'Bigots cruelly mock trans woman angry over getting misgendered' & other Wed midday news briefs

Whether, L, G, B, or T, you get tired of people #@!* with you and 'snatching wigs' is the best therapy for it.

Conservatives viciously mock a trans woman who was misgendered on video - I've heard about this video and have seen it. A lot of folks were saying the trans woman should have acted better. Maybe or maybe not. But I will say this. I don't give a crap. It's wrong to make someone the butt of jokes. That shyte ain't right and it ain't funny. And I say this as someone who have watched people goad gay folks to act out, then make them into the bad guys because they wouldn't take the abuse. I've walked into a room filled with my so-called black brothers and sisters and have been laughed out simply because I seemed to "gay" for their company. Maybe there is a time to act with dignity. But sometimes you get tired of people #@!* with you. So I have a hard time thinking that sister girl in the video is at fault. But I will say this - it's not funny to goad someone then make it viral. It's cruel and nasty. And I have a hard time with that "if only she acted this way or that way" stuff. Homophobes and transphobes are just like racists in that it doesn't matter if you act like the most dignified person in the universe. They are going to hate you and belittle you in anyway they can. The video probably caught sister girl at at time in which she got enough of it.  It's like I said earlier, sometimes you get tired of people #@!* with you. I'm done. 

These beautiful brides got married minutes after it was legalized in Austria - Austria made marriage equality legal and didn't even have to wait for us to take full advantage of it.

White House considers lifting sanctions so anti-LGBTQ Russian official can visit - Oh really? Then again maybe not. 2019 will be another year of collecting the receipts. But this year, we should plan on fully using them. 

Rose Parade Queen Is First From LGBTQ Community - Another barrier crossed. It may seem small to some, but it's not. 

29 Senate Democrats call on OPM to restore trans employee guidance - Damn skippy.


Editor's note - I hope my friend Monica Roberts at Transgriot don't mind me nabbing the above graphic.

'21 LGBTQ celebrity coming-out stories that shaped 2018' & other Mon midday news briefs

Editor's note - barring anything else, this will be my last post of 2018. It's been a wild year which is ending with victories for the LGBTQ community in spite of certain folks . And it's another reminder of why we fight as well as how we should - with no apologies.

Janelle Monae

Here Are 21 LGBTQ Celebrity Coming-Out Stories That Shaped 2018 - I recognize the need for public figures to come out (whenever they can). Positive visibility means so much to us all, particularly our kids.  

Who were the worst politicians of 2018? The list is practically endless.- Especially when we got bozos like these around. 

Google continues to host ex-gay therapy app on its platform - Google . .. we have to have words.

First openly gay man to adopt a child in Canada reveals struggle in memoir - Wonderful memoir. 

 10 LGBTQ ads from 2018 that sold everything from potatoes to shampoo - It's wonderful to have progressed so much that businesses see you as a group needing to be catered to. It is kinda bad in way, but still cool as shit. 

BTW - I have new fans:

 

LGBTQ community grabbed many 2018 victories in spite of Trump & religious right

The LGBTQ community had a very trying year with Trump trying to give us hell and various anti-LGBTQ groups and personalities exploiting their proximity to his Administration to rain more nonsense on our heads.But as 2018 closes, it all goes to show that the old saying of "no struggle, no progress" rings true . The adversity the LGBTQ community went through brought out the best in all of us. And while we lost a few minor scrapes, we won huge battles and gained new heroes in all fields. LGBTQNation  breaks it all down in The best things to happen to the LGBTQ people in 2018. While the excerpt below only covers the political spectrum, LGBTQNation covers our victories in a wide variety of areas, including entertainment and sports. The entire list is a much needed ego booster and it proves one thing about the LGBTQ community and those who support and love us - we know how to win the hard way

Colorado voters made history by choosing Jared Polis to become the state’s next governor, making him the first openly gay governor.  

Kate Brown, the nation’s first openly bisexual governor, won her re-election bid in Oregon.  

