'Johns Hopkins moving past shadow of transphobic psychiatrist' & other Thur midday news briefs

McHugh

Long shadow cast by psychiatrist on transgender issues finally recedes at Johns Hopkins - An issue which a lot of us aren't familiar with but is still important. It demonstrates how one physician with a personal anti-lgbt bias can cause problems and how the medical community needs to recognize and take action. Paul McHugh has more credibility than infamous junk scientist Paul Cameron. But he is OR WAS just as dangerous to the lives of lgbts. 

Young LGBTI People Are Invisible In Australia's Homelessness Crisis - Reminder that our fight for equality and safety is international.  

Trans Teen Gavin Grimm Slams Trump Policy at Congressional Meeting - "Out of the mouths of babes" indeed. 

 Federal Judge Rules Fair Housing Law Protects Colorado LGBT Couple - Hot damn! Another federal court victory!

  E.W. Jackson: LGBTQ Activists Are ‘Not Satisfied To Go To Hell, They Want To Take The Whole Country With ‘Em’ - Lawd, hammercy!!

Hate group furious that court says civil rights laws protect gays from job discrimination

The Family Research Council is furious at a recent court ruling.

Recently, the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

Existing civil rights laws protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation, a federal appeals court ruled in a historic nationwide first on Tuesday. It is a "common-sense reality," the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held, "that it is actually impossible to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without discriminating on the basis of sex." Specifically, the court held that the sex discrimination ban in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a bar on discriminating against gay, lesbian, or bisexual people. 

 The 8-3 ruling represented a reversal of the court's past decisions on the topic, and makes it the first federal appeals court to rule in favor of protection for sexual orientation-based discrimination under existing federal law. "[A] person who alleges that she experienced employment discrimination on the basis of her sexual orientation has put forth a case of sex discrimination for Title VII purposes," Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote for the full court. The Seventh Circuit covers federal lawsuits out of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The ruling comes on the heels of two other federal appeals court rulings, in which three-judge panels held that prior rulings of the courts made clear that sexual orientation discrimination is not covered under Title VII. Tuesday's ruling, however, was the first time a court had sat en banc — meaning the full court — in hearing such a case. When an appeals court sits en banc, it can review — and reverse — its prior rulings.

It didn't take long after that before the anti-lgbt hate group Family Research Council issued a hysterical disagreement with the ruling, with the usual hurtling of wild accusations without any shred of proof.:

If Congress won't rewrite the law, liberals will find a court who will! That's been the M.O. of the Left for decades: packing the bench with wannabe legislators who'll impose the agendas they could never pass democratically. It worked on school prayer, abortion, and marriage, as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bragged last year. Now, the Left is using the same playbook on the gender debate -- knowing full well that it's the only way they can force their vision on an unwilling America. Fortunately, there are some judges who agree with us that if the Left wants to change the definition of discrimination, it's asking the wrong branch of government. Unfortunately, those judges aren't in the majority on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In a mind-boggling decision yesterday, the judges not only stole Congress's job -- they admitted they were doing it! 

For years, liberals have tried to pass legislation making "sexual orientation" a protected category under the Civil Rights Act -- first with ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and then with the "Equality Act." The House and Senate rejected them every time. They recognized, as we do, that sexual orientation wasn't on the minds of legislators 53 years ago when it was trying to weed out prejudice -- and more importantly, it wasn't in the text of the law that passed! No bother, liberals said. We'll just rewrite the policy through our activist courts. 

And Tuesday, the 7th Circuit was more than willing to comply. "For many years," Chief Judge Diane Wood admitted, "the courts of appeals of this country understood the prohibition against sex discrimination to exclude discrimination on the basis of a person's sexual orientation." So by her own admission, there's absolutely no justification for rewriting the law. Still, she goes on, it's the court's responsibility to take a "fresh look" at its position. And in doing so, she writes, "we conclude today that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination."

FRC is attempting to argue that it disagrees with the court making this decision rather than leaving it up to legislators and Congress. The organization probably is angry over this fact. The rule has the potential to circumvent legislative bodies - places where religious right groups like FRC have success in hindering pro-lgbt laws.

And to me, that's what makes this victory even sweeter. It proves what I said yesterday about why anti-lgbt laws generally fail to get sanction by the courts. Courts are all about fairness and logic, not lies, horror stories, junk science or religious entitlement.

If you can't use logic to sway courts, you generally fail.

'Can childcare welfare system handle trans kids?' & other Wed midday news briefs

Can the Child Welfare System Handle Trans Children? - The first part in a series by Windy City Times and it illustrates that we have enough issues to deal with in our community without interjections from the religious right. Some transgender children may be getting removed from their homes by child welfare agencies simply because their parents are supporting their identities.

North Carolina’s Debacle Reveals How Easily LGBTQ People Can Be Abandoned By Everyone - A cautionary tale for the lgbt community. Don't assume that folks are joining your side simply because they believe in fairness. A little cynicism never hurts and it steels your mind for possible negative futures outcomes.

 STUDY: LGBT Youth Are Disproportionately in Jail - Our kids have a problem, folks.

 LGBT Job Discrimination Is Prohibited by Civil Rights Law, Federal Appeals Court Rules - Sweet! And as an added degree of happiness - IN YOUR FACE, RELIGIOUS RIGHT!!!! 

 Bryan Fischer: ‘The Worst Example Of Cultural Appropriation In History Is The LGBT Community Stealing The Rainbow From God’ - What Bryan Fischer is reduced to . . .

Mississippi attorneys discover difficulty of defending anti-lgbt law

Miss. Gov Phil Bryant

From one of my favorite journalists, Mark Joseph Stern of The Slate, comes an article which accentuates how difficult it is to defend an anti-lgbt law. Stern's article, Mississippi’s Anti-LGBTQ Lawyers Are Gaslighting Their Opponents in Court, looks at the difficulties the attorneys are having defending that state's anti-lgbt 'religious liberty' law in front of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals:

Have the lawyers defending Mississippi’s anti-LGBTQ bill actually read their own statute? 

