Jeff Sessions insists Alliance Defending Freedom not a hate group in spite of extensive proof which says otherwise

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (top) insist that the Alliance Defending Freedom (logo at the bottom) is not a hate group in spite of extensive proof which says otherwise.

Wednesday night, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he does not believe that the Alliance Defending Freedom is a hate group even though it has been proven that, among other things, the group has falsely conflated homosexuality with pedophilia and worked to imprison gays in foreign countries simply for being gay.

Sessions said these comments during a speech at the ADF's Summit for Religious Liberty. He also blasted the Southern Poverty Law Center, the organization giving ADF the designation:

"I wanted to come back here tonight partially because I wanted to say this: You are not a hate group," Sessions told attendees (video below) at the ADF's Summit on Religious Liberty, as Towleroad reports. 

 "When I spoke to ADF last year, I learned that the Southern Poverty Law Center had classified ADF as a ‘hate group.’ Many in the media simply parroted that as a fact," Sessions charged. "They have used this designation as a weapon and they have wielded it against conservative organizations that refuse to accept their orthodoxy and choose instead to speak for their conscience and their beliefs. They use it to bully and intimidate groups that fight for religious freedom, these constitutional rights of the American people."

Via  his speech, Sessions performed the modus operandi of ADF and other religious right groups which SPLC have called out, i.e. playing the victim and using the "religious liberty" card in hopes of diverting attention from what caused them to be labeled as hate groups in the first place.

In the case of the Alliance Defending Freedom, the organization has a long history of demonizing the LGBTQ  community, working to undermine LGBTQ equality, and using the force of the law against the LGBTQ community. In his speech, Sessions claimed that SPLC has no proof to back up its claim that ADF is a hate group.

He lied.

SPLC has extensively documented research from the time of the Alliance Defending Freedom's founding to the present, making sure to point the numerous times the group attacked the LGBTQ community.

Hypocrisy and deliberate paranoia defined - Franklin Graham when marriage equality was legalized

As nauseating as the following the video is, there is so much to unpack from this Fox News interview which Todd Starnes conducts with Franklin Graham. It took place three years ago  when marriage equality was legalized.

Three interesting points to make:

1. No pastors have been attacked, put in jail, or forced to perform gay weddings. Of course we knew that wasn't going to happen.

2. The idea of gays targeting so-called Christian businesses was definitely a narrative created by folks like Graham way before all of this ado about "religious liberty." It was, and still remains a way to cover up their sour grapes over the fact that they lost the marriage equality fight.. On the whole, however, that fearmongering about marriage equality bringing in anti-Christian persecution was bull. Of course Starnes and Graham most likely knew that at the time.

3. It's amazing how Franklin Graham went from "America has a moral crisis" back then to the now excuses of Donald Trump isn't "president perfect" and his extramarital affairs are "no one's business." 

Apparently a little power brings out the hypocrisy in some people.

'SPLC refutes Jeff Sessions and his 'religious liberty' task force' & other Wed midday news briefs

Richard Cohen of  SPLC

SPLC refutes Sessions’ comments about hate group designations - When Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his "religious liberty" task force, he made veiled comments attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center for designating several religious right groups as anti-LGBTQ hate group. Earlier week, SPLC president Richard Cohen responded with a two page letter to Sessions which basically says (and pardon the vernacular) "ain't nobody scared of you or your ratchet task force."

You can read the letter here. 

From the archives - 16 reasons why the Family Research Council is a hate group - And because I'm an evil little queen who has been itching for a fight about this issue LONG BEFORE the Southern Poverty Law Center began naming certain religious right organizations as hate groups, here is a post I published in 2011. 

Christine Hallquist May Become America’s First Openly Transgender Governor - Oh! This would be sweet! 

A Republican Lawmaker Seeking Reelection Once Compared Gay People To "Rapists" And Other Criminals - Lovely . . . 

16-year-old is first minor prosecuted by Russian 'anti-gay propaganda' laws - Remember when Franklin Graham said he supported these laws because it would keep gays from "recruiting" children?

Religious leaders calls out hypocrisy of Jeff Sessions' 'religious liberty' task force

How did I miss this?

 Last weekend, religious leaders, Rev. Dr. William Barber and religious speaker, writer, and pastor Jonathan Wilson-Hartgove, appeared on AM Joy and blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions's recently announced 'religious liberty' task force.  Barber, specifically wasn't having it, so to speak. He labeled the idea as hypocrisy in view of Trump's immigration policy. He also said that the task force was only for what he called "Trumpvangelicals."

Also appearing was Robert Jones, CEO with Public Religion Research Institute with some polling data on what people feel about the idea of "religious liberty" as defined by conservative evangelicals, i.e. the right to refuse service to LGBTQs.  Barber was very pointed about how he felt about that concept. He said it was the same rationale that segregationists used against African-Americans.

Hat tip - The New Civil Rights Movement

'Fight over potential SCOTUS justice Kavanaugh heats up LGBTQ equality struggle' & other Tue midday news briefs

Potential SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh

Another US court rules against Donald Trump banning trans people in the military - I NEVER get tired of hearing this.

An LGBT Rights Group Is Arguing Brett Kavanaugh Is A “Direct Threat” To LGBT People - PREACH! 

Anti-gay activists are lobbying Democrats to back Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh - Meanwhile . . .

Transgender Actors Roundtable: Laverne Cox, Chaz Bono and More on Hollywood Discrimination - And they speak the truth back and forth.

Meet the lesbian Native American woman running for Congress in Kansas - And she is a professional MMA fighter, too. Ooooo I hope she wins. 