Kyrsten Sinema won her senatorial bid in Arizona, becoming the first openly bisexual person elected to the US Senate. 

 In Kansas, Sharice Davids became the first Native American lesbian elected to Congress.  

Chris Papas became New Hampshire’s first openly gay congressman.  

Zach Wahls, who defended his lesbian moms in a public hearing on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, won his bid to become an Iowa state senator.  

Kansas governor-elect Laura Kelly affirmed that she would sign an executive order protecting LGBTQ state employees from discrimination once she assumes office.  

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Richard Madaleno made history by sharing a kiss with his husband in a political ad.  

New Hampshire’s legislature passed a bill to ban conversion therapy.  

Maine’s governor also signed a law banning conversion therapy.  

Delaware became the 14th state to ban conversion therapy for minors.  

Massachusetts voters defeated a right-wing bid to strip trans people of civil rights.  

Vermont’s governor signed a bill requiring gender-neutral public bathrooms.  

California passed a law stating that transgender foster youth have a right to “gender-affirming health care and gender-affirming mental health care.” 

 Colorado made history as the first state to issue an intersex birth certificate to a person that is medically accurate.

I am sure there are a lot more LGBTQ victories and I think the LGBTQNation should be given some levity if  there are some you don't see.  Simply go to the article and list it in the comments section. 

Trump Administration affiliated hate group tops list of 2018 'Top 10 Biggest Homophobes & Transphobes'

The Advocate recently announced its list of  The 10 Biggest Homophobes and Transphobes of 2018 with the top prize not going to Trump, but an anti-LGBTQ hate group. And not one we would expect.I personally think this is a wonderful choice because it recognizes the simple fact that those who do the most damage to the LGBTQ community are generally hidden in the shadows. It's easy to raise hell at Trump or guess which member of the Family Research Council is secretly gay, but it takes genuine perception to ignore those easy marks and instead, focus on the planners draped in darkness. And when it comes to planners draped in darkness, anti-LGBTQ hate group, the Alliance Defending Freedom wins the prize in a landslide:

The year's top Phobie Aware goes to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal nonprofit that specializes in causes important to the religious right. The group represented Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips at the U.S. Supreme Court, winning a measured victory — the court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which found Philllips guilty of violating the state's anti-discrimination law by refusing to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, did not show sufficient respect for his religious beliefs. The court, in a decision issued in June of this year (arguments were heard in 2017), therefore vacated the ruling, but it did not approve a broad license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, which is most likely what the ADF wanted. The ADF is still fighting for the right to discriminate. It's asked the Supreme Court to take up cases where ADF is trying to end a Pennsylvania school district's transgender-inclusive restroom policy and advocating for a funeral home's right to fire a trans employee. Oh, and it's got another case involving Masterpiece Cakeshop, for a refusal to make a birthday cake that celebrates a trans woman's gender transition. The ADF contends that the state of Colorado is harassing Philllips by expecting him to obey the anti-discrimination law.

Check out The Advocate's entire list, but note the significance of ADF topping the list.  As the links below demonstrate, ADF's attack on the LGBTQ community goes way beyond supposedly defending "religious liberty."  But now, it can no longer do these things powered by being behind the scenes.

Related posts:

NoGaysAllowed

The extremism of anti-LGBTQ powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom

New Justice Department Spokeswoman Comes From Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group

Jeff Sessions consulted Christian right legal group on religious freedom memo

Jeff Sessions Assures Anti-LGBTQ Hate Group They're Okie-Dokie

SPLC refutes Sessions’ comments about hate group designations

Is Alliance Defending Freedom a hate group? Just look at their work.

'Landlord caught on video kicking out a tenant because he's gay' & other Fri midday news briefs

Gotta give the shout first first to my girl Cristan Williams and myself! The Advocate article about our efforts to call out anti-LGBTQ propaganda came out today. We were both featured in the Best of 2018 issue. Thank you to Diane Anderson-Minshall for a wonderful article!

