Black History is LGBTQ History & LGBTQ History is Black History

When some naysayers ask me why do I demand respect for famous LGBTQs of color during Black History Month, my answer is simple:

"I'm like Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction.' I will NOT be ignored."

The following videos are simple reminders that the LGBTQ and the African-American communities are more intertwined than folks like to admit.

And another video because transgender African-Americans don't really get their due. I love this video because it includes some contemporary people, including some very good friends of mine (yes, I'm name-droppping):

'New junk science narrative attacks transgender children' & other Wed midday news briefs

'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Is Biased Junk Science - Some things never change, unfortunately. They used to go all out in their usage of junk science to smear gay men as unhealthy pedophiles. Now the same crowd is attacking the transgender community (particularly transgender children) using the same tactics. Sorry folks. We are hip and this mess ain't gonna play.

These Transgender Children Say They’re Thriving. They Want to Help Others Do the Same. - Instead of a junk science study, check this out. It's not by accident that the anti-LGBTQ industry tries to drown out the voices of our community, particularly our kids. 

Starkville denies request for LGBT pride parade - Yes, unfortunately this is in America. Some folks have forgotten that this IS America apparently. 

  ‘Queer Eye’ Emotionally Reflects On The Unique Challenges Black Gay Men Face - People often forget the challenges of us who have "multiple marginalized" identities. Apparently we are born playing baseball and folks seem to think we already have two strikes against us. 

Time to 'shine a light' and ban conversion therapies - experts - Damn right! 'Ex-gay' therapy is fraudulent and dangerous. It should be totally banned.

Why do anti-LGBTQ activists talk so much about gay sex?

From Right-Wing Watch comes a video which demonstrates a basic truth with the religious right  In it, anti-LGBTQ activist Gordon Klingenschmitt tries to justify business discriminate against the LGBTQ community. That's how he started. Watch how quickly he moves to talking about an orgy.

If your stomach can handle it, take a gander at videos or literature coming from people like Klingenschmitt. The speed in which they move to speculating about gay sex is mind-boggling. And annoying. Debates about LGBTQ equality should be way more intelligent than breaking it down to fevered sexual images. But that's pretty much the only thing that many of these folks have.

SC Republicans launch ridiculous, idiotic, laughably bad plan to undermine marriage equality' & other Tue midday news briefs

South Carolina Republicans want ‘parody marriages’ to circumvent marriage equality - No! No! No! Exhibit A on why it is so difficult for LGBTQ activists, bloggers, etc who operate in SC to be taken seriously. We are on the cutting edge but still have to deal with these folks. What part of "The Supreme Court already settled the issue of marriage equality. You lost. Get over it." don't they understand?

Lambda Legal Sues HHS after Lesbian Couple Blocked from Serving as Foster Parents - And here we go. A taxpayer funded program turns away this couple. Good luck to them because our community pays taxes too and we can provide good homes for children. We shouldn't have to deal with such blatant disrespect. 

Daniela Vega set to make history as the first openly trans person to present an Oscar - Not bad. Let's also work on nominations and winning. 

Gay comedian goes on rant about body shaming in the gay community - Preach!!!!! 

Religious freedom laws are ‘harming LGBT people,’ says Human Rights Watch - Folks in the media never seem to get to the gist of this problem - 'Religious freedom laws" are never about "religious freedom." They are simply the new tactic to undermine the LGBTQ community.

Trump Administration creating havoc for LGBTQ-friendly policies at health agency

Trump claimed that he would fight for the LGBTQ community, but that turns out not to be true.

Politico has just published a very detailed article which should be shared and remembered.In spite of Trump saying that if elected, he would fight for the LGBTQ community, his Administration has been steadily and meticulously dismantling policies at the nation's health department which would benefit us, our family, and our children. And this dismantling is negatively affecting LGBTQs who work there.

Instead of saying "well we already know this," the LGBTQ community should ask just who is leading Trump in this direction and when we find out who it is, we should direct all attention and vehemence to those individuals and groups. But let's not leave Trump out because you know we shouldn't forget about him either:

. . .upon taking office last year, the Trump administration swiftly froze a series of LGBT-friendly rules, including proposed new regulations to further ban discrimination in Medicare and Medicaid. A regulation that would have allowed transgender HHS staff more protections when using the department's bathrooms and other facilities also was ignored. 

"It was signed and technically finished on Jan. 19, 2017, but not posted online," said one staffer. "And the new administration considered it unpublished and pulled it back." 

The Trump administration also reinterpreted the ACA's Section 1557 anti-discrimination mandate, with the White House declining to fight a court battle to enforce it and signaling that it would roll back the rule. The health agency's new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, which POLITICO first reported last month, is expected to offer greater protections for health care workers who do not wish to treat LGBT patients.

