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

Tributes are pouring in for David  Bowi

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

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

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

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

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

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

David Bowie dies at 69 of cancer

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

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

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

R.I.P. David Bowie

Below is my favorite David Bowie song:

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

Roy Moore

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roy Moore

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

Then again:

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

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

FRC president Tony Perkins

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

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

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

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

Now meanwhile, in the REAL world:

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

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

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

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

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

From Right Wing Watch:

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

.

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

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

Roy Moore

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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