  Trans LoveLoud Concertgoers Say LGBTQ Festival Lacked Inclusive Bathrooms - Come on, folks. This is highly slack of some in our community.

Buzzfeed: Jeff Sessions, Justice Department keeping secrets about 'religious liberty' task force

Big props to Buzzfeed and journalist Dominic Holden (an acquaintance of mine) for keeping this issue in the public eye. With all of the chaos going on regarding Trump and Russia, the LGBTQ community should still keep our eyes open regarding the Justice Department's "religious liberty" task force.

As Holden writes it, details about the task force, such as who will be members, remains unknown:

Despite the fanfare, however, Justice Department officials haven’t provided basic information about Sessions’ new task force or what it will actually do. 

Who will be on it? When will it meet? Is there an agenda for its meeting? Will its proceedings be open to the public? 

The Justice Department didn’t answer those questions from BuzzFeed News. A DOJ point person for the task force, Jeffrey Hall, referred inquiries to a DOJ spokesperson, who cited a transcript of Sessions' speech and a memo, which also didn’t provide answers. Follow-up questions went unanswered.

With good reason, spokespeople from religious groups which do not embrace right-wing evangelical Christianity are beginning to ask questions:

“My biggest concerns is the lack of transparency and clarity,” Johnathan Smith, the legal director of Muslim Advocates, told BuzzFeed News about the panel's unclear mandate, membership, and agenda. 

“There is a concern that certain Christian and evangelical communities are being brought to the forefront, and others, particularly Muslim communities, are discriminated against and harassed,” he added. “When you create a religious task force and you don’t have that detail and transparency, it raises a lot of questions about whether all communities will benefit from this government action.” 

Lacking details, the panel could be brushed off as little more than a gesture — a bone thrown to the evangelical right before the midterm elections. 

But given the politicized rollout, the task force may instead prove a new vehicle to enforce Sessions’ hardline agenda, sheltered from oversight because it’s housed entirely inside the Justice Department.

Two booklets expose & explain the conservative evangelical war on LGBTQ America

The image of depravity some religious right groups want to force on gay America when they attempt to snatch away our right to do anything else but be oversexed caricatures from their imaginations.

In light of the power given to the anti-LGBTQ evangelical right by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump, it is absolutely crucial that our community understand just what we are fighting against. It goes beyond the so-called idea of religious liberty because that concept is merely the latest in a continuum of false narratives.

Today, groups like the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom claim that their work is about "protecting the rights of Christians." A while back, they claimed that they were "protecting marriage." Before then, it was accusing gays of wanting "special rights" and claiming that homosexuality is a "health hazard." And lurking behind all of these claims is the expressed or alluded to belief  that gays are constantly attempting to "recruit children."

Helping foster this awful lie is homophobia expertly exploited by religious beliefs, the reluctance of the media to dig deeper, and the inability of the LGBTQ community to go on the offensive (whether it be an relying too much on the belief of "moving the movable middle" or getting distracted with collegiate and esoteric terms). We have to get more people to see the constant war waged on the LGBTQ community with the ultimate goal being the undermining of our rights and safety and the erasure of our families and right to self-determination.

With that in mind, I am reposting  two online booklets which I feel breaks it all down in a necessarily simple way.

In 2013, I published a free online booklet which took a short, visual look at how organizations such as the Family Rearch Council and the National Organization for Marriage demonize the LGBTQ community via junk science, cherry-picked science, and outright lies.

How They See Us by Alvin A. McEwen on Scribd

(Editor's note - If you are having a problem reading and/or downloading the booklet, here is a copy from adobe acrobat.)

Alliance Defending Freedom attempting to roll back LGBT right under everyone's noses' & other Fri midday news briefs

The hate group successfully rolling back LGBT rights - I DESPISE this headline because while the Alliance Defending Freedom is trying, we will not allow them to succeed. I am not giving up the game as of yet. And none of you had better be, either. The LGBTQ community has faced it all from awful diseases to deliberate lies, to outright shunning. We have outlasted it all. We outlasted Jesse Helms, Anita Bryant, the National Organization for Marriage and worse. WE WILL NOT LOSE. And I don't give a damn about who is on the Supreme Court. 

States hurt children by shunning parents like me - AMEN! I commend gay parents who step up to talk about what's wrong with giving tax dollars to entities which discriminate against gay families in foster care and adoption. 

Online attempts to connect LGBT equality with pedophilia are vicious hoaxes - An old post of mine which needs to be repeated because some people on Twitter are tripping.

A cis woman got banned from a gym for insulting a trans woman. She thinks she’s the victim.

- Girlfriend, the sista was putting on her make up. She was not bothering you. You came up to her and she ignored you. Then you kept causing problems. You got banned and you deserved it.

 Yelp will now allow pro-LGBTQ businesses to highlight they are ‘open to all' - Wonderful!

Pro-Trump evangelical leaders hoping midterms will allow them to 'occupy' power until 'Jesus comes'

Just in case anyone doesn't understand how important the November midterms election are, allow this video courtesy of Right Wing Watch to persuade you.

 Three pro-Trump evangelicals are plotting what they want to happen in America should the GOP come out of the elections the big winners. And it goes beyond reducing LGBTQ equality. They aren't even attempting to hide their desire for a "non official, but in deed and action" conservative evangelical theocracy:

On today’s episode of the right-wing voter-mobilization series, “Faith for Our Nation,” airing on televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s Believers Voice of Victory network this week, Religious Right pseudo-historian David Barton and right-wing pastor George Pearsons declared that Christians have a “mandate” to help Republicans expand their control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections in order to help radically transform America in the next two years. 