This question loomed large over hearings here on Monday at the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Civil rights attorneys challenging the Mississippi statute, HB 1523, argue that it promotes certain religious beliefs over others and legalizes discrimination against LGBTQ people. That reading would seem to be reasonable, since the bill explicitly states that anti-gay and anti-trans beliefs receive special legal protection, and allows anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, medical treatment, public accommodations, adoption, and marriage licensing. But when Roberta Kaplan, a Paul, Weiss attorney arguing against the law, raised this point in court, her opponent, Jonathan Mitchell, contested it. 

“This statute has been mischaracterized so many times,” Mitchell told the court with a weary sigh. He insisted that a public school teacher who promotes anti-gay beliefs in a second-grade classroom could be re-assigned under HB 1523. Judge Catharina Haynes, one of the 5th Circuit’s sharpest judges, looked puzzled. 

“Why?” she asked. After all, the law bars the government from taking any “adverse employment action” against state employees for promoting anti-LGBTQ beliefs. Mitchell responded that the school could create a “neutral policy” barring schoolteachers from espousing political views in school. But that would not solve the problem at all. Even if a school passed such a policy, it would be barred under HB 1523 for punishing a teacher who violated it so long as they did so by endorsing anti-LGBTQ views. The text of the law is absolute: There are no exceptions and no balancing of interests.

Here is a more interesting exchange:

Haynes raised another concern: that HB 1523 allows restaurants to eject same-sex couples. Mitchell responded that serving these couples wouldn’t constitute a “recognition” of their marriage under the law. “What about a rehearsal dinner for a same-sex couple?” Haynes asked. Mitchell scoffed. 

A rehearsal dinner? At a restaurant?” he responded incredulously. Yes, Haynes said, informing Mitchell, perhaps for the first time in his life, that not all couples conduct rehearsal dinners in swanky hotel ballrooms. Mitchell hedged, equivocated, and dodged, informing Haynes that the court had to “defer to the state’s reasonable construction.” 

Before we continue, a brief word about this line of argument. Federal courts are, indeed, required to defer to a state’s interpretation of its statutes. But the state’s attorneys aren’t the ones who do the interpreting. It’s the state’s courts. If a state court rules that HB 1523 doesn’t allow discrimination, the federal courts must rely upon that interpretation. But if a state’s lawyer says so on the fly with absolutely no evidence or legal authority, the federal courts owe him no deference. Haynes pointed this out to Mitchell, reminding him, “Your interpretation of the law is not binding on a judge. A judge isn’t bound by what you told me.” Mitchell responded with the most jarring line of the day, telling Haynes that if a state judge interprets HB 1523 incorrectly, he should be “impeached.” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod leaned forward with a shocked expression. “If a judge interprets something incorrectly,” she asked with evident alarm, “we should impeach them?” 

Mitchell broke into a laugh, realizing how badly he had erred. “No!” he said. “Not you!” Then he reiterated his main point: HB 1523 is not “a license to discriminate.”

The religious right, while being successful in getting the public to vote the way they want or getting lawmakers to create certain bills,  have failed time and time again to get the courts to ratify their mess with a favorable ruling.

And why is that? Simply because, to paraphrase the words of David Boies, the attorney who successfully argued against Prop 8, the courts are places of logic. You can't sway judges with lies, junk science, or anecdotal horror stories like you can with the public. You can't work with judges like you can with politicians. Judges aren't your friends or allies. You can't make public appearances with them or give them cheesy awards praising their "values."

Judges are supposed to uphold the Constitution and impartially rule for fairness. And in cases such as with sodomy laws, gay adoption, and even marriage equality, the best lies of the religious right fell because they didn't pass the muster of truth.

And in the end, that line, however seemingly thin, may continue to be strong enough to hold the religious right at bay.

'Trump ally has homophobic meltdown at Congressman focusing on Russia connection' & other Tue. midday news briefs

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How Mike Pence mistreats the lgbt community more important conversation than relationship with wife

Last week, it was revealed that Mike Pence won't dine alone with a woman other than his wife. Naturally this led to a lot of speculation in the mainstream press or praise from the religious right about either Pence's supposed extreme ideas about marriage and women or his "piety" and "fidelity."

I simply don't care. Maybe there can be some type of discussion pulled from  Pence's relationship with his wife, However, I think people should be talking about his  mistreatment of the lgbt community throughout his political career -  from supporting a constitutional amendment which would bar us from marrying to opposing a law which would keep us from being discriminated against in the workplace.

There are so many examples of how Pence has attacked or demonized the lgbt community in the past. Probably one of the most memorable incidents happened in 2015 when he, as governor of Indiana, wouldn't say if he opposed discrimination against the lgbt community. A simple "yes" or "no" shouldn't have been difficult.

But it was for Pence:



 I don't care how Pence treats his wife. But I do care that he doesn't treat the lgbt community like we are worthy of equality.  That should be where the concern lies. And what the conversation should be about.

''Moonlight' big winner, Trump big loser at GLAAD Media Awards' & other Mon. midday news briefs

The first half ceremony of the 28th annual GLAAD Media Awards was held Saturday in Los Angeles. The big winners included Oscar winning movie 'Moonlight,' while another Oscar winner, Patricia Arquette and singer-songwriter, actor, and Youtube sensation Troye Sivan received the Vanguard and Stephen F. Kolzak awards.  And Trump got properly "read." The second half ceremony of the GLAAD Media Awards will be held on May 6 in New York.  Will the third time be the charm for this blog as it vies for 'Outstanding Blog?' Hopefully so:

GLAAD Awards to Trump: 'Meryl Was Too Easy on You' - Don't act shocked. Lgbtqs and allies getting together for a huge awards ceremony. You know Trump was going to be in our sights. 

 In other news:  

Young People Are More Likely To Be Openly LGBT, But They're Leaving Traditional Labels Behind - I LOVE this!

 Beyond the bathroom bill, more legislation raises worries - Alright, Texas. Stop acting up. 

What You Need to Know About Mississippi’s HB1523, Considered by the 5th Circuit on April 3rd - Siiiigh! Keep your fingers crossed.

And now a word about 'Identity Politics'

Personally, I think "identity politics" is a phrase which demonstrates how too much of the American media is white, heterosexual, and male oriented.  If there is no diversity in the faces we see telling us the news, naturally the important issues affecting those who don't fit in the above categories are shuffled off into some box of "odds and ends," as if they are trifles instead of pertinent problems.

That's my take on it, but Boris Dittrich in The Advocate has an equally wonderful look on the difficulty of us so-called minorities (African-American, lgbtq, etc.) have in getting our concerns looked at seriously instead of sidebars. There is an excerpt from his piece, Identity Politics Forever:

LGBT activists advocate for equal rights and nondiscrimination. They do not claim special or extra rights. They aspire to a society where LGBT people are not bullied at work or in school and have the same relationship rights as others do. Equality and nondiscrimination are values that concern everyone in society. They require a robust defense. Because the values of human rights depend foremost on the ability to empathize with others — to recognize the importance of treating others the way we would want to be treated — they are especially vulnerable when the argument of the majority versus minorities is invoked.  

 Politics that stops talking about minority rights on the theory that upholding them is “divisive” or makes it harder to win over majority voting blocs, will only lead to a more fragmented society, not bring people together. Instead political leaders should make clear that rights are not a zero-sum game — protecting my rights does not undermine yours. On the contrary, it creates a framework we can all rely on if our rights come under threat.

'92 reasons to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility' & other Fri midday news briefs

92 Gorgeous Photos That Show What It Really Means To Be Trans - Ninety-two reasons to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility (with the proviso that there are so many more reasons.)  

"Never Give Up": Trans People Share Messages Of Love And Support For Trans Day Of Visibility - Never forget your value and never allow other people to reduce your worth.  

N.C. governor ‘threw the LGBT community under the bus’- Yes he did. No one is happy with that jacked up, screwed up HB2 "repeal." 

The decades-old anti-gay illogic used to demonize transgender people - What I have been saying consistently. The same crap used to demonize gay men is now being using to demonize transgender men and women. The same technique, the same reliance on easily debunked anecdotal stories, the same appeal to people's basic prejudicial ignorance. . .  

Arkansas 'bathroom bill' dead for session, to be studied - For now. Let's not celebrate yet.  

These Photos Posted By People Of Color In Love Make A Beautiful Point - Let's end today's news briefs on a positive note.

Lies about elderly transgender men & women a new, but not unexpected low for religious right

One fact which is consistent with religious right attacks on the lgbtq community is their reliance on boogeymen and horror stories. Anti-lgbtq groups and personalities are always invoking horrible semantics and ugly images of anecdotal stories (usually lies) about what would happen if any bill or action helping our community is advanced.

Anita Bryant was really the first to do this when she claimed in the 70s that a pro-gay law would allow gay men to "recruit" children. This claim was the root of her successful campaign to overturn a pro-gay law in Florida. Since then, this line of attack has been used by the religious right in opposing everything pro-lgbtq from non-discrimination ordinances to marriage equality.

But there is another boogeyman they are using. Via the hate group American Family Association's fake news service One News Now:

Some California legislators are taking another step to make sure transgendered individuals are accommodated by young and old – this time affecting nursing homes. California Senator Scott Wiener (D) has introduced SB 219, the California LGBT Seniors Long-Term Care Bill of Rights, for members of the LGBT community in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Karen England, head of Capitol Resource Institute in Sacramento, tells OneNewsNow the bill would invade the privacy of everyone in retirement communities "when a transgender wants to come and room with them or shower with them." 

 Columnist John Stewart describes SB 219 as "buffoonery" and says while it contains several provisions most evangelicals wouldn't consider objectionable, it does contain a "glaring" provision that forces employees of long-term care facilities to "use the resident's preferred pronoun." Stewart also points out it's not the first time California has forced the ideology on a vulnerable group. England agrees. England "They [promoted] mandating it in schools, kindergarten through 12th grade," she says. "Now they're mandating it with the elderly who are having to be cared for and who were trusting these facilities to make sure our grandparents and older siblings are taken care of."

Seriously, folks? Spinning tales about horror stories about elderly transgender  men and women? That's  beyond low.

The problem with refuting this is the same as refuting  horror stories about gay men and children. The difficulty lies with the execution of refutation. We have got to start calling these groups, personalities, and lies out in a wider form instead of fighting singular battles. Isn't always convenient that they have an excuse to oppose every pro-lgbtq law, ordinance, and action? And isn't it always convenient that their "reasons" involve horror stories and anecdotal evidence of mayhem, which often doesn't become reality.

So why do we fight every time they come at us with this mess as a singular battle? How often do we call general attention to the tactic they are using?

How often does anyone of us or our spokespeople who have great media exposure say something like, "Look, these groups and people are always bringing up stories about gay or transgender boogeymen. They know that a religious argument alone won't win it for them so they constantly conjure up these lies designed to mess with people's heads, appeal to their egos, or give them false reasons to oppose pro-lgbtq legislation so they don't have to admit to their own homophobia. It's all they got and they know it. They also know that what they say are lies. It's no different than racists claiming that black men live for ravishing white women. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if they hide behind religion, it doesn't matter if it's  about schools, nursing homes, bathrooms, or anything else. We are dealing with organizations and people who are out to hinder the lgbtq community and have no problem with lying to do it because they've have lied so many times in the past with a straight face and clutching the mantle of their so-called religious beliefs."

Now how hard is it to say that and to consistently push that argument until we have a grounds for a fair conversation (for a change) when it comes to this so-called culture battle?
 . . .

'HB2 'repeal' bill not genuine repeal' & other Thur midday news briefs

North Carolina Senate Approves Bill To Repeal HB2, Despite Objections From LGBTQ Groups - There are objections because it is actually no deal. It's not worth the paper it would be written on. Hold firm for full repeal. No deal. 

North Carolina attempts bait-and-switch with NCAA, pushes new anti-LGBT bill - Zack Ford of Think Progress nails it.  

It’s a first: Johns Hopkins loses points with HRC for anti-LGBTQ stance - Meanwhile, doing what needs to be done to stop the flow of anti-lgbq junk science.  

Wolves in the hen house: Look who Texas recruited to promote its bathroom bill - The trillionth and one reason why it is NEVER a good idea to ignore anti-lgbtq groups. They can sneak alliances with your state legislators. 

 Numerous Anti-LGBT Adoption Laws Are Popping Up Across The Country - Tell me how this isn't about hate. I double dog dare you!

'Gays for Trump' depresses the 'gay' out of me

Not every gay person is upset that the Trump Administration won't include questions of sexual orientation and gender identity from the 2020 census, and thereby rendering the lgbtq community somewhat invisible.

A group on Twitter, 'Gays for Trump', is ecstatic.

First of all, is this even an actual group? If so, I apologize in advance for how angry or depressed the following twitter exchange between me and them will make you feel:

I didn't receive an answer back from the group. I would like to think that whoever is in charge of their twitter feed  read what I had to say and had an epiphany of shame. That epiphany of shame subsequently will lead him to resign his membership in such an ugly self-defeating group and he will be  dedicating his life to the advancement of all lgbtq people.

Of course I would also like to think that Rob Kardashian is my love slave and I have a feeling that I have a better chance of Rob calling me "big daddy" than anyone in the 'Gays for Trump' group recognizing their own ignorance.

'Trump creating subtle but disastrous policies against lgbt community' & other Wed midday news briefs

Anyone believing that Trump is pro-lgbt is a SERIOUS dunce.

It would seem that over the past day and a half, the Trump Administration has been making quiet, albeit, disastrous policy decisions against the lgbt community. Do you think it's to distract from the ever growing Russia controversy? There is no telling but if it is, distracting everyone's attention by attacking the lgbt community is a stupid move. You know how we are. We'll screw with Trump so bad that he will be confessing about Russian interference on twitter JUST to get us off of his ass.

Trump Signs Executive Order Giving Federal Contractors License to Discriminate Against LGBT Workers - UGH! 

Trump revokes executive order, weakens protections for LGBT workers - Why the above move is dangerous to the lgbt community. 

 The U.S. Won’t Tally LGBT People In 2020 Census - He did this yesterday . . .  

Trump and Pence want to slash $350 million from HIV/AIDS prevention budgets - Meanwhile, he and Pence wants to gut HIV/AIDS funding.  

Christians are angry Vimeo took down a 'gay cure therapy' channel - My heart BLEEDS for these fake ass Christians.  

Texans' Bob McNair against Texas bathroom bill - All eyes are on Texas where a powerful man can help to sink a very transphobic bill.

Hate group humiliates itself with 'Disney and gay agenda' article

Peter LaBarbera thinks Disney is pushing a 'gay' conspiracy

Angry at the runaway success of the live-action 'Beauty and the Beast' movie in spite of a religious right boycott over the introduction of a gay character, anti-lgbt hate group American Family Association, via its fake news publication One News Now, has published an "expose" on the Disney corporation in general.

According to One News Now, Disney is part of a conspiracy to push the (cue the solemnly dreadful music) "gay agenda."

As the “gay moment” in Disney’s current box office hit Beauty and the Beast continues to shock evangelicals and social conservatives across America who have boycotted the film – believing it is kicking off an LGBT propaganda campaign – many do not realize that Disney has been aggressively promoting homosexuality for nearly two decades. From The Little Mermaid animated sensation that hit theaters decades ago to the more recent Finding Dory and popular animated TV series Stars vs. the Forces of Evil, Disney has been promoting forms of homosexuality on the big and small screen – and even off the screen.

One News Now's "expose" doesn't say as to how 'The Little Mermaid' or 'Finding Dory' is pushing any "gay agenda." The piece seems to be obsessed with focusing on a 1998 incident in which former CEO Michael Eisner allegedly claimed that 40 percent of Disney employees were gay.

'Hate group accuses Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tom Hanks, & Alec Baldwin of pushing 'aggressive gay agenda'' & other Tue midday news briefs

Anti-lgbt hate group accusing Amy Poehler and Tina Fey of pushing 'gay agenda.'

Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler accused of pushing an ‘aggressive gay agenda’ - The anti-lgbt hate group Liberty Counsel have accused Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Alec Baldwin of pushing an "aggressive gay agenda" because they are supporting a telethon for the American Civil Liberties Union. I have one question - why can't gay men keep their mouths shut. I mean that's four spies whose covers are blown! #snark 

School Pulls Book About Gender Non-Conforming Kid After Backlash - Meanwhile, those books about a wolf eating a little girl with interesting fashion sense, a blondie breaking and entering a house owned by three bears, and the juvenile living in sin in the forest with seven coal miners will remain. Come on folks. The child is simply wearing a dress. I mean is that so bad?! 

How a Gay Employee Fought Horrific Discrimination and Won a Major Legal Victory - Good for him! I hope he wins.

 Debunking the New Atlantis Article On Sexuality And Gender - Siiiigh! As usual, the anti-lgbtq right is always trying to sneak in a fake study on us.