Hateful landlord caught on video kicking out a tenant because he’s gay - We got you! On tape. This is what can happen when we aren't protected by law. The Florida county where this happened has no laws protecting LGBTQs from housing discrimination. The landlord may have broken other laws which could help the young man, but still.

 Defense Sec Mattis Quits, After Going Along With Trump on Trans Ban - The resignation which has sent huge shockwaves in DC. While there may be a need to attack Mattis because of how he went along with Trump's ridiculous trans ban, I think he did it only out of a sense of duty to the presidential office. In truth, I think he may not have been in favor of it and the way it was done underscored the difference of opinion which is the reason for him stepping down.  

Family Research Council: LGBTQ rights shouldn't be protected under law because of children & 'health hazards' - Post from last night which proves that no matter what they claim, religious right opposition to LGBTQ equality is not rooted in fear or an adherence to "religious liberty." It's all about the hate and the demonizing. 

 A push for compromise on LGBTQ protections may tear evangelicals apart - Come on with it.  

The Year LGBTQ Pop Culture Broke Big, But Didn't Make Bank - Just this time. If we didn't make bank this time, we will next time. 

And to make it a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc just in case I don't post again before then .  . . Charlie Brown music and dancing:

Family Research Council: LGBTQ rights shouldn't be protected under law because of children & 'health hazards'

The Family Research Council implies this as a reason why LGBTQ rights shouldn't be protected under the law.

Today, the Family Research Council published something which more than proves why the organization deserves its SPLC-designated status as a hate group.

FRC not only demonizes the LGBTQ community and portrays us as predators and a health hazard. Via the help of frauds it designates as experts, group publishes distorted research papers aimed at the same goal of stigmatizing the LGBTQ community.

In the latest one, Why "Sexual Orientation" and "Gender Identity" Should Never Be Specially Protected Categories Under the Law, FRC makes the argument that the rights of LGBTQs should not be protected under the law.

On its webpage, FRC said the following about the paper:

In recent years, efforts by LGBT activists to insert "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" 

("SOGI") as specially protected categories in the law have continued at the state and local levels, but they have not made much progress in Congress. 

With Democrats taking over the House in 2019, that may change. We can expect a renewed push for the sweeping and extreme bill called the "Equality Act." Some members of Congress may even respond by proposing an ill-conceived compromise, dubbed "Fairness for All," that combines a SOGI law with limited religious liberty protections. 

 In anticipation of these debates, FRC has already produced a new publication with a concise explanation of Why "Sexual Orientation" and "Gender Identity" Should Never Be Specially Protected Categories Under the Law. Written by Senior Fellow Peter Sprigg, the new Issue Brief explains that SOGI laws are not justified in principle; are invasive and cause tangible harms; and are coercive and cannot be reconciled with religious liberty.

First of all, let's talk about Sprigg. He is no expert He is a failed actor and a pastor who has a history of publishing piss-poor junk-science filled propaganda. I've written extensively on several of his papers and statements including when he said gays should exported from the United States.

'Homophobic note ruins night out with friends in Columbia, SC' & other Thur midday news briefs

A homophobic note left in a takeout bag caused a firestorm in Columbia, SC

A gay man found a note calling him a ‘fag’ in his restaurant takeout bag - In Columbia, SC! Why can't my state make POSITIVE LGBTQ news? Or rather, when we do, folks ignore it. But when something like this happens, look out! 

At least the culprit was fired. 

With ‘Hometown,’ Brandon Stansell Wants To Remind LGBTQ Country Fans They’re Not Alone - I applaud him for this.  

Trump’s military is discriminating against people living with HIV now, too - When the walls come crashing down on this charlatan, I'm going to take time out of my schedule of reminding how the religious right was up his tookis to dance on the grave of his failed political career. 

 Just one gay acquaintance can change hearts and minds on LGBTQ rights, study finds - I guess in this case, "having a gay friend" is a good thing.