Barton explained that Donald Trump won the 2016 election because evangelical Christians accounted for a larger percentage of the popular vote than in previous elections, saying that if Christians can again increase their percentages in the 2018 elections, “it will not be close.”

'Pro-Trump evangelicals expected to exploit their religion to drive up GOP voter turn out in Nov' & other Thur midday news briefs

Franklin Graham is one of the pro-Trump evangelicals who may try to drive up GOP voter turn out in Nov. Probably via his fake ass 'Decision America' nonsense tours.

These 5 right-wing pro-Trump evangelists are positioned to drive GOP voter turn-out in November - This brings to mind a saying which has been going around currently on the internet - "For years, the religious right have warned about the Anti-Christ. When he finally shows up, they are urging folks to support him. 

Japanese lawmaker says gay marriage will lead to Japan’s ‘decline and ruin’ - Proof that homophobia runs rampant on a worldwide level. They said that same thing in America about marriage equality and none of that junk has yet to have happened.

Religious Liberty Task Force protects only conservative Christians - Yep. Hammer that point continuously.

Jerry Falwell Jr. Tweeted About Jeff Sessions and the Internet Responded by Ruining Him: ‘You’re an Unapologetic Hack’ - Well damn. Sessions set up that nasty 'religious liberty' task force and then Falwell, Jr. goes off on him? I am confused. And not in a happy way. 

NRA’s Dana Loesch Says Sessions Should Fire Anti-Christian Bigots at DOJ - Purging in the name of Jesus. Oh that will go over well.

Stephen Colbert nails Jeff Sessions' 'religious liberty' task force with 'Ghostbusters' parody

 I understand how comedy and poking fun at inane things helps people cope. That being said, I think this is mildly amusing. It should have been a little bit longer.

However, I don't consider what Jeff Sessions and the religious right are doing to be comical in the least. And expect me to raise some serious ass-toasting hell in the future, particularly if this task force steps out of line.  And I am betting that it will.

'GOP anti-LGBTQ adoption amendment could endanger LGBTQ foster children' & other Wed midday news briefs

Republican adoption amendment would hurt LGBTQ foster youth, advocates say - Once more for the folks in the back. Not only is the amendment an affront to gay taxpayers, but it puts LGBTQ foster children at risk. But I guess the religious right and their allies want to erase them too: 

 According to a recent report, California would risk losing nearly $250 million and New Jersey would lose over $25 million. In total, the amendment could cut more than $1.04 billion to state child welfare budgets. Warbelow also claimed the amendment would allow for a greater number of religiously affiliated agencies to subject LGBTQ foster youth to so-called gay conversion therapy. This medically discredited practice, which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, is currently banned in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. 

Hate groups are behind Jeff Sessions’ new ‘religious liberty’ task force - Let's look at the groups specifically behind Jeff Sessions' nasty task force.

Family Research Council already weaponizing Jeff Sessions' 'religious liberty' task force to target SPLC - Post from last night. Targeting the SPLC and probably other groups who oppose them. Luckily, insignificant folks like are immune (they aren't completely bright, are they?) 

Senate Dems Introduce Bill To Include Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity On Census - Damn right. 

Hans How: The Malaysian Gay Man Fighting for His Life, and Many Other LGBT Asylum Seekers - Kudos to a brave man.

Family Research Council already weaponizing Jeff Sessions' 'religious liberty' task force to target SPLC

If you want to know why so many folks are alarmed with Jeff Sessions' so-called religious liberty task force, this tweet sent out today by the Family Research Council should clue you in. Folks on the right are already attempting to weaponize the task force to attack the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"When you've got an organization in the U.S. that is illegitimately targeting groups because of their Christian views and you have agencies in the federal government that are legitimizing that data, that is a recipe for disaster." @GenBoykin @PJMedia_com https://t.co/B9F9cAlX9e

— FRC (@FRCdc) July 31, 2018

The article in question, which contained the following quote from FRC official Jerry Boykin, is nothing but drivel. It is yet another attack on SPLC for accurately designating organizations like the Family Research Council as anti-LGBT hate groups.  What makes this particular situation very problematic is how the article implies that the full weight of the United States Justice Department would fall on SPLC's head under the guise of "protecting religious liberty."

And the drama isn't even about religious liberty or religious beliefs.

Jeff Sessions' conservative evangelical supremacy task force . . . er . . . 'religious liberty' task force is very unpopular' & other Tue midday news briefs

Based on tweets like these, Jeff Sessions'  conservative evangelical supremacy  'religious liberty' task force is very unpopular.

Twitter Rains Hell On Jeff Sessions’ New Religious Liberty Task Force - This picks up my spirits big time. Jeff Sessions' conservative evangelical supremacy 'religious liberty' task force is highly unpopular because no one is fooled about its actual goals. And it has been dragged through twitter. I say we continue to drag it through twitter nonstop.

Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department Promotes Religious Right’s Take On Religious Liberty - Just in case you need more confirmation as to what Sessions and his cohorts in the religious right are attempting . . . 

Justice Department’s new “Religious Liberty Task Force” highlights the agency's troubling ties to Alliance Defending Freedom - Or the hate group helping to force it on America  . . . 

Trump administration says it’s time to stop punishment of anti-gay African countries - Or ways this task force and mess like it will probably harm LGBTQ safety . . . 