The article also points out how the Trump Administration has appointed appointed anti-LGBTQ activists in key positions and this has caused serious problems with gay employees at HHS:

Career staff say that, regardless of what agency leaders believe or maintain now, their past comments on LGBT priorities have been widely passed around the 80,000-person department. "I photocopied them and left them in the cafeteria," said one staffer. "It's important for people to know these are the leaders they work for." 

It's also fostered a climate where six staffers who are LGBT described removing their wedding rings before coming to work in the morning, taking down photos of their partners and families or ultimately finding new jobs further away from certain political appointees. They did not want to be identified; two said they feared being reassigned for being gay.

Family Research Council more 'shocked' than truthful about case of trans child

The following is a classic case in how anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council relies on distortions and omissions to denigrate our community, even in situations in which the health of our kids are involved.

From FRC president Tony Perkins recent edition of its Washington Update:

This week, a shocking story hit the national news about an Ohio teenager who was removed from her parents' home by authorities. Why? Because they didn't support their daughter's decision to identify as a boy and declined to authorize hormone therapy to facilitate her gender "transition." Today, the story broke that Juvenile Court Judge Sylvia Hendon has permanently removed the child from her parents' custody (despite the fact that the child is already 17 and would be able to make medical decisions for herself in less than a year).

What's especially alarming is that a lawyer representing the child -- as well as Donald Clancy of the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office -- cited the parents' religious beliefs as an argument for robbing them of their rights! The mom and dad are being criticized for seeking out a Christian therapist for their daughter and for daring to send her to Catholic school. Even so, the parents were clear that their stance on the gender transition wasn't motivated on faith alone. After all, they pointed out, they'd had lengthy consultations with medical professions and did hours of research on their own. Only then did they come to the conclusion that "this is not in their child's best interest." (The American College of Pediatricians -- not to be confused with the more "politically correct" American Academy of Pediatrics -- agrees.)

For years, LGBT activists have scoffed at warnings from FRC and others that the radical LGBT movement poses a threat to personal and religious freedom. In the past, the Left directed most of its attacks on religious expression in the public square, doing everything it could to restrict faith to the four walls of your house or church. Now, even that tolerance is tumbling down.

Here are some very important pieces of information that FRC omitted from the story:

1. The grandparents of the child are suing his parents for custody because they support his gender identity. So implying that "gay activists" and "the Left" are attempting to steal this child is simply false.

2. The situation had been called one of "life or death"

Medical experts testified that the father's ongoing refusal to call the child by his chosen name and the parents' rejection of the teen's gender identity have triggered suicidal feelings. The teen was hospitalized in 2016. He has been diagnosed with depression, an anxiety disorder and gender dysphoria, according to court records. Gender dysphoria is a psychiatric diagnosis the American Psychiatric Association defines as "a conflict between a person's physical or assigned gender and the gender with which he/she/they identify." 

 . . .The teen's court-appointed guardian believes that the grandparents, not the parents, should have custody and says they are best suited to help the child. The medical team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, where the child had been in treatment, testified that the teen is improving mentally and emotionally through therapy and because his grandparents have created a supportive environment. However, they believe the teen should start treatment as soon as possible to decrease his suicide risk.

Last but not least, the organization cited by FRC, The American College of Pediatricians, is an illegitimate medical group. It, like FRC, is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center because it spreads homophobic propaganda under a scientific veneer.

The facts here are very clear. This is a case of  transgender child's health and safety being jeopardized by his parents. And we know this because experts in the matter - health officials - say so.

In contrast, FRC is interjecting itself into the case with absolutely no expertise in the matter and touting statements from a phony medical group who doesn't have the credibility to prescribe cough medicine, to say nothing about commenting on this particular situation at hand.

FRC should butt out and leave the case to the people who know what they are doing and actually care about this child and his family.

'Trump's court pick once called marriage equality 'an assault against nature'' & other Friday midday news briefs

Trump just did the LGBTQ community dirty yet again.

Oh Look, Another One Of Trump’s Court Picks Is Really Anti-Gay - Let's be honest. Franklin Graham, the Family Research Council, and that bunch could care less about Trump's so-called moral behavior. They only say that crap when it comes folks who they can't use. As long as Trump gives them things like anti-LGBTQ court picks, they will turn a blind eye and deaf ear to his many faults.

Daily Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn attacks Tom Daley, gay parents: ‘Pass the sick bag’ - Who is this nasty SOB?

Hate group Family Research Council awards Congresswoman who waged war against transgender troops - My post from last night. 

'I can't tone it down': Olympic skater Adam Rippon speaks out for young LGBT Americans - When some heterosexuals tell LGBTQs to "tone it down," they usually mean "stop breathing. stop existing."

South Dakota shelves novel bill targeting transgender kids - Good.