Franklin Graham called out for homophobia & Trump hypocrisy

Charlotte Observer writer calls out Franklin's hypocrisy.

I hate it when I nearly miss good posts calling out the religious right, such as this one. Over a month ago, Issac Bailey of The Charlotte Observer called out Franklin Graham in a wonderful column Franklin Graham's God isn't mine; is he yours? 

The column blasted Franklin's hypocrisy  about Donald Trump and manic devotion to linking Christianity to conservative politics. Over a month later, it's still causing a buzz.  Check out this snippet:

I am a Christian, born and raised in a Christian family, a man who attended a conservative Christian church for nearly two decades and had my kids dedicated there. But I do not serve the God Graham serves. His God is vengeful and petty. His God favors the already-privileged and doesn’t mind condemning the already-marginalized. His God prefers preserving tradition to saving lives, or even souls. His God wouldn’t care much about the findings in a new study from Johns Hopkins’ School of Public Health, which showed that gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers have been less likely to try to kill themselves in states that embraced gay marriage.  

.  . . It has always fascinated me that a God who Graham says is never-changing always finds a way to morph in ways that seem to parallel shifts in the Republican Party. The GOP targeted abortion in the 1970s; Graham’s God has been condemning abortion since. The GOP decided to view transgendered Americans as a grave threat to the social order; lo and behold, now so does Graham’s God. After the GOP says a thrice-married adulterous man caught on video bragging about casually sexually assaulting women – after spending years elevating a bigoted conspiracy about the nation’s first black president – is the perfect standard bearer for the party of values voters, Graham’s God miraculously sees past sins for which Donald Trump never repented and elevates him to the highest office in the land. 

'Trump's actions greenlighting the harassment of transgender children' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Trump is greenlighting the harassment of transgender kids - "Make America Great Again," my ass. In the future when some folks vote, they need to think of all of the possible repercussions:

“Ever since Trump rescinded the guidance, I’ve been harassed and bullied and yelled at in the halls,” said Howard, a sophomore at Ozark High School in southwest Missouri. “I have been declared not a person. I am an ‘it.’” Howard, a transgender boy, says he had been using the boys’ bathroom at his public high school since the beginning of the school year without any problems. But that changed last month, when the Trump administration reversed Obama-era guidelines affirming transgender students’ right to use the bathroom in line with their gender identities. One day later, Howard says, he was chased into a bathroom stall by another boy, who banged on the door and yelled in the halls that there was a woman in the wrong bathroom. As he sees it, the timing of the incident was no coincidence. 

This Video About A Dad’s Acceptance Of His Lesbian Daughter Will Hit You Right In The Feels - I LOVE this . . . and I know you will too. 

 North Carolina’s anti-LGBTQ law is costing the state’s economy hundreds of millions a year - And those who don't learn the lesson from this will no doubt repeat it.

 In West Virginia, LGBTQ advocates see a shift toward support - Hope for the future. 

Anti-LGBT Doc Paul McHugh: I Will Not Be Silenced - And neither. will. we. You damn right we are an army because people like you have been getting away with your trash for too long.

Family Research Council fails to clean up sleaze of its attack on transgender children

Yesterday, the anti-lgbt hate group Family Research Council exploited the alleged rape of a Maryland high school student in order to smear transgender children. Now the organization is attempting to play a pathetic form of defense for the offending post:

In a follow-up to yesterday's Update story on the Rockville High School tragedy, a handful of critics have accused FRC on social media of somehow exploiting the rape to advance our privacy agenda. In their opinion, if anyone saw the 14-year-old girl go into the boys' bathroom, they would have reported it. However, one of the defense attorneys told Fox News's Bret Baier last night, "This is a bathroom in the middle of the day, where it doesn't appear that she was screaming or that anybody heard anything going on. And there were other kids that apparently saw her going in..." We may never know what role the district's transgender bathroom policy played in this horrible incident. But we do know one thing: it's just one more obstacle to ensuring the safety of students like this one.

On the risk of sounding egotistical, the "handful of critics" FRC alluded to may have been just little ole me. For one thing,  I published a post last night calling out the group for the same reason it cites in the above supposed clarification.  For another thing, a quick investigation by myself failed to find any other blog or news source who called out FRC.

The organization's attempt to clarify its post is simply pathetic. Notice how  FRC alters its description of the incident.

FRC yesterday:

Headlines about school bathrooms have become pretty commonplace over the last year, but there was nothing common about what happened in Rockville, Maryland. In a horrifying story that's rocking the nation, a young 14-year-old girl was walking down the hallway when two older students in her class allegedly grabbed her, dragged her into the boys' bathroom, and took turns raping her.

FRC today:

In a follow-up to yesterday's Update story on the Rockville High School tragedy, a handful of critics have accused FRC on social media of somehow exploiting the rape to advance our privacy agenda. In their opinion, if anyone saw the 14-year-old girl go into the boys' bathroom, they would have reported it.


What happened to the "grabbing" and "dragging?"

But the central point I was making is that FRC was extremely sleazy in not only exploiting the incident, but how it exploited the incident. And I stand by my point because of FRC's  ridiculous statement today:

We may never know what role the district's transgender bathroom policy played in this horrible incident. But we do know one thing: it's just one more obstacle to ensuring the safety of students like this one.

That's not true because we do know.  The district's trans-inclusive policy played NO PART in the incident.  Furthermore, there was no reason to introduce the policy into debates about the incident until the Family Research Council attempted to slip it in.

But exploitation, fear, and scapegoating never needs a reason, right FRC?

'Trump picks anti-lgbt activist to lead civil rights office' & other Fri. midday news briefs

Severino

Trump taps anti-LGBTQ activist Roger Severino to lead HHS Civil Rights Office - And the award in the category of 'ARE YOU #!@^ KIDDING ME!' goes to . . .

