Two hundred TX faith leaders decry anti-transgender bill, supports lgbtq equality

One unfortunate side effect of this so-called culture battle is how the anti-lgbtq evangelical and religious right have co-opted the concept of religion and Christianity.

This mindset of the lgbtq community versus Christians and people of faith is a huge lie, particularly because of the fact that many lgbtqs are people of faith. And don't even start listing Biblical verses which supposedly speaks against homosexuality. I generally don't like to debate such things because I believe the final judgement belongs to God.

But that doesn't mean I don't get angry with people pushing the narrative that all Christians and people of faith in general believe one way about the lgbtq community. According to an excerpt below from a recent article in the San Antonio Express News there are many Christians and other people of faith who lgbtq equality:

Some 200 ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders wrote to select House members Thursday asking them to support policies that treat lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans on an equal basis with other people. The letter went to lawmakers including members of the House State Affairs Committee, which is considering legislation that would restrict the restrooms transgender people can use. The religious leaders didn’t confine their message to the bathroom bill, although they cited it among other legislation.
 “Our faith compels us to oppose anti-transgender legislation (‘bathroom bills), 

discriminatory laws masquerading as “religious freedom,” or any other attempts to treat Texas’ LGBT community as second-class citizens,” said the letter from Texas Believes, which according to its website is a project of the Texas Freedom Network and Equality Texas. The Texas Freedom Network describes itself as a watchdog of far-right issues and a defender of individual liberties. Equality Texas works for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans, “We will continue to speak out against all attempts to use religion to demonize, discriminate against or bring harm to our LGBT sisters and brothers. And we encourage you, as leaders in our state, to support policies that treat all Texans equally under the law, including the LGBT community,” said the letter. 

 Besides State Affairs members, the letter went to House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who opposes a bathroom bill approved by the Senate; Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, the author of a House version of the bathroom bill; and several members of the Calendars Committee, which schedules legislation for House debate.

It is up to all of us to not allow the anti-lgbtq evangelical and religious right to nab the concepts of Christianity and religion in general. They don't have nor do they deserve sole ownership.

'KY judge refuses to hear same-sex adoption cases' & other Mon. midday news briefs

There will be NO undermining of same-sex families

Kentucky judge refuses to ever hear same-sex adoption cases - This religious liberty crap is getting out of hand. Personal feelings are bull in the face of the facts which show children not being negatively affected by same-sex households. I dare the religious right to defend this. No. I WANT them to defend this. PLEASE! My blogger finger is just itching. 

Why Donald Trump’s Second 100 Days Will Be Even Worse For LGBTQ Equality - Potentially worse. As he continues to lose support, he will definitely be going to the group who loves him no matter what - the evangelical and religious right. He may push their mess with more stridency. Then WE push back big time.  

These Gay Republicans Mocked Transgender Women At A Forum In New York City - THEN they got nasty about it on twitter, leading me to read, check, and school a bunch of them. But that's a possible other blog post. This is just sad.  

Weinstein Company wins battle for PG-13 rating for ‘3 Generations’ - A quiet but wonderful victory. '3 Generations' is coming-of-age movie about the transgender community.

Jerry Falwell Jr - Trump 'a dream president' for evangelicals

Jerry Falwell Jr.

The self-degradation of the evangelical and religious right over Donald Trump continues:

Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr., an early backer of Donald Trump, enthusiastically praised the president’s first 100 days of office. “I think evangelicals have found their dream president,” Falwell said on Saturday during “Justice With Judge Jeanine” on Fox News. Falwell cited “reuniting Israel with America” and appointing “people of faith” throughout the administration as the reasons evangelicals in general remain highly supportive of Trump. Falwell also trashed moderate Republicans, who he said “make my blood boil.”

It's relatively sad to know that with the religious right, you can get away with almost any type of behavior - from bad policies to bragging about sexual harassment to consistently lying - as long as you "make them feel wanted" and embrace their positions.

