Franklin Graham chooses to attack trans children instead of speaking up for migrant children

Franklin Graham 

During this weekend in which we are hearing all sorts of awful stories about the bad treatment of migrant children in border facilities and the illnesses they are suffering because of it, one would think some who have designated themselves as the nation's religious leaders would speak out.

Not so with prominent right-wing pastor Franklin Graham. He is too busy forwarding the probably soon-to-be newest religious right attack against the transgender community, ie. the false belief that transgender girl athletes have an unfair advantage over other girls in sports:

I am aware that it is easy for folks to get distracted and go off on a tangent about transgender athletes. And I am sure we are going to be hearing more about it. I would suggest that people educate themselves on this matter before allowing themselves to get sidetracked. There is information out there.

And basically, the issue itself regarding transgender athletes isn't the point. This is the point:

1. Four toddlers were so severely ill and neglected at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, that lawyers forced the government to hospitalize them last week. The children, all under age 3 with teenage mothers or guardians, were feverish, coughing, vomiting and had diarrhea, immigration attorneys told HuffPost on Friday. Some of the toddlers and infants were refusing to eat or drink. One 2-year-old’s eyes were rolled back in her head, and she was “completely unresponsive” and limp, according to Toby Gialluca, a Florida-based attorney.

2. A 2-year-old boy locked in detention wants to be held all the time. A few girls, ages 10 to 15, say they’ve been doing their best to feed and soothe the clingy toddler who was handed to them by a guard days ago. Lawyers warn that kids are taking care of kids, and there’s inadequate food, water and sanitation for the 250 infants, children and teens at the Border Patrol station.

Graham's voice was and still is needed here. Throughout history from Martin Luther King, Jr to Oscar Romero to Bishop Desmond Tutu, prominent religious leaders have used their platforms and risked their very lives to give voice to those abused by the system. But Graham hasn't.  Not at this time in which his voice would be so vital. And I don't understand why.

Why did he chose to bully other children instead of speaking out for migrant children. Speaking out for these children wouldn't have cost him anything, except maybe  to lose favor from Donald Trump.  And here I thought Graham sought the approval of a higher power than Donald Trump. Obviously not.

The Family Research Council picks the wrong day to gloat about Trump's trans military ban

On the day that Donald Trump has been accused of rape

The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips. I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights. I am astonished by what I’m about to write: I keep laughing. The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.

 we nearly got into a war with Iran because of his incompetence

Questions are being asked about outside influence on Donald Trump after the US president called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute. Having initially said he believed Iran made an error when it shot down a US drone on Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, the president nonetheless reportedly approved military strikes against the Islamic Republic later that day. The operation to hit targets such as radars and missile batteries was in its initial stages, the New York Times reported, and planes were in the air and ships had been moved into position. But before any missiles were fired the operation was cancelled.

and articles are released relating that immigrant children are becoming ill in border camps with  no decent food, water or sanitation:

1. Four toddlers were so severely ill and neglected at a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, that lawyers forced the government to hospitalize them last week. The children, all under age 3 with teenage mothers or guardians, were feverish, coughing, vomiting and had diarrhea, immigration attorneys told HuffPost on Friday. Some of the toddlers and infants were refusing to eat or drink. One 2-year-old’s eyes were rolled back in her head, and she was “completely unresponsive” and limp, according to Toby Gialluca, a Florida-based attorney.

2. A 2-year-old boy locked in detention wants to be held all the time. A few girls, ages 10 to 15, say they’ve been doing their best to feed and soothe the clingy toddler who was handed to them by a guard days ago. Lawyers warn that kids are taking care of kids, and there’s inadequate food, water and sanitation for the 250 infants, children and teens at the Border Patrol station.

the so-called Christian group the Family Research Council has decided to gloat about Trump keeping transgender men and women out of the military:

We have seen many victories in the last few years for #religiousfreedom in the #military, including the Trump admin. reversing the Obama era-social experimentation policy of allowing individuals to serve who openly identify as transgender. Thank you: https://t.co/IyiW3FIPok pic.twitter.com/xrrdT2mKRg

— FRC (@FRCdc) June 21, 2019

Ah yes. Priorities.