Adoption bill stalls in Georgia after anti-LGBT amendment added - Poison pill poisons a bill (yeah, I know. It's a corny rhyme.)

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal opposes anti-LGBT provisions to adoption bill - And IF that bill gets un-stalled, it continues to face problems. 

Social Conservatives’ ‘Free Speech Bus’ Vandalized in NYC - THIS is depressing. Not defending any type of vandalism here, but that's really the reason WHY this project was formed - to get a reaction and to get those reacting to act foolish, publicize the foolishness to generate press and funds by playing the victims. The organization behind this, the National Organization for Marriage, have used this tactic on so many occasions and unfortunately it always works.

Rick Perry Is Challenging Texas A&M’s Election Of Its First Gay Student Body President - Go ahead, Rick. Make people remember THE COMMERCIAL.

Family Research Council exploits rape incident to smear transgender children

FRC's latest attack on transgender youth is especially vile.

Just when one thinks the anti-lgbt hate group Family Research Council reached the zenith of bad taste in its desire to attack the lgbt community, the organization reveals that it can go to another level:

Headlines about school bathrooms have become pretty commonplace over the last year, but there was nothing common about what happened in Rockville, Maryland. In a horrifying story that's rocking the nation, a young 14-year-old girl was walking down the hallway when two older students in her class allegedly grabbed her, dragged her into the boys' bathroom, and took turns raping her. Later, after the arrests, police explained that the young men, who were enrolled as ninth graders despite being 17- and 18-years old, never should have been in the country in the first place.  

 According to reports, both boys crossed the Mexican border illegally last year. And although they were taken into custody by border control, they were allowed to move to relatives' homes until their deportation hearings. Last night, at a packed PTA meeting, parents were furious that more hadn't been done to protect students. "There are a lot of people here that maybe don't belong here," one said. "They haven't been checked out and I really need to know that my kids are safe." Others complained that the school admitted the students in the first place. Administrators were in damage control mode, explaining that the Supreme Court forbid schools from denying education based on a person's immigration status. Still, one attorney said, "There were long speeches from the principal, from the superintendent, from others who were associated with them explaining why this could never have happened when it did. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound to cure it."  

 Outside, members of the community held signs that read, "Safety for students" -- a rallying cry that's been on parents' minds since President Obama made school bathrooms and locker rooms a sexual free-for-all last spring. Suddenly, areas that should be safe and private aren't. And while school officials promise that they're more vigilant in monitoring the school, transgender policies like these only make that job more difficult. Some liberals argue that letting boys into the girls' bathroom isn't a big deal. But who knows if, in Montgomery County Schools where Obama's policy is in effect, someone saw this girl go into the boys' bathroom and didn't say something because of it?  

Administrators told Rockville parents to remind their kids that if they "see something inappropriate, they should immediately tell a staff member." That becomes infinitely more difficult when what's inappropriate has already been normalized! In the county's own guidelines, students are told to "foster understanding" -- code for students to look the other way when something seems amiss. Maybe a bystander would have been told, as the Pennsylvania junior was when he saw a girl in the boys' locker room, to "tolerate" it.
 As I told members of the Texas Senate, who, like 12 other states, are doing everything they can to restore some semblance of safety to bathrooms, policies like Montgomery County's are dangerous. They ignore the deterrent value of the ordinary citizen empowered to sound the alarm when something appears out of place -- like a biological male in a girls' bathroom. Students may be less willing and less likely to "say something if they see something" out of fear they would be accused of "gender identity discrimination." Regardless of the circumstances, schools should be rushing to remove any obstacle that stands in the way of students and safety. It's what parents expect, and what children deserve.

At no point am I attempting to minimize the awful situation regarding that young girl, but it's incredibly tacky for FRC to exploit the incident. FRC is saying that jf transgender youth were allowed to use locker rooms and bathrooms which correspond to their desired gender identity, it would make other students so confused that they wouldn't be able to report seeing a young girl (let's repeat FRC's words describing the incident) grabbed and dragged into a bathroom. FRC is also saying that pro-transgender policies would make it difficult for school officials to keep students safe for this same reason.  This is a ludicrous argument. Its inanity is best emphasized by this line

But who knows if, in Montgomery County Schools where Obama's policy is in effect, someone saw this girl go into the boys' bathroom and didn't say something because of it?  

The child didn't go into the boys' bathroom. She was dragged in. It stands to reason that if anyone saw it, they would have reported it regardless of any policy.

FRC's spin is not only a vile attack on our transgender youth, but also one on common sense. Its not surprising, though. Appeals to fears don't require the usage of common sense.

Editor's note - Regarding the incident in Pennsylvania the Family Research Council alluded to, here is the actual situation.

Religious right salivating over possible havoc SCOTUS nominee Gorsuch could cause lgbt community

Gorsuch

According to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch, religious right groups and figures are practically giddy over Trump's SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch. In fact, it's downright disgusting how they are already celebrating the possible negative effect he may have on lgbt equality:

Family Research Council president, Tony Perkins . . . the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, who had been invited to Trump’s announcement of the Gorsuch nomination, noted (accurately) that “conservative groups like FRC are lining up behind Neil Gorsuch’s nomination” and wrote (inaccurately) that Democrats were “having trouble finding anything wrong with the Supreme Court nominee.” Perkins was among other Religious Right leaders putting stock in Gorsuch’s grounding in “natural law,” which they see providing a basis to reject reproductive choice and LGBTQ equality: 

"For so many Americans, who have watched as a handful of justices redefine thousands of years of tradition and natural law, listening to Gorsuch was like a breath of fresh air. Unlike so many judicial activists today, he understands his role. In a world where issues like same-sex marriage and abortion were suddenly discovered in the invisible ink of the Constitution, Gorsuch offered hope that he would not declare what he would “like the [law] to be” but “what it is.”