In other words, don't count on the religious and evangelical right to be a moral voice against Trump's excesses. They are too busy gurgling mouthwash and applying lip balm after every meeting with him.

Anti-lgbt activist melts down during word salad about gays, domination, sodomy, and children

I promise that this will probably be the wildest thing you have seen today.

Behind every coordinated anti-lgbt group and personality is a mindset like the woman on this video.



I think it goes without saying that everything this woman said is false. A lie. A delusion. A product of bad weed.

 But here is a little background courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

Earlier this month, the Texas chapter of the anti-LGBTQ hate group MassResistance hosted a “pro-family conference” featuring a variety of anti-LGBTQ activists like Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, Brian Camenker of MassResistance, and Robert Oscar Lopez, who runs the Texas chapter of Camenker’s group. 

Sharon Arkme, who claimed that she was a victim of anti-Christian persecution when she was denied certification in a master’s program she had enrolled in at Texas State University “because I would not agree with their LGBT agenda,” told attendees that LGBTQ advocates are warring against “Christ and Christians” and “brainwashing our children.” 

 “I did not realize the full agenda of the radical left,” Armke told the audience. “They are in a war with Christ and Christians, whether we realize it or not. They are not content with society and Christians treating them with outreach, courtesy and respect that should be given to any other human being just because they are human. They want us to approve their behavior. They will not stop until they dominate.” 

 “They intend, and they are very successful so far, in brainwashing our children to believe that sodomy is right and good,” she continued. “We are trying to show parents what is happening to our children and, excuse me if I say this, we should be screaming bloody murder in the streets. We should be screaming bloody murder in the street. This is not right! … Those teachers that do this, that teach sodomy to little children, many people call them child abusers and I agree.” 

 “I learned the hard way the true agenda of the radical left, it’s domination of our children and our culture,” Armke fumed, eventually growing so upset that she couldn’t even finish her remarks, simply declaring “may God have mercy on us” as she walked off the stage.

I couldn't find anymore information on this Armke except for on the Mass Resistance webpage which claimed her stance kept her from becoming a principal.

Sounds like we dodged a nuclear missile with THAT one.

'Bill pushing for a nationwide ban on 'ex-gay' therapy' & other Fri. midday news briefs

‘LGBTQ people were born perfect’: A new bill would ban conversion therapy nationwide - Probably has no chance of passing, but the vision of figurative exploding right-wing heads is so darn lovely. 

Fox Contributor: Gay Men In Bars Should Expect To Be Assaulted And Women Shouldn’t Breastfeed In Church - I'm not sure about the breastfeeding thing but saying gay men should expect to be assaulted if they make people "feel uncomfortable" is disgustingly intriguing. Does that mean I can slap this Fox contributor because the thought of him reproducing makes ME feel uncomfortable?

 Study confirms some men use anti-gay and sexist jokes to shore up their masculinity - Fascinating how this news brief is related to the one before it. 

 19 senators urge Trump’s HHS to restore LGBT questions to elder surveys - Damn right!

Harvard Transgender Rights Pamphlet Prompts Conservative Backlash Online - While not complaining about snowflakes, transphobic folk are acting like snowflakes.

'Christian' right's kiss ass tribute to Donald Trump explained

The religious right's vision of Trump.

Donald Trump is a disaster as president, which we all knew he would be. His poll numbers are "historically low" his present and former subordinates - particularly Michael Flynn - are in a constantly growing scandal about Russia's influence on last year's election, and he is a generally uncoordinated laughing stock here and abroad.

Of course one wouldn't know this if one read the glowing tributes he is given by several religious right groups such as the Family Research Council and the American Family Association:

Trump Deals in Taxes Hold'em

Trump cabinet fellowships thru prayer, Bible study

 And let's not forget Franklin Graham's advice to that Trump not reveal his tax returns.