'College makes library take down Lady Gaga pro-LGBTQ sign' & other Fri midday news briefs

A pro-LGBTQ quote from Lady Gaga on a sign has a college running scared.

A college found this Lady Gaga quote so dangerous the library had to take it down - Too late! The kiddies are already ours MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

California Joins States Raising Pride Flags At Their Capitols, Defying Trump - I love it!! 

Lawmakers form group to fight anti-LGBTI discrimination around the world - Lawmakers from two dozen countries, that is. It is sorely needed. 

LGBTQ Media Matters staff speak about representation in the media - I've admired members of this group for a long time. It's nice to see them in real form. Good video! 

Thousands of teens spared conversion therapy due to state bans, report finds - Something to cheer about.

Texas adoption agency wants LGBTQ tax dollars, just not LGBTQ potential parents

Religious-based adoption agencies want LGBTQ tax dollars and the right to discriminate against the LGBTQ community.

This is going to come to a head soon and I think it may be in our favor. At least I hope.

From Raw Story:

A Texas adoption agency that receives federal taxpayer funds is refusing to allow a lesbian couple to become foster parents, and they’re citing their religious beliefs to support their discriminatory decision. 

Bryn Esplin and Fatma Marouf, who are married and are both professors at Texas A&M University, were told by the agency because they’re a same-sex couple they don’t “mirror the holy family,” and thus would not allow them to foster some of the thousands of migrant and refugee children the federal government is detaining.

The women pressed, saying that surely some of the 700 children under the agency’s care were LGBT and would benefit from being placed with a married lesbian couple, as The Daily Beast reports. 

Catholic Charities told them not a single child, out of 700, were LGBT. Statistically, that’s impossible.

 . . .they decided to sue the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which runs the agency, Catholic Charities of Fort Worth. The couple just won an important initial victory. The court says they have standing. They are suing charging violations of their First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as Metro Weekly reports. 

Anti-LGBTQ group claims rugby player sacked for condemning gays to hell is the victim

Isreal Folau

On Wednesday, the hate group Family Research Council claimed that the "religious liberty" of athletes should is under attack:

In today's hyper-politicized climate, it seems that nothing can escape the relentless black hole of "woke" political correctness, not even sports. In a Speaker Series event at FRC, Dr. Jennifer Bryson gave example after example of how the LGBT agenda has strong-armed its way into sports, particularly soccer, where rainbow flags are featured on the jerseys of the U.S. men's and women's national teams, on team captain armbands, on shoelaces, and even on the ground where players are required to walk.  

 Are the athletes who make sports possible allowed to object to their jobs and religious beliefs being co-opted by a political cause? Nope. Just ask Jaelene Hinkle, who faced immense harassment after declining to wear an LGBT-themed jersey for the U.S. national team. Or Josip Brekalo, who was required to wear a rainbow-themed arm band as a team captain, but declined to. Or Isreal Folau, who was sacked by both the Australian national rugby team and his professional team for expressing his religious beliefs on Instagram.

Let's focus on one of their examples - the case of Isreal Folau. Below is the Instagram post he sent which got him into trouble.

As FRC related, he was dismissed for not only this but other past incidents of him making homophobic remarks.  He is now not only suing Rugby Australia but continuing to make homophobic remarks, such as claiming that Satan is behind transgender children.

These reasons are why his case is a bit more problematic to defend. Folau is talking about people. This isn't a case where someone is encroaching on his beliefs to believe. It is rather someone taking him to task for attacking groups of people. The first two examples FRC listed involve possible encroaching on someone's personal space (we don't know the entire story regarding those examples and FRC does have a history of playing loose with the truth for the sake of its narratives) in order to send a message their religion does not condone.

But in the case of Folau, this is someone sending out a message targeting a group of people. No one was forcing him to make a statement or take a position contrary to his beliefs.  But yet FRC - while careful not to detail what he said - claims that he is a victim of anti-religious discrimination. Would FRC feel that way if he had posted something which said Jewish people, Muslims, or people of other ethnicities are going to hell.

Doubtful. In fact, I doubt anyone would be attempting to defend his comments as expressions of  "religious freedom."

Folau's case underscores questions we are not asking about the concept of "religious liberty" as pushed by the conservative right and anti-LGBTQ industry. Other than supposedly protecting religious businesses, should it be used to protect people from the consequences of abusive speech? And if so, should it pertain to solely homophobic speech or would racist or even anti-Semitic speech be included ? And if not, then why?

I don't think FRC or anyone else on their side of the issue are willing to answer the question.

'GOP advancing another anti-LGBTQ nominee as potential judge' & other Wed midday news briefs

Republicans advance anti-LGBT pro-discrimination Christian extremist nominee for lifetime appointment - Well this is depressing.

How A Trans Woman Defied A Crime Family To Become Italy’s Leading LGBTQ Activist- Wow, this is an interesting story. 

Defending a Lie With More Lies Has Become Essential Doctrine - The blog The Slowly Boiled Frog has been doing some excellent work lately in calling out the anti-LGBTQ industry.

Joe Biden visits historic Stonewall Inn gay bar - Not bad, Mr. Biden.

Fox News omits LGBTQ voices while rolling out red carpet for anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Fox News personality Shannon Bream routinely misgenders transgender women while allowing her show to be a propaganda engine for the anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom

When it comes to LGBTQ issues, Fox News Network doesn't seem to want to give us a voice. For all of the talk by its personalities of having a "debate," the network has always rolled out the red carpet for groups, such as hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom, working to undermine our equality while omitting our voices.

From Media Matters:

Fox News host Tucker Carlson hosted extreme anti-LGBTQ group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and its client Selina Soule, a high school athlete in Connecticut, during a segment in which ADF revealed that it has filed a Title IX complaint with the Department of Education on behalf of Soule and other students who object to competing against trans athletes. 

ADF’s decision to file a Title IX complaint is particularly troubling given that the organization has allies throughout the federal government, including within the Department of Education. The group’s former director of litigation projects, Thomas W. Stack, worked for ADF for two years before becoming a senior attorney at the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the office that “evaluates, investigates, and resolves complaints alleging sex discrimination.” Records indicate that Stack has previously been assigned to investigate complaints filed with OCR. 

Soule has been interviewed on both Fox & Friends and The Ingraham Angle last February, and she was highlighted on right-wing sites including The Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal. Soule’s mother, Bianca Stanescu, also recently participated in a panel discussion at the Heritage Foundation advocating against transgender athletes. Heritage has hosted several panels advocating against transgender rights this year. 

ADF has repeatedly used Fox News to promote its cases and policy positions; the Carlson interview was at least the sixth ADF appearance on Fox this year. The reality is that Fox is the perfect place for groups like ADF to introduce their anti-LGBTQ work, because its standards for LGBTQ coverage are out of step with standard journalistic practices. The network frequently hosts anti-LGBTQ guests who work for or are associated with extreme groups, including Heritage Foundation, MassResistance, and Liberty Counsel. Fox hosts allow these guests to push extreme rhetoric and sometimes mirror their language. “Straight news” host Shannon Bream has repeatedly misgendered trans people in coverage, recently calling a trans women a “biological male who now identifies as a woman,” and Fox reporter Greg Palkot misgendered Chelsea Manning. Additionally, reporter Carley Shimkus incorrectly identified Olympic champion Caster Semenya as trans, feeding into the network’s fearmonger tactics about trans athletes.

The entire article and video deserves a read and you can do that here. When the most watched cable news network deliberately works to shut out the voices of the LGBTQ community while elevating voices determined to make us second-class citizens, you know we got problems.