'A mother watches her son become the victim of 'religious liberty' discrimination' & other Wed midday news briefs

How It Feels When Someone Refuses to Make Your Son a Wedding Cake - The mother of the gay couple involved in the "religious liberty" case going to SCOTUS eloquently speaks out on why the case isn't about simply a cake but plain blatant discrimination and how it feels to see her child become a victim of it. One advantage the anti-LGBTQ industry has over us are so-called Christian bakers and florist willing to have their egos stoked and play the martyr. They don't mind doing interviews and appearing on talk shows pretending to be victims because they have allowed themselves to be manipulated by groups who pay the cost of everything for them. The true victims - the people denied services on the basis of sexual orientation - don't have the same luxury. But it does prove that our side aren't willing to exploit folks. After all, these people went in said businesses expecting a service. They didn't ask to be made into nationwide symbols of martyrdom.

Black pastors, conservatives are letting white homophobes exploit them (again) - Speaking of the same situation, my post from last night. It proves that this entire "religious liberty" nonsense is a coordinated campaign by the anti-LGBTQ industry to undermine our equality, again.

GOA to hold its first ever gay pride this month- Sweet! 

The Arizona Senate Race Is About To Be Bonkers - Because of Donald Trump, Arizona senator Jeff Flake will not seek re-election. This puts the LGBTQ community square in the middle of possibly one of the wildest, ugliest Senatorial elections in recent history. To quote the Huffington Post - "The first openly bisexual member of Congress could end up facing off against a Republican whose own party has called her a conspiracy theorist."


Photo take from Commondreams.org

Black pastors, conservatives are letting white homophobes exploit them (again)

The newest coalition between conservative black pastors and the mostly white anti-LGBTQ industry exploits the Civil Rights movement to diminish the LGBTQ equality movement and renders African-American LGBTQs invisible.

Editor's note - Please DO NOT be like our opposition. Do not use this post as proof of the ridiculous LGBTQ vs. African-American argument. Do not fall into the trap of getting caught up in that argument.  Our equality and survival depends upon knowing that we ALL have the same opposition and knowing that,  just like with Milo Yiannopolous with the LGBTQ community, there are some African-Americans willing to exploit ignorance and prejudice for their own gains.

One thing the LGBTQ community has earned in our successful fight for marriage equality is how the anti-LGBTQ industry has no problem  using African-American pastors and conservatives as a tool either to turn the black community against us or to give themselves some type of credibility with other white folks.

The National Organization for Marriage tried to use this strategy. It even  employed a pastor by the name of William Owens as its "bona fide" civil rights movement leader. to lash out against marriage equality and the LGBTQ community. Employed is the correct term because the group was paying him and his wife for their efforts. We later found out that Owens was known for being the black token for conservative white groups (for a price.)

I wonder how much the anti-LGBTQ industry is paying for  THIS version of the  old divide-and-conquer game:

Yesterday, a group of black leaders made that quite clear in a special press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court. Tired of hearing the LGBT community compare its experience to the real suffering of the civil rights movement, church and civic leaders decided to speak out about why Jack's case matters. FRC's Dean Nelson and FRC Action's Patrina Mosley spoke, sharing deeply personal stories about the pain and prejudice their families experienced over the color of their skin. Patrina talked about how insulting it is to hear LGBT activists equate their "persecution" to generations of African Americans.

Ah yes. Deliberately omitting or diminishing the existence of LGBTQs of color in order to push the phony idea that the gay community is attempting to "equate their struggle to black people."

'Transgender candidate for VA General Assembly working hard to make history' & other Tue midday news briefs

This Transgender Candidate Is Fending Off Attacks And Getting Support From A New Transgender PAC - Win or lose (and I hope she wins and makes history in Virginia), this is what some of us in the LGBTQ community can do to combat anti-LGBTQ industry lies - run for public office. Why not? Aren't we American citizens, too?

‘(BPM) Beats Per Minute’ Is the Most Authentically Queer Film of the Awards Season - Keep your eye on this film, particularly after last year with 'Moonlight.'