NOM -  . . .the National Organization for Marriage called Gorsuch “an intellectual giant and proven pro-family conservative who can help transform the Court” and who “has the potential of leading the Supreme Court in a conservative direction for a generation to come.” NOM specifically touted the potential for overturning the Court’s 2015 marriage equality decision: 

The clearest path to reversing that illegitimate decision is, thus, changing the makeup of the Supreme Court. The confirmation of Judge Gorsuch is the first step on that path. Then we need to make sure that the next vacancy on the Court is filled by an originalist judge in the mold of Justice Scalia, as Judge Gorsuch’s background and track record show him to be. 

 Gordon Klingenschmitt - . . .anti-gay activist and former Colorado state legislator Gordon Klingenschmitt slammed LGBTQ groups for raising concerns about Gorsuch’s ruling in Hobby Lobby: “Clearly the homosexual leftists hate religious freedom as much as they hate Neil Gorsuch.” Klingenschmitt posted a picture of Gorsuch fishing with the late Antonin Scalia, adding that Gorsuch “may actually be more conservative than Scalia on issues like de-regulation.”

And all of this is happening in the backdrop of allegations that Trump's people coordinated with Russia to influence last year's presidential elections. How many folks want to bet that there are certain prayers by certain parties asking that Gorsuch be confirmed before the Russia investigation continues 

'Trump Administration turns its back on elderly lgbts' & other Wed. midday news briefs

 

The Trump Administration just eliminated the voices of elderly lgbts from national survey.

Trump Administration Removes LGBTQ Questions From Elderly Survey - It's official and we need to be PISSED about it for a multitude of reasons. 

Trump administration erases LGBT people from survey of older adults - More information on this issue and why it is significant in a terrible way.  Is it too paranoid for me to smell the religious right tentacles in this decision?

 Don’t Be Fooled: Neil Gorsuch Is Having It Both Ways On Gay Marriage - Most likely the newest SCOTUS justice. A product of obstruction and folks refusing to pay attention.  

NOM & Global Culture Warriors Launch Anti-Trans Bus Tour - Doesn't this make you feel nauseous?

 This Gorgeous Photo Series Crushes Stereotypes About Black Masculinity - Destroying stereotypes about black masculinity is something which interests me A LOT.

Anti-lgbt hate group playing defense for Trump's false wiretapping claim

By now, I don't think I have to rehash the situation involving Trump's false claim that Obama had him wiretapped last year. Yesterday, FBI Director James Comey became the latest government official to refute it.

However, don't tell that to the anti-lgbt hate group American Family Association or its fake news site, One News Now. You would ruin the organization's attempt to provide credibility to Trump's continuously refuted claim via an article on its site, A quest to stump Trump, not dig for truth. 

The article says that disputing Trump's claim is a part of a conspiracy to harm his presidency (as if he needs the help). The pièce de résistance of this hot mess is the One News Now poll below:

One would think that a group which prides itself on morality wouldn't be so quick to defend the lies of a man who doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "honesty." Perhaps the American Family Association has decided that until Trump gives up that "religious liberty" executive order, the group will kiss his butt and then brag about how it tastes like what was served during The Last Supper.
  

'How Trump transformed the religious right into lapdogs of the alt-right' & other Tue. midday news briefs

The religious right have deserted the guy on the right for the guy on the right.

Amazing Disgrace: How did Donald Trump—a thrice-married, biblically illiterate sexual predator—hijack the religious right? - Probably the best article you will ever read which explains Trump's appeal to the religious right. However, there is one error as far as I'm concerned. Trump didn't hijack the religious right. The way this article breaks this down, it is very appropriate that someone like Trump would become a religious right leader.  Under their  facade of piety was always an appeal to basic prejudice.

Religious Right Rallies ‘Round Trump’s Anti-LGBTQ UN Delegation - Trump appealed to the religious right's need for power.

  The Dangers Facing Trans Women Of Color In 2017 - Siiiigh! 

 Why Neil Gorsuch’s Idea of ‘Religious Liberty’ Is A Direct Threat to LGBTQ Rights - Pay attention. Signorile breaks it down again. 

 Georgia governor slams ‘religious liberty’ change to adoption bill - Trying to slip some evil "religious liberty" junk in GA bill.

Hate group: Pro-lgbtq ordinances means automatic anti-religious discrimination

It would seem that the anti-lgbt hate group Alliance Defending Freedom is taking the fight against pro- lgbt laws a step further. In the past, an incident would happen, such as the case of Melissa and Aaron Klein or Barronelle Stutzman, which would cause strife between pro-lgbt ordinances versus the so-called personally held beliefs of business owners to discriminate against lgbts. But now, ADF is trying to eliminate the "middle man," so to speak.

Via a case in Phoenix, the group is making the claim that pro-lgbt laws and ordinances automatically will lead to religious discrimination, therefore such laws and ordinances shouldn't exist in the first place.

According to the American Family Association's phony news site, One News Now:

Alliance Defending Freedom works to preserve and defend religious freedom, calling it "our most cherished birthright." Toward that end, ADF is representing Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, owners of Brush & Nib Studio in Phoenix who specialize in hand-painting, hand-lettering, and calligraphy for weddings and other events. ADF filed suit on the artists' behalf against a local ordinance that forces the business owners to use their artistic talents to promote same-gender "wedding" ceremonies. 

 The ordinance also forbids them – under threat of fines and jail time – from publicly stating religious beliefs that might "imply" anyone would be "unwelcome" in their business because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco tells OneNewsNow the lawsuit is designed to temporarily block enforcement until a full hearing can be held on the ordinance, which could force Duka and Koski to violate their faith.