 Rude comment at 'Religious Liberty' Summit reveals ignorance & desire to erase LGBTQ taxpayers - Because those pushing this task force don't care about the LGBTQ community. They want to erase our children, our families, and our dignity as taxpayers. 

Our Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Fund an Anti-LGBTQ “Religious Freedom Task Force” - Basically hell yeah. But calling it a “religious privilege task force” is too nice. We need not pussyfoot about this monstrosity of a sham of a mess this task force actually it. It is a Conservative Evangelical Supremacy Task Force.

Rude comment at 'Religious Liberty' Summit reveals ignorance & desire to erase LGBTQ taxpayers

The Heritage Foundation's Emilie Kao's rude comment about gay couples demonstrates her ignorance of history

If you want to pinpoint just how mean spirited and callous the mindset behind the creation of a "religious liberty task force," look no further than comments by one of the speakers at the so-called "religious liberty summit" on Monday which was held to announce its creation:

From Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade:

. . . other speakers on the panel railed against efforts to uphold LGBT rights as they face compromise in the name of religious freedom, including Emilie Kao, director of the Richard & Helen DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society at the anti-LGBT Heritage Foundation. 

Kao was critical of litigation filed by the ACLU against the Michigan law enabling Catholic adoption agencies to refuse placement to LGBT families over religious objections. 

Asserting same-sex couples seeking to adopt face no problem in access to adoption, Kao said the plaintiff in the lawsuit drove past four other adoption agencies to reach St. Vincent’s Catholic Charities, which she said “still holds the belief that they should put every child with a mother and father.” 

“The lesbian couple says they were personally offended by St. Vincent’s not placing a child with them,” Kao said. “I think it’s important for us to recognize that throughout the history of our country and the Supreme Court’s cases, we have always protected the right of people to follow their religious beliefs, and we’ve never protected the right not to have your feelings hurt.”

Kao's callous words was merely another way to evade one of the actual issues of the Michigan case, which is St. Vincent and another adoption agency which discriminates against gay couples, is receiving taxpayer funds. Lots of taxpayer funds:

Documents provided by the ACLU show the state entered into a three-year contract with an option year with Bethany Christian Services for different amounts including up to $6.8 million and with St. Vincent up to for $4.1 million.

Also, I would like to point out just how not only rude, but highly inaccurate Kao's comments were. Perhaps she was attempting to project some false wit or cleverness. What she actually succeeded in doing was to show either her basic or deliberate ignorance of history.

Jeff Sessions, DOJ create task force to promote (anti-LGBTQ conservative Christian evangelical supremacy) . . . er . . . religious liberty

The reality Jeff Sessions and the religious right want to create. They will fail.

In case you haven't realized it, this means war.

The following just happened this morning:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday that the Department of Justice is creating a "religious liberty task force."

Sessions said the task force, co-chaired by Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio and the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy, Beth Williams, will help the department fully implement the religious liberty guidance it issued last year. 

The guidance was a byproduct of President Trump’s executive order directing agencies to respect and protect religious liberty and political speech. Sessions said on Monday that the task force will “ensure all Justice Department components are upholding that guidance in the cases they bring and defend, the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations.”

Do NOT be fooled.

'NBC spotlights GOP attack on LGBTQ families' & other Fri midday news briefs

As evidence supporting LGBTQ families mounts, legal hurdles loom - Thank you NBC for putting the spotlight on the GOP's "religious liberty" anti-gay adoption bill. I still have one problem with the coverage. I know it sounds cold, but I really do believe that how gay taxpayers are erased by this bill should be considered. Children need good families, no matter if they are LGBTQ families or heterosexual families. AND LGBTQ taxpayers shouldn't have to give our hard earned tax dollars to entities which discriminate against us. We are being told that we should pay for a service that we can't have because we are supposedly inferior. If my gay dollars is good enough for an entity to have, then giving me respect should also be a must.

Related post - You don't get to call me a sinner AND help yourself to my gay tax dollars

Catholic Priest Denies Communion to Trans Teen… Because She Was Chewing Gum - Yeah, riiiiiiight.

Why Trump's Putin Fixation Is an LGBT Problem - Trump's existence in the Oval Office itself is an LGBT problem. His Putin fixation only make things worse. 

British teen banned from doing drag in school talent show invited to perform with Drag Race queens - Wonderful! I love a happy ending!

Media Matters exposes the homophobia that hate group Alliance Defending Freedom is hiding

Reading and sharing information like this about hate group Alliance Defending Freedom is vital for the LGBTQ community to win this so-called culture war.

The LGBTQ community will never make any definitive steps in attaining equality unless we publicly acknowledge to that there is a deliberate effort to undermine our safety and dignity as American citizens. And this effort is being undertaken by several religious right groups with deep pockets and very little scruples for being honest.

Our battle is not with religious beliefs in general nor ordinary individuals. Our battles are with groups and personalities who work diligently undermine our equality. Enough pussyfooting. Enough nonsensical discussions about Gays vs. Christianity. That was never the argument.

It was always:

 Gays vs. The Family Research Council

Gays vs. the American Family Assocation

Gays vs. the Liberty Counsel.

Gays vs. the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Gays vs. every group, organization, paid personality, pundit, and talking head who claimS to be "pro-family," "pro-Christian," or "pro-morality."

For over 11 years, I have, via this blog, one failed self-published book, and one online booklet, tried to expose these folks myself in my own inimitable fashion AND get our community and our leadership to step up in calling these folks out.

