Win Elections as Rainbow Wave Continues

With last night’s election, a ‘rainbow wave’ of 144 LGBTQ candidates have won office this year

Transgender Candidates Won Big in Elections Last Night

Anti-LGBTQ Fairfax school board member loses re-election bid

Court strikes down Trump's anti-LGBTQ healthcare 'conscience' rule

An attack on the LGBTQ health by Trump just got struck down on Wednesday.

From LGBTQNation:

A federal court has struck down a Trump administration rule that allowed health care providers to refuse to treat patients if they cite a sincerely held religious belief. The ACLU and the NYCLU argued on behalf of two public health organizations that a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule violated federal law.

This past May, HHS issued a rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide service if they cite their religious beliefs and punishing health care organizations that don’t allow their workers adequate “religious freedom.” LGBTQ organizations balked at the rule change since queer and transgender people are likely to be on the receiving end of religion-based discrimination. 

Reproductive freedom and public health organizations also sounded the alarm about the rule. Now Judge Paul Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled against HHS, saying that the department overstepped its authority in issuing the rule, which would’ve gone into effect on November 22. 

 The rule, he wrote, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act because it would allow workplace discrimination and also violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, an anti-patient dumping law. Engelmayer also noted that HHS couldn’t show why the rule was needed to protect religious freedom, calling the rule “a classic solution in search of a problem.”

'Danica Roem cruises to easy re-election in VA' & other Wed midday news briefs

Roem defeats Republican challenger - And the best thing? It wasn't even close. Folks need to pay attention to how Roem ran. And never count anyone in our community out. We can run for office and we can win.

Danica Roem, First Trans State Representative, Dedicates Historic Victory to All the “Misfits” - Wonderful!

And apparently, Roem wasn't the only LGBTQ victor:

In other news:

A drug-resistant bacteria is spreading among gay & bisexual men - This a serious problem on two fronts - it endangers our community and gives the anti-LGBTQ an opening to label us again as "health hazards." Don't think they won't try.

Artist Honors Murdered Transgender Woman With Stunning Butterfly Wings - Wow! this is beautiful. 

The boos of October - Trump gets just a little of what he deserves.

Hate group will appeal after court refuses to support its preemptive strike against LGBTQ rights

Anti-LGBTQ hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom is continuing to wage war against our community via the courts:

From Westword:

Conservative Christians were among those thrilled last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop, who had refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. 

Now, Alliance Defending Freedom, the national organization that backed Phillips, is hoping to expand on this victory by way of another Colorado-based case. This time around, the ADF is supporting Lorie Smith, a web designer and owner of 303 Creative, in her fight against what the organization describes as "a state law provision that gags creative professionals from talking about their beliefs when explaining their business decisions." 

The United States District Court in Colorado found against Smith in September 2019. But (in late October), the ADF appealed that decision, potentially setting the controversy on the same path taken by Phillips.

''Straight Pride' is coming to Texas' & other Tue midday news briefs

Alt-right hate group bringing ‘Straight Pride’ to Texas this month - Lawd, help Texas!

New bill includes protection for gender identity, sexual orientation - Good for Michigan!

Vulnerable LGBTQ migrants left to wait in Mexico - Immigration is an LGBTQ issue.

Acclaimed trans documentary gets VOD release - A lot of folks need to see this.

Trump's anti-LGBTQ adoption, foster care policy deliberately sends message of second-class status

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

By now, we all should know about Trump's latest attack on the LGBTQ community, ie allowing faith-based adoption and foster care agencies to receive taxpayer dollars while refusing to work with potential LGBTQ parents. And naturally, Tony Perkins and the rest of our "friends" at the Family Research Council are downright giddy over it

But not giddy enough to not to misdirect about Trump's proposal:

The Trump administration couldn't agree more. And on Friday, the first day of National Adoption Month, HHS kicked off the celebration by announcing a change years in the making. For the first time since Barack Obama, adoption agencies won't have to violate their faith -- or parents' wishes -- in placing kids. Under a new rule proposed by the president's team, faith-based providers will be able to continue to serve their communities in a manner consistent with their religious beliefs. 

That doesn't mean same-sex couples can't adopt children. The liberal media -- and its hysterical headline writers -- would love for you to believe that. But this rule has nothing to do with outlawing gay adoption or discrimination of any kind. The same adoption agencies that matched other families with kids before this bill will still be matching them with kids after. That's because this debate has never been about banning LGBT adoption -- it's about letting everyone operate by their own set of beliefs.

You will notice what's not mentioned in that passage - any justification of LGBTQ tax dollars going to an entity which will discriminate against us. In fact, there is no mention of that conundrum in any part of FRC's piece, even though that is the main objection to Trump's proposal. Try as they might, neither Perkins, nor FRC, nor anyone supporting the proposal can't justify our tax dollars going to entities which will discriminate against us. Therefore they avoid that argument as much as they can.

We shouldn't let them ignore this.  The LGBTQ community shouldn't allow ourselves to be put in a Catch-22 situation in which the narrative is that we have to choose between our rights as taxpayers and the ability of a child to have a family. That's false narrative. We aren't the ones who demanding to have things both ways.  We aren't the ones thinking that we don't have to follow the same rules as everyone else. We are taxpayers and we should be treated with as much dignity and respect as heterosexual taxpayers.  Religion should not be seen as an excuse to steal our monies, because that is what Trump's proposal is - wholesale theft.

To me as a gay man, it's downright humiliating to have an entity refuse to work with me on the basis that it finds my sexual orientation as sinful and then be freely given my hard earned tax dollars as governmental approval of its scorn. It's downright degrading. It's like being spit upon and then forced to fork over cash to the person doing the spitting. Don't be fooled by any spin given by the Family Research Council or any group favoring Trump's policy. It's not about religious liberty. It's about sending a message to the LGBTQ community that no matter how many battles we win or how many of us are out and thriving, we belong in second-class status and don't deserve respect because we aren't "normal."

If religious-based adoption and foster care agencies don't want to work with potential LGBTQ parents, then they shouldn't have their hands out demanding our hard earned tax dollars. If they feel that we are undeserving of their services, they should have the same negative point of view about grabbing our money.

'What's at stake for LGBTQ Americans in the 2020 election' & other Mon midday news briefs

One Year Out: What’s at Stake for LGBTQ Americans in 2020 - There is nothing wrong with being a single-issue voter when that issue happens to be your equality.

Trump administration to allow adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people - I know you probably already heard what happened on Friday but this bullshit bears repeating.

African HIV experts are calling on Uganda to legalise homosexuality - Would be nice, although I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

Why were SCOTUS Justices Alito and Kavanaugh meeting with anti-LGBTQ activist Brian Brown?

What in the world were SCOTUS Justices Alito and Kavanaugh doing meeting with anti-LGBTQ activist Brian Brown? Presently, SCOTUS is mulling over three cases having to do with anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

Something happened last week which raises a question about the possible bias of some SCOTUS justices when it comes to ruling on LGBTQ issues. But hardly anyone is talking about it.

From Quartz:

On Oct. 29, Brian S. Brown, president of the conservative advocacy group National Organization for Marriage (NOMA), tweeted a photo of himself with justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito and boasting about a “great day” at the US Supreme Court. The tweet raised alarm bells for court critics. 

NOMA regularly files amicus briefs with the court, as it already has this term in some of the most controversial cases before the justices. Brown’s organization, as a “friend of the court,” submitted a filing opposing a finding that Title VII, an anti-employment-discrimination statute, protects gay and transgender people.