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 . . .

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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.