I've succeeded a lot in the former more than I have in the latter. But I am also glad to note that I have not been alone. Other blogs, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and organizations such as Media Matters did a lot to focus on this situation. And granted, it may not be as popular as internal arguments, cute little academic terms and esoteric language, and other  ways some of us in the LGBTQ community have wasted time, this work is very necessary.

 And that's why I am thrilled at the new project published by Media Matters.

An interactive research book on the anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom

“The extremism of anti-LGBTQ powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom” is an interactive research book outlining the anti-LGBTQ positions of the influential legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). These positions were identified through extensive review of public statements by ADF and its representatives, reports on the group's legal and political activities, and publicly available materials created by the group. Information regarding significant portions of ADF's legal and political advocacy work is not publicly available; the group may hold additional positions or engage in additional activity that it refrains from commenting on publicly.

Click here to download the interactive PDF version of this report.

The following below is a smaller facsimile of the report:

'Transgender students gain huge court victory, opposition to trans troop ban marks full year' & other Thur midday news briefs

Today marks a year since Trump announced his trans troop ban. It has been a disaster for him.

Full Page USA Today Ad Features Bipartisan Opposition To Trump’s Transgender Military Ban - It's been a full year since Trump announced his ridiculous ban of trans men and women from serving in the military. Since then, the announcement backfired on him to become one of the many embarrassing missteps of his administration. 

Judge's ruling supports Dallas School District's transgender policy - An Oregon school district policy which protects transgender students has been upheld by the courts. Sharing space with transgender students doesn't violate anyone's rights.

This bisexual Russian man could be killed if he’s deported — but an Oregon judge won’t let him stay - The struggle is real and it is worldwide, y'all.

Bryan Fischer’s Answer To Global AIDS Crisis: No Sex For Gay Men - Ah yes. The man who almost singularly got the American Family Association designated as a hate group. 

America’s most self-loathing homosexual blasts ‘the gaying of Fox News’ - Oh for crying out loud . . .

Moving from cakes to housing and adoption - 'religious liberty' is being weaponized to discriminate against gays

So many of us repeated the simple fact that "religious liberty" or "religious freedom" as defined by the anti-LGBTQ evangelical right was not simply about a cake or a bakery or participation at a same-sex wedding. Those trite things were merely the beginning of a plan to codify anti-LGBTQ discrimination by using religion as a weapon.

According to a recent events,  things have moved steadily from businesses supposedly not wanting to participate in same-sex weddings. We are now talking about senior living communities who don't want to house gay couples:

A St. Louis County senior community has denied housing to a married lesbian couple who have been together for nearly four decades because of the couple's sexual orientation, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. 

Mary Walsh, 72, and Bev Nance, 68, both of Shrewsbury, say the Friendship Village senior living community, which has locations in Sunset Hills and Chesterfield, denied occupancy to the couple to live at the Sunset Hills community in 2016 because their relationship violated its cohabitation policy that defines marriage as "the union of one man and one woman, as marriage is understood in the Bible," according to the lawsuit.
The policy, the suit says, violates the Fair Housing Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act. It names Friendship Village and its parent company FV Services Inc. as defendants. The couple is represented by the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Washington D.C.-based firm Relman, Dane & Colfax. 

Walsh and Nance were married in Massachusetts in 2009 but have been together for 37 years, their suit says. They tried to move to Friendship Village in July 2016, got on a waiting list and paid a $2,000 deposit but were later told they couldn't because of the "longstanding policy." Friendship Village continues to enforce the "cohabitation policy" that has denied housing to other same-sex couples, the suit claims. 

And let's not forget the laws in Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, as well as a bill moving through the House of  Representatives which contains an amendment that, under the grounds of "religious liberty," allows foster care and adoption agencies to discriminate against gay couples while still being able to receive tax dollars.

Today, 40 Democratic Senators targeted the amendment:

In a letter to Senate appropriators, the senators slammed a House Republican proposal passed earlier this month that would shield taxpayer-funded adoption and child welfare agencies that refuse to provide services to children and parents on the basis of religion, LGBTQ status, or family structure. The senators urged the Senate Appropriations Committee not to include this dangerous proposal in the upcoming appropriations bill. 

“Allowing child welfare agencies to close the door to willing and fully qualified foster and adoptive parents due to a difference in religious belief opens the door to taxpayer-funded discrimination and deprives vulnerable children of safe and loving homes,” the senators wrote. “We strongly encourage you to reject this language and instead, support federal laws and regulations barring discrimination, and protect the rights of all qualified parents who answer the call to foster and adopt children in foster care.” 

The proposal would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to withhold federal funding from states that prevent child welfare agencies from denying services to LGBTQ parents or children, penalizing states with existing nondiscrimination policies. Late last week, over 100 child advocacy organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing this proposal. 

Wyden was joined on the letter by Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.; Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii; Tom Carper, D-Del.; Chris Coons, D-Del., Maggie Hassan D-N.H.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Dianne Feinstein D-Calif.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Tina Smith, D-Minn.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Angus King, I-Maine; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Michael Bennet D-Colo.; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Tom Udall, D-N.M.; Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pa.; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Mark R. Warner, D-Va.; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Amy Klobuchar D-Minn., Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

And I am certain that there will be more instances to come in which the anti-gay evangelical right will weaponize religious beliefs  against the LGBTQ community. You can count on that.

'Does the religious right want to criminalize gay sex again?' & other Wed midday news briefs

The Religious Right Appears Intent On Criminalizing Gay Sex Again - A recent column by Tony Perkins of hate group The Family Research Council has Michelangelo Signorile wondering are religious right groups wanting to bring back the sodomy laws. While it may seem hysterical, I say, from monitoring religious right groups for close to 12 years,  that nothing is for sure and one should never assume. When it comes to these groups, it's all about audacity. No matter how ridiculous the cause may seem, if they think they can succeed, they will put forth a huge effort and at the very least, we would have to deal with debating issues which we never thought we would. Personally, I feel that if these groups want to bring back the time in which they openly and freely cited discredited studies by charlatans who accused us of stuffing gerbils up our rectums, feel free.  We got receipts regarding all of the lies groups like FRC once told about us. And we haven't forgotten a single thing.

GLAAD calls for increased and accurate media coverage of transgender murders - Siiigh! Our transgenders sisters are being murdered across America and it's not being handled like it should. We need more press coverage and at the very least, can the media not misgender our sisters. 

Trump's Timeline of HATE - Trump has been screwing up everyone who isn't white and straight. Makes me wonder if this nonsense with tariffs is his way to not make THEM feel left out.

Oklahoma woman offers to be a stand-in mom at LGBTQ weddings - Awwwww! This is so sweet!

National LGBT Bar Association want attorneys to repudiate anti-LGBT (hate) legal groups

No doubt this is sure to get the anti-LGBTQ right and their supporters whining about being persecuted, but to hell with them. Full speed ahead.

My only concern is that there is someone out there to push the narrative of what this is truly about.

The National LGBT Bar Association announces a new campaign that asks attorneys across the nation to COMMIT to INCLUSION by repudiating anti-LGBT legal groups like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Liberty Counsel and pledging never to support them through pro bono services.

“For more than 25 years, groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and Liberty Counsel have overseen an army of litigators and waged a systematic, insidious, and well-funded crusade to strip protections from LGBT people,” said LGBT Bar Association Executive Director D’Arcy Kemnitz. “With the recent Supreme Court decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the announced retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, and more and more court victories for those seeking a license to discriminate, fair-minded attorneys committed to diversity must push back. If we don’t take these threats seriously and act accordingly, we could face long term legal setbacks for LGBT people.”

The COMMIT to INCLUSION campaign includes a fact sheet detailing the history of these anti-LGBT legal groups, their enormous budgets, and a sample list of cases in which they have sought to harm LGBT people. It also includes a one-minute video featuring: National LGBT Bar Executive Director, D’Arcy Kemnitz; Chief Counsel, Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, Jon Davidson; and Cathy Sakimura, Family Law Director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  

The COMMIT to INCLUSION pledge reads in part: “We commit to inclusion by ensuring that our personal pro bono and volunteer capacity and personal financial resources will not be used to support the work of ADF and Liberty Counsel.” 

COMMIT to INCLUSION runs from July 24 through September 27.

''Religious freedom' refusals creating discrimination & endangering health' & other Tue midday news briefs

Same-sex couples are being refused service by wedding vendors - Since the Masterpiece ruling, which shouldn't even be allowing this mess, some folks have been going buck wild. And not just with regards to gay weddings: 

CVS fires pharmacist who denied hormone prescription to transgender woman 

Walgreens Pharmacist Refuses To Provide Drug For Ariz. Woman With Unviable Pregnancy 

In other news:

NAACP hosts ‘historic’ LGBT Town Hall - This was last week and I apologize for missing it. This event should have had more coverage. 

Teenager 'heartbroken' after school banned his talent show drag act - Drag is about performance. It was and to an extent still is a way for the LGBT community to take on the personalities of folks or entities they admire for their boldness and project that quality into their own lives. Too many people think it's about making fun or being sexually graphic. It's about skill, discipline, and self-empowerment.

Gay guys from around the globe talk sex and personal safety in Amsterdam - Very very necessary.

Delaware Just Banned Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBTQ Youth - Go Delaware! It's your birthday . . .!

The Federalist pits Democrats against children to justify the stealing of LGBT tax dollars

The LGBT community should not have to pay for the 'courtesy' of being discriminated against.

The right-wing publication The Federalist is attempting to justify using religion as a weapon for discrimination against the LGBT community. In a Monday piece published by the publication entitled  Democrats Prove Willing To Make Orphans Casualties In Their War Against Religion, authors Jon Schweppe and Paul Dupont manufacture a war on children to stifle the concerns of LGBTs as taxpayers and prospective parents.

First, a little background

GOP in Congress and  their allies on the right are pushing something they call The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act. They claim bill would:

 protect faith-based adoption agencies and foster care providers from state and local governments’ discrimination against their services solely because of their religious mission to place children in loving homes with both a mother and a father. The bill sought to counteract a growing trend of invidious discrimination on the basis of faith.

 That's nice way of saying that the bill would allow adoption agencies and foster care providers which discriminate against gays to still receive tax dollars. The bill also punishes LGBT states.

'Trump supporting lawmaker tricked into using racial slurs, showing bare (bear) ass on tv show in homophobic display' & other Mon midday news briefs

Or if you want get right to the booty shot:

Ga. lawmaker urged to resign after using racial slurs, dropping pants in TV show - Being tricked into using racial slurs and chasing someone with your bare (bear) ass pointed at them in a homophobic display to "fight terrorists." Or in other words, white folks are still having palpitations from having a black man in the Oval Office for eight years. Cute tushy though.

Michigan attorney general: Anti-LGBTQ discrimination is totally legal - He's running for governor. Surprise! Surprise! 

 Cuba Set To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage - Works for me!

CVS Apologizes After Pharmacist Harasses Trans Customer - Yes you had better. Pharmacists need to do their job or go into another profession.

Randy Rainbow destroys Trump's leadership skill 'credentials' in wonderful song parody

We are going to look back at this awful time in American history with Trump in the White House and be thankful for the seemingly little things which helped get us through.

Such as Randy Rainbow. Again, he destroys the nonsense which Fox News and the conservative media tries to shove down our throats about how Trump is a wonderful leader. And after last week with the Disaster in Helsinki (I'll think of a catchier name in the future), we all need a bit of laughter mixed with truth.

'Trump Administration erasing LGBTQ people from government websites again' & other Fri midday news briefs

The Trump Administration is messing with us again.

The Trump administration is erasing LGBTQ people from government websites again - I swear, you just can't turn your back on this administration. Makes you want to have a serious "discussion" with the Log Cabin Republicans and other gays who supported this guy. 

Hawaii extends federal Title IX protections to LGBTQ students - Way to go, Hawaii!!!! 

Family Research Council's newest attempt to connect homosexuality with pedophilia proves SPLC's 'hate group' argument - My post from last night.  It's gone viral but I want bigger. Let's make the Family Research Council respond to it by sharing it more. Wouldn't that be lovely? 

Here are 5 of the craziest Christian fundamentalist cults that feel empowered in the Trump era - Lawd, give us ALL strength to deal with this madness.

LGBT advocates outraged over Trump’s deference to Putin - You damn right.

Family Research Council's newest attempt to connect homosexuality with pedophilia proves SPLC's 'hate group' argument

Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council can't stop trying to connect gays to pedophilia

Back in 2010 when the Southern Poverty Law Center named the Family Research Council as a hate group, the organization was quick to play the martyr by claiming that it was being targeted simply for its "Christian beliefs."

And it plays that hand repeatedly. On many occasions (too many to count), SPLC said that FRC deserved the "hate group" designation because of how it demonizes the LGBTQ community with lies, cherry-picked, and junk science. A serious bone of contention, which always seemed to be ignored by FRC and its defenders, is how the so-called Christian group falsely claims that gay men make a high number of pedophiles and there is a connection between pedophilia and homosexuality.

On Thursday, the Family Research Council published a Washington Update item proving SPLC's argument yet again.

First, a little background. According to a right-wing publication LifeSite News, a German medical student,Mirjam Heine, gave an online lecture in May supposedly advocating that pedophilia be seen as an unchangeable sexual orientation.

According to the medical student, pedophilia is just another “unchangeable sexual orientation just like, for example, heterosexuality.” Heine asked her audience to differentiate between sexual attraction to children, which she believes should be accepted and tolerated as involuntary “feelings,” and child sexual abuse, which she underscored was always wrong.

So what does that have to do with LGBTQs, particularly those of us in America? Not a damn thing. I would suspect that a lot of us never even heard of this woman or her lecture except for reading this post.. However, in the hands of the Family Research Council, a lecture by a German student about pedophilia  is very connected with the progress of LGBTQ equality in America simply because the organization can bullshit its way through a bizarre conspiracy theory-laden Washington Update post saying so.

The key words here is bullshit. No matter how intelligent or totally rational the Family Research Council pretends to be,  we are still dealing an organization which once claimed that Planned Parenthood and the transgender community are using the Girl Scouts,  gay youth commit suicide because they know they are "abnormal," and the LGBTQ community are infiltrating Star Wars video games

But folks can read the piece from FRC president Tony Perkins and be the judge (Editor's note -  you can read the full piece by clicking on the link):

To most people, July 19th is just another day. If you asked them what happened on this date 25 years ago, only a handful would probably know that President Bill Clinton made "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" the policy for America's military. Even fewer would know that the summer of 1993 help set into motion a quarter-century war on marriage and the family. 

Looking back on those days, most Americans are probably nostalgic for the days when sexuality wasn't something people broadcasted. Back then, even the most liberal activists just wanted to "get the government out of their bedroom." How far we've fallen. Now, two decades later, they want to take what happens in the bedroom and force Americans to celebrate it -- at work, church, school, even (and especially) in government. Who knew 25 years ago that Christians would long for the days when everyone just went about their lives?

'Did alleged Russian spy Maria Butina infiltrate the religious right?' & other Thur midday news briefs

Did alleged Russian spy Maria Butina infiltrate the religious right?

Y'all know how much I despise the religious right because of their deliberate actions to demonize and dehumanize the LGBTQ community through lies, cherry-picked and junk science. And how they attempt to strip us of our dignity and erase our families from the American mindset.

But while I present these two articles, I don't rejoice, nor do I encourage any conspiracy theories. I only hope that we will find out more because this is HUGE. And if something comes from this, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. The situation with alleged Russian spy Maria Butina who was arrested (and may have wooed several conservative groups including the NRA) last week is now causing questions to be asked about the religious right:

Alleged Russian Spy Was Working to Infiltrate Religious Right As Well As Gun Groups 

In 2016, according to a timeline compiled by the Washington Post, Butina emailed a Prayer Breakfast organizer to suggest that Putin might attend the following year. That didn’t happen, but she and Torshin attended. “A new relationship between two countries always begins better when it begins in faith,” Butina emailed an organizer afterward, thanking him for a gift and for the “very private meeting” after the breakfast. Butina was also part of a group that attempted to secure a meeting with the Trump campaign in May 2016 to talk about the persecution of Christians around the world, a topic of great interest to many American evangelicals. 