So why are these folks, who are so quick to talk about values and morality, are as easily quick to give Trump a pass on both? An article in Politico reveals what should be obvious:

The one group Trump has paid outsized attention to—and consistently delivered for—is the social conservative movement. He reinstated and even toughened the Mexico City Policy, which eliminates U.S. funding for international nongovernmental organizations that perform abortions. He rescinded President Barack Obama’s protections for transgender students to use preferred bathrooms in public schools. He signed legislation that routs federal money away from Planned Parenthood. He cut off funding to the U.N. Population Fund, which critics say has long supported coercive abortions in China and other countries. He stockpiled his administration with pro-life evangelical Christians in critical roles, including Tom Price as secretary of Health and Human Services, Betsy DeVos as education secretary and Mike Pence as vice president. And, most significantly, his Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, a conservative originalist in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, won confirmation. 

. . . “How ironic it is,” says Ralph Reed, president of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, “that Donald Trump, of all people in the Republican Party, would become a champion for social conservatives.” 

 . . .After eight years in which conservatives—and particularly evangelical Christians—believed themselves to be under siege from secular forces in the federal government, the judiciary and popular culture, Trump’s presidency feels like a renaissance. Not only do they have a seat at the table again, as they did during the famously evangelical-friendly George W. Bush years; many of these activists say Trump has already surpassed the 43rd president as an ally and advocate. 

“The Bush administration didn’t come close to being this friendly to social conservatives,” says Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America. (“Who knew?" she adds, laughing. “I can’t say I would have ever guessed that a billionaire playboy from Manhattan would wind up being the closest ally of Christian conservatives.”) ( Family Research Council president Tony) Perkins, for his part, tells me: “I’ve been at the White House for meetings more in the first four months of the Trump administration than I was during the entire Bush presidency.”

I should be disturbed by this, but to tell the truth, I'm not. Sometimes, it's a good thing for your opposition to get all that they want because they tend to reveal themselves to be exactly what you have said they are.

It's one thing to label a pig as a glutton. But dumping a pile of food in front it and pointing as the pig sloppily chows down sends a better message. In that same regard, Trump giving the religious right so much power isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just watch how quickly these groups and their personalities abandon their masks of propriety and show themselves to be what the lgbtq community has always said they were - gluttonous fanatics trying to maneuver the country to their direction.

We see this now in how much  religious right leaders are fawning  and lauding over Trump while he sinks lower and lower. With every revelation that Trump is a devil, here they come with another pair of plastic wings and slightly bent halo to take the glare off of the new debasement. And another spritz of goody-goody God spray to cover up the smell of Trump's sulfuric depravity and incompetence.

It was never about preserving values with these groups. It was always about control by any means necessary - a smartly cynical value but one unbecoming of those calling themselves Christians.

As much as I despise Trump, the one thing he is doing right is figuratively giving the religious right enough rope to hang themselves. And with the speed of the direction they are going, they won't wait for the chair to be kicked from under them.

They themselves will jump off.

'GOP Congressman tearfully begs God's forgiveness for abortion, marriage equality. Omits his party's attempt to gut healthcare' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Rep. Randy Weber Tearfully Begs God To Forgive America For The Sins Of Legal Abortion And Marriage Equality - So, at a religious right prayer event, a Republican Congressman weeps while begging God's forgiveness for allowing women to make healthcare decisions about their own bodies AND for marriage equality. Of course he didn't mention how his party is attempting to take healthcare away from millions of Americans. And of course this particular Congressman is virulently anti-lgbtq and has called Obama a "socialist dictator." Forgive my blasphemy, but I envision Jesus in Heaven telling God, "I don't care what the Bible said. I'm not coming back to these people. They scare even ME!" All jokes aside. Seriously. This bizarre juxtaposition is the epitome of what's wrong with the religious right.

 LGBT rights leaders flunk Trump on first 100 days - Well duuuuuh.

Houston Transgender Woman Files Lawsuit After Landlord Barricades Apartment Door!- I hope she wins, too.

 Troll This Politician And He Just Might Call Your Grandma — Literally - Oh snap! This is good!