Duka and Koski filed their case in May of last year with the help of the ADF as sort of a first salvo. According to ThinkProgress, it didn't go well for them:

With support from the anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski, co-owners of the Brush & Nib calligraphy studio, filed suit in May challenging Phoenix’s ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public accommodations. Though they have not yet been asked to provide invitations or other designs for a same-sex wedding, they want to overturn the law so that their eventual refusal to do so won’t be illegal. 

 . . .Judge Karen Mullins rejected the artists’ claim that being required to serve same-sex couples violated their freedoms of speech and religion. She denied them a preliminary injunction as the case proceeds, sending a not-so-subtle hint that their pro-discrimination claims aren’t going to get very far. ADF had argued that if Brush & Nib is forced to create products that are used in a same-sex wedding, it would constitute compelled speech. Mullins countered that “the only thing compelled by the ordinance is the sale of goods and services to persons regardless of their sexual orientation.” Duka and Koski are perfectly free to publicly state their religious views concerning same-sex marriage and same-sex sexual activity — so long as they don’t publicize an intention to discriminate in their business.

Since that time, religious and conservative publications have been pushing Duka and Koski as martyrs for their faith, making sure to emphasize the possibility that the two could go to jail, while pushing a false idea that the religious liberty argument is about "Christians" vs. lgbts.:

Christian Artists Threatened With Fines and Jail Time for Refusing to Make Gay Wedding Invitations

Christian Artists Could Be Fined, Jailed for Refusing to Make Same-Sex Wedding Invitations

The War On Wedding Vendors Is Ultimately A War On Free Thought

Christian Artists Face Prison for Refusing to Make Gay Wedding Invitations

 In reality, this "religious liberty" argument is about a group of people bogarting a religion and exploiting it to excuse their personal biases and false entitlements. Today's article in One News Now is simply more of that same bluster and balderdash. And bear in mind that neither woman is in any danger of going to jail. As far as it is known, to this day, no gay person has come to their business asking for wedding services.

Even so, the case is going in front of an Arizona appeals court, so we will be hearing about it again. It's cases like this which have religious right groups and personalities practically salivating when thinking of what type of judges Trump could appoint to the bench.

'Anti-transgender law being blamed for Duke's upset loss in NCAA tournament' & other Mon. midday news briefs

NC's anti-transgender law is being blame for Duke's NCCA upset loss.

Here’s Why Some Irate Duke Fans Blamed Team’s Upset Loss on North Carolina’s ‘Bathroom Law’ - Duke University was predicted to win the NCAA championship but got upset last night by the University of South Carolina. And some Duke fans are blaming NC's anti-transgender law, HB2. Well this is interesting. 

Duke Got Burned By North Carolina's HB2 Bathroom Law - Another article on the matter. This sounds like the making of an anti-HB2 argument. EXCELLENT!  

A roaring hit! Beauty And The Beast smashes U.S. weekend box office records with staggering $170m debut - So much for THAT religious right boycott.

 Trump Administration Proposes Eliminating LGBT Elders from Key Federal Survey - A press release on a vital danger to our lgbt elderly citizens. This cannot happen!  

North Texans Head To Austin To Rally For LGBTQ Rights - Wonderful, cause they are acting screwy in Texas. Big time.

  YouTube apologizes for hiding LGBTQ users’ videos in its Restricted Mode - Alright youtube, Don't be foolish.

This just in - 'transgender bathroom predators' is STILL a myth

The following graphic is courtesy of a Media Matters 2014 investigation. Though it is almost three years old, I'm secure in saying that it remains accurate. And a reminder about truth never hurts:

'Supreme Court Justice Alito whines that lgbts are treating conservative Christians like 'bigots'' & other Friday midday news briefs

By not calling attention to propaganda like this pushed by the religious right, lgbts have allowed ourselves to be portrayed as the villains in this supposed 'culture war.'

Supreme Court Justice Alito: Gays treat conservative Christians ‘as bigots’ - Don't get mad at Alito for pushing this idea. The way he has inaccurately phrased the fight over lgbt equality is our fault because we have allowed folks like him to push this idea that lgbts are "intolerant" to conservative Christians without a loud and vigorous challenge. We have allowed the religious right to omit the many lies they have told about our lives, our families, and our marriages. We have allowed them to omit their history of telling lies about lgbts supposedly recruiting children, about how we are supposedly persecuting Christians, or about how we supposedly live a "dangerous lifstyle." We don't call attention to their reliance on junk science or cherry-picking of legitimate science. We don't make an issue out of any of this stuff. By pretending we are above challenging this stuff and playing the mamby-pamby game of "winning hearts and minds" without focusing any attention or showing any righteous indignation about the lies told about us and basically avoiding the issue of anti-lgbt propaganda instead of confronting it head on, we have allowed people like Alito and organizations like the Family Research Council and the American Family Association to control the argument. It's time we stop fighting on their terms. Of course I've said that for a number of years . . . 

Speaking of which:  

How They See Us: Unmasking The Religious Right War on Gay America - The above news brief introduces a perfect opportunity for me to showcase the free online booklet I published in 2013. I made mention of the many ways religious right groups and organizations use propaganda to degrade our community and to make us look like the bad guys. What I am talking about is all in this booklet. I'm going to keep on promoting it until folks get the message that we need to make noise about the lies used against us. 

 In other news:  

Alabama House passes anti-gay adoption bill despite protest by lesbian lawmaker - The Alabama House of Representatives passes a bill allowing faith-based organizations to have access to state grants and contracts even if they discriminate against gay parents. A proponent of this bill says he is trying to show respect to religious organizations. What about the respect which should be given to lgbt taxpayers. No organization who will discriminate against gay parents and lgbts in general have a right to lgbt tax dollars or anything paid for in part by lgbt tax dollars.
 

March is Bisexual Health Awareness Month - Get educated.

Trans Women Shouldn’t Have To Constantly Defend Their Own Womanhood - AMEN!