Earlier, in 2015, Butina and Erickson also appeared on the radio show of conservative evangelical superstar (and big-time Trump promoter) Eric Metaxas to discuss gun rights and religious freedom — topics that are strangely congruent in the conservative Christian circles in which all these birds flew. 

The affection with which many Christian right figures hold Russia and specifically the gay-bashing Putin is hardly a secret . . .

Mariia Butina’s Cozy Relationship With the Christian Right Makes Total Sense 

 Much of the Christian right views contemporary Russia with a surprising fondness, and it’s a coziness that predates the Trump administration. Christian conservatives including Pat Buchanan and Bryan Fischer have fawned over Putin in recent years.  

Along with having an instinctual affinity for authoritarian leadership, these men respect Putin’s yearslong rollback of gay rights and abortion access. Franklin Graham, for example, gave an interview to a Russian newspaper in 2015 in which he praised Putin for “protecting Russian young people against homosexual propaganda.” 

 Other cultural conservatives see Russia as “Christianity’s front line” against Islam. Presumably, then, it wasn’t hard for Butina, a friendly Russian gun-rights activist, to curry favor in these same Christian conservative circles. 

 In other news: 

At age 25, kids in the longest-running study of same-sex parenting are doing just fine - Yet the religious right are still attempting to erase these families. 

Scarlett Johansson’s Film Exit Puts Struggle For Trans Actors In Spotlight - The possible resolution of this situation can yield good things for transgender actors. More roles.

Trump's ridiculous transgender troops ban loses in the courts again

While Trump is deservedly dragged in social media and other pockets and circles in America due to his incompetence at Helsinki, his ridiculous ban on transgender troops in the military is being deservedly dragged in the courts.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to implement its discriminatory plan to ban transgender people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Services. Today’s ruling in the lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN and joined by the State of Washington denied the administration’s motion to stay the preliminary injunction a lower court granted in December 2017, and affirmed last month. The injunction blocks implementation of the ban and enables transgender people to continue enlisting in the military. 

“Seven courts across the country have considered this so-called plan, and seven courts have recognized that there is no defensible reason to bar transgender Americans from serving our nation,” Staff Sergeant Cathrine (Katie) Schmid said. “Being transgender has no impact on my ability to perform my duties. I’m grateful that the courts to date have recognized the value in our service, and I look forward to the day when we can put this argument behind us and focus on what's really important-- the accomplishment of our mission, and the welfare of our service members.” 

“The Ninth Circuit, much like the six other courts to have considered the proposed policy, has recognized it for what it is – blatant and impermissible discrimination. The court rejected the government’s attempt to ‘upend’ the status quo, as well as the lives of transgender people serving and seeking to serve our country.” said Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Peter Renn. “It has been one year since President Trump announced via tweet his plan to bar transgender people from the military, and in that year four district courts and, now, three courts of appeal have blocked its implementation. What more evidence does the administration need before it abandons this discriminatory and harmful scheme to prevent brave and qualified transgender people from serving their country?”

It's simply not Trump's day. Good.

Conservative evangelical leaders who support Trump - where y'all at?

Conservative evangelicals leaders and groups were quick to praise Trump when he was giving them a huge amount of access to the White House, participation in many meetings, and ways to shape public policy at the expense of the LGBTQ community and women's health.

They practically anointed him as the Second Coming and made many excuses for his public incompetence and un-Christian behavior by saying that he was a "baby Christian," not supposed to be "President Perfect," or that in the spirit of forgiveness, they were giving him a "mulligan."

Days after his epic and historically disastrous kowtowing to Putin in Helsinki, these same religious folks aren't being exactly all that vocal about supporting Trump. In fact, it would seem to be that they are taking advantage of the understandably loud backlash in order to hide themselves. That way, they are not forced into a choice in which both outcomes are equally calamitous:

1.Take a stand against Trump, thus potentially losing White House access.

2.Don't take a stand against him and reveal themselves to be frauds exploiting religious beliefs for political power.

No matter how long it takes, questions will come to folks like Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress about how they bent over backwards for Trump, even to the point of jeopardizing their so-called Christian integrity. Groups such as the Family Research Council will have to answer for the noxious co-dependency of their alliance with Trump.

And no one in that bunch should even attempt to minimize their relationship with Trump. That's the the danger of loud, effusive pandering of a questionable ally. Someone will always save the "receipts."

'No, girlfriend. The 'B' in LGBTQ does not stand for bestiality' & other Tue midday news briefs

Star Parker, another fraud used by conservatives.

Star Parker: The ‘B’ In LGBTQ Stands For Bestiality - This is why I generally DESPISE right-wing conservative black public figures. They have NO real power and tend to say the dumbest shit. In this case, this is Star Parker. She has NO function other than to collect wingnut welfare by being one of the go-to black people in the conservative horde when a quote is needed attacking Obama, affirmative action, the black community in general, LGBTQ community, etc etc. Apparently fear of the newest models, Candace Owens or Diamond and Silk, replacing her seems to have caused her to say wilder things.

Joking That Trump And Putin Are Gay Is Homophobia - Okay, I will concede that it is. . . sigh!!! Meanness can be seen as a suitable weapon . . . just kidding . . . I know. 

Mormon couple opens home, hearts to LGBTQ people - Wonderful story and a great reminder that we haven't all gone straight to hell no matter who is in charge. 

Cher Will Bless The World With An ABBA Cover Album - Frivolous as all-get-out but come on folks. When we are resting in between fighting for equality and kicking a certain Orange menace to psychological kingdom come, we do need proper rest music. 

Episcopalians will allow same-sex weddings in all churches without exception - True religious liberty is awesome.