Challenging Trump With Powerful Black Queer Stories - This is interesting (seeing that I would have a couple of things to say).

In response to far right, LGBTQ gun group hits firing line - OOOOkay.

Hate group to host Congresswoman who funneled its false data

Rep. Vicky Hartzler, hate group stooge.

Hate group the Family Research Council is in bragging mood about the fact that it has a Congressional leader in its hip pocket:

If there was an unsung hero in the effort to end social experimentation in our military, it’s Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.). She tackled the issue of transgenderism in the military that many Republicans don’t even want to talk about (let alone fight). Vicky has repeatedly stood up for our troops -- and America’s taxpayers. In what was one of the fiercest debates of Trump’s first year, she stood in the fire while other members ran and hid, determined to stop what Barack Obama started: the decimation of the world’s greatest fighting force. 

Although the House didn’t reward her hard work, President Trump did, ordering a halt to the previous administration’s policy to let the gender confused serve. In a series of tweets that exploded across social media, the president was clear: “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.” 

For conservatives, it was a powerful and crystallizing moment. But a lot of the credit for raising that issue belongs to Vicky. Her amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would have blocked the use of taxpayer money to pay for gender reassignment surgery or hormone treatments was narrowly defeated -- but it helped focus the White House’s attention on the issue.  

Tomorrow, October 24, Congresswoman Hartzler is going to personally deliver an update on where the fight for our military currently stands in a special FRC Speaker Series talk, “Keeping Our Military Ready: Why Radical Social Experimentation in Our Armed Forces Must End.” You won’t want to miss this important conversation! Join us at FRC headquarters

According to People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch in 2010:

Mother Jones posited that Hartzler might be the “most anti-gay candidate in America”– she believes that repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell will “put us at risk,” maintains that sexual orientation is a choice and therefore gay people aren’t entitled to civil rights, and dubbed hate crimes legislation one of the “the extreme agenda items of the gay movement.”

'How to detect & debunk anti-trans propaganda in the media' & other Mon midday news briefs

Christian Right tips to fight transgender rights: separate the T from the LGB - The new divide-and-conquer strategy is official in this detailed report by SPLC. 

How to Detect and Debunk Anti-Trans Propaganda in the Media - Goodness knows this is NEEDED.  

Georgia lawmaker says call for HIV quarantine ‘taken out of context’ - I read her comment. No it wasn't.

Thousands Rally For Same Sex Marriage Before Australian Vote Closes - Go Australia!

Neo-Nazi renounces movement, embraces being gay and Jewish

Some things have to been seen to be believed. At any rate, I commend this man for finally being truthful with himself and attempting to make amends for his violent past.

'Hate group trying to gross America out with book about gay sex' & other Fri midday news briefs

This propaganda book is nothing new. It presents the same old lies about gays wrapped in a new package.

MassResistance Wants To Gross America Out With Book About Gay Sex - It's an old but popular propaganda tactic of the anti-LGBTQ industry. Exploit preconceived notions and underlying curiosity about gay sex by establishing false talking points and relying on junk science and cherry-picked legitimate science to prove said points. It's as old as the "gay men want to recruit children" lie. I should write a book on it. Wait a minute. I did. 

There’s a rising global tide of crackdowns on LGBT communities - They are trying to test us but they won't defeat us. 

How two female playwrights are risking their lives to fight homophobia in Africa - Fight on, my sisters!

Jeff Sessions never thought ‘religious freedom’ would allow anti-LGBTQ discrimination - Yeah right. And I'm Scarlett O'Hara from 'Gone with the Wind.' 

Flier At Cleveland State University Encourages LGBTQ Students To Kill Themselves - Then the university claimed that the flier was "free speech." Then folks got really pissed ... 

Parents infuriated after football coach directs players to mock student with gay parents - This here is some mess. But it does show that more people care about doing the right thing. Other parents and students prevented this junk from happening.