Anti-LGBTQ bigotry never changes and never goes away. It simply gets sanitized.

 This from 1985

has turned into this in 2023. 

In reality, it never actually changes. It simply gets repeated after some minor sanitization.

But it's still lies motivated by hate.

'Disney yanks $1 billion development project from Florida in latest salvo in conflict with DeSantis' & other Thur afternoon news briefs

Editor's note - unless something juicy happens, see you Sunday night.

Disney cancels $1 billion development project in Orlando — costing Florida 2,000 jobs - On Wednesday, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis was on cloud nine after signing several anti-LGBTQ bills into law. On Thursday, Disney taught him the first rule of playing the game of chicken with a shark. Don't do it. And just in time for his presidential run announcement. I am loving this. 

Reminder of DeSantis' slate of hate - Ron DeSantis' new law allows trans kids to be taken from their parents 

Texas to Face Lawsuit Over Its Recently Passed Ban on Gender-Affirming Care - You better believe it.

NH House Indefinitely Postpones Bill That Would Have Forcibly “Outed” LGBTQ+ Students - Good news out of New Hampshire.

Unmasking Moms for Liberty - Newest astroturfed anti-LGBTQ hate group is causing problems.

NC Lt Gov spins lie about clinics performing trans surgery on five-year-olds' & other Thur midday news briefs

NC Lt Gov Mark Robinson

NC Lt. Gov. