Mississippi lawmaker called out for making false claims about trans teen surgeries

Those of us who've tracked anti-LGBTQ lies over the years have seen this happen numerous times -  anecdotal stories about kids being harmed in some way by LGBTQ culture turning out to be completely false. 

From Mississippi Today on Friday:

Sen. Joey Fillingane, defending a controversial bill that would ban gender-affirming care for trans minors, said on the Senate floor Tuesday he’d recently spoken with a Hattiesburg-based plastic surgeon who told him he’d performed gender-confirmation surgery on 17-year-old trans kids. That plastic surgeon, contacted Wednesday by Mississippi Today, says he didn’t tell Fillingane that and wants the senator to recant his statement.

 . . . Fillingane presented the bill to the Senate. He took many by surprise when he said he’d talked to “plastic surgeons in Hattiesburg” who told him they had “on occasion” performed gender-confirmation surgeries on 17-year-olds with parental consent. 

 . . . Dr. Paul Talbot, who founded the Plastic Surgery Center of Hattiesburg in 1998, told Mississippi Today he is the surgeon Fillingane talked to. He recalled the recent conversation with Fillingane — which took place after the men ran into each other at Revolution Fitness in Hattiesburg — differently. “It was a two-minute conversation,” Talbot said. “I was on one elliptical, he was on the other.” While they were exercising, Talbot said he told Fillingane he has taken on trans adults as clients but has never performed surgery on trans kids. “I’ve never done anybody (trans) under the age of 18,” Talbot told Mississippi Today. “He must’ve misheard that because no, we’ve never done that. Never had someone ask me under 18 to do it.”

Aside from this part, the article relates just how difficult it to for trans Mississipians to receive treatment in the first place.  In addition, the article brings up a good point when it comes to cosmetic surgery for trans Americans in comparison to cosmetic surgery for cis Americans:

The gender binary is not as clear-cut as some Mississippians might think, Talbot said. He thinks of cosmetic procedures for cis people as on the same spectrum as those for trans people. “Typically once you have them draped out in the operating room ready to do surgery, I couldn’t tell if it’s a boy or girl lying on the table,” he said. 

There’s no difference, he said, when it comes to the actual procedure: A mastectomy for a cis woman is performed exactly the same way as “top surgery” on a trans man. Still, in Mississippi and across the country, trans people face more barriers in obtaining the same procedures that cis people can get with little questions asked.

Call it what it is - Legislative attack on drag queens is un-American, puppet government trash

When folks attack the LGBTQ community and our rights, it's always under the guise of some hysterical notion that anything about our culture will harm children. This recent hysteria about banning drag in public places is just the latest in a very long history of people masking their own ignorance and fears about LGBTQ people behind the lie that children need to be saved from us.

Republicans in Kentucky are working on a bill which would ban drag shows within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, and homes. A main target of this bill is  the popular event known as Drag Queen Story Hour in which drag queens read children's books to kids and their parents in public libraries. For years, those on the right have spun nefarious and false claims about the event in unsuccessful attempts to do away with it. Seeing that they couldn't dent the event's popularity, they are now attempting to legislate their will on people. 

I think this moment in the tweet below not only underscores the inanity of that particular bill, also but this entire crusade of fear:

Kentucky State Sen. Stephen Meredith (R) says that drag queens reading books to students could lead to bringing “prostitutes to school to talk about career day” and showing “XXX movies under the guise of art appreciation.” pic.twitter.com/5wEfOR4SU5

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 23, 2023

This clip proves yet again that the main people who seem to be in need of a good drag show are the ones who oppose them. We are dealing with people who don't want to be reasoned with even though they have been told time and time again that their notions are inaccurate. They have a false idea of drag and our community in general. And it's not enough for them to have that belief. They want to force the belief on the rest of us, which is pretty ironic. They always complain that we are forcing our beliefs on them. 

But no one forces them or their kids to go to drag shows which by the way, can be either adult-oriented or child friendly just like movies. Drag in itself is not inherently x-rated. No one forces them  or their kids to attend Drag Queen Story Hour, which is an innocent event popular with both kids and their parents in general. No one is forcing them to abandon their inaccurate opinion that drag in itself is adult entertainment.  

These folks who claim that they are protecting and defending are the ones doing the forcing And they are determined to continue forcing even if it leads them to pervert our country's legislative process. They have every right to their personal beliefs that drag is dirty by nature and the LGBTQ community are out to supposedly groom children. But those beliefs are opinions, not facts. By attempting to pass these laws, these so-called moral crusaders are trying to convert these opinions into facts which they then are attempting to force the rest of us to live by. 

It's tyrannical and goes against everything America is supposed to stand for. It stinks of actions coming a puppet  government in which preconceived plans are carried out in an embarrassingly obvious show ceremony done for the sake of appearances. The rights of the people are sacrificed for the whims of those in power. Facts don't matter, integrity doesn't matter, and the people whom these folks are sworn to protect don't matter.

It seems to me that putting on a show of constitutional governance while stripping away constitutional rights is worse than any Republican imagination of a drag show could ever be.  And that is the very thing which our children should be protected from.

'GOP gubernatorial candidate says Satan is sitting in libraries' & other Thur midday news briefs

GOP gubernatorial candidate says Satan is sitting in libraries​ - Actually, I've heard he is probably in certain other places.

On CNN, a trans teen and her father discuss the dangerous effects of youth gender-affirming care bans - Glory be! The media actually talked to a trans child and her family instead of phony experts from the right? I can't believe it! It's a miracle! 

The Far Right Is Calling for the Execution of Teachers and Doctors - Because they are helping trans kids. It's not enough for those bigots to attack us. They go after those who are helping us stay healthy and feel good about ourselves. Completely deliberate and evil. 

Suspect charged with hate crime in connection with NYC pride flag fire - Girlfriend, you are busted.

West Virginia transgender sports ban temporarily halted because of appeal

It's a temporary injunction, but it is still a victory for trans kids wanting to play sports. At least for now.

From ABC News:

Transgender athletes in West Virginia can compete in female school sports while an appeal is heard on a state law banning their participation, a divided federal appeals panel ruled Wednesday. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to reinstate a preliminary injunction, sought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The 2021 law signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice applies to middle and high schools, as well as colleges. 

 Last month a federal judge dissolved the preliminary injunction, which he had issued in July 2021. The judge also ruled the law did not violate Title IX, the landmark gender equity legislation of 1972. 

 . . . More than a dozen states have passed laws banning or restricting transgender athletes' participation in sports based on the premise that they have an unfair competitive advantage, despite a lack of widespread cases. The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission, which oversees scholastic sports, said when the suit was filed that it had not received any complaints about transgender athletes on girls' teams.

Related post - BUSTED! USA Today article makes strong case that attempts to ban trans athletes are based on lies and misrepresentations   

'Black celebrity's latest cover shoot slammed for being 'too effeminate' & other Wed midday news briefs

Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors’ latest cover shoot slammed for being too “effeminate”​ - Here we go. A black man is always made to overcompensate our masculinity. 

Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Allowing Outing, Pronoun Bans Advance Around Nation - Interesting how these bad bills are taking place in 'red' states. 

These Black pioneers are some of the most important figures in LGBTQ sports history - Great feature. Worth reading and sharing. 

Daily Wire host: “I would rather be dead” than have a trans child - Oh Matt Walsh, I ain't saying a word.

FL school district bans three books, including one about 'gay penguins'

'And Tango Makes Three' is the latest of book banning

This nonsense about "protecting kids" by banning books is going to continue until folks recognize just stupid it is. And I hope that we are getting very close to that level.

From wuwf 881 - NPR for Florida's Great Northwest

The Escambia County School Board voted to remove three books from school libraries last night in a meeting that ran over four hours. The books in question had already gone through the district’s committee review process and had been voted unanimously to stay on the shelves in school libraries. But multiple challenges brought the books into an appeal process. 

 In a packed room, dozens of parents and concerned citizens spoke about the books which include “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson, “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, and “When Aiden Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff.

Indeed, all three books discussed in Monday’s special meeting dealt with LGBTQ themes and characters. None of the books were part of classroom curriculum but were offered in age-appropriate libraries for students to read at will. 

 "All Boys Aren't Blue" has been attacked in many places for graphic sexual content which some have claimed others have simply cherry-picked.

 "When Adrian Became a Brother" is a children's book about a transgender child becoming a big brother.

 The third book, "And Tango Makes Three," underscores just how ridiculous and dishonest this book banning crusade is. It's simply about two male penguins who raise a chick. It's a wonderful story about differences in families, but to some folks it's the latest proof of so-called LGBTQ indoctrination of children. And of course that includes inferences of sexual activity, which is ridiculous because while one book has a little sexual content, the other two have none.

 "And Tango Makes Three" is about penguins, for goodness sakes. What kind of freaky nonsense are some of these folks thinking

We all know what this is really about. No matter how many of us they see, how many of us they claim to know personally, and how many of our families surround them every say, some people are determined to pigeonhole LGBTQ people into a false designation of sexual activity. As if all LGBTQ people is have sex and think about ways to have sex, when we aren't attempting convert kids, that is.

And it's not enough for them to feel that way on a personal level. They attempt to force that designation on us, no matter who far from it we actually are. It's not enough for them to peek into closets. They are also trying to shove us into the closets.

Satan obsessed election-denial homophobe now leads Michigan state Republican Party

Michigan Republican chose Kristina Karamo as their state leader.

And you thought you had problems? I'd wager that few of your problems are bigger than that of Michigan Republicans. After an electoral wipeout which saw them lose power in the 2020, the state party is going to a strange place for leadership.

From USA Today:

Kristina Karamo, a Republican who has made unsubstantiated allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election and has yet to concede her 14-point loss in the 2022 Michigan election for secretary of state, was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party Saturday. 

 Karamo defeated unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno of Kalamazoo, a fellow election denier who was endorsed in the party chair race by Trump. Karamo had 58% of the vote on the third – and final – ballot at the state convention. DePerno had 42%.

 "We will not betray you; we will not lie to you," Karamo said in a brief victory speech as convention delegates were hustled out of the Lansing Center. The cash-strapped state party had only paid to rent the hall until late afternoon. Officials extended the arrangement until 8 p.m., but told delegates they had to leave quickly after the third ballot. 

 . . . Karamo's election as chair signals the party leadership's shift to nearly full alignment with Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) messaging. Many longtime party stalwarts stayed away from Saturday's convention, unhappy with the party's direction. Long considered an organizational and fundraising juggernaut, the Michigan Republican Party took a historic shellacking in the November election, losing every statewide office and losing control of the Michigan Senate for the first time in 40 years. 

Election denial isn't the only thing Karamo has been vocal about. She's been extremely vocal about LGBTQ people. And in case you don't know where this is going, she doesn't like us very much. She thinks we're in league with Satan. 

From Media Matters:

CNN reported that Karamo criticized schools for teaching children about LGBTQ parents, and quoted her saying in one episode: “There is no such thing as a person with two mommies and two daddies. That is just factually incorrect.” The outlet also quoted her in another episode saying of two same-sex parents: “No, it's the parent and their homosexual lover. That's what's going on.” 

 Heartland Signal reported that on one episode of her podcast, “Karamo declares that she understands that same sex attraction ‘in and of itself is unnatural’” and “ranted about schools teaching LGBTQ issues and transgender youth acceptance. She referred to teaching those topics as ‘Satan … trying to get children while they’re small,’ and said, ‘the education system is being used as a tool to push sexual sin.’” 

And just in case girlfriend tries to claim she has been misquoted, here is some audio courtesy of Media Matters:

     

 Way to go Michigan Republicans. You certainly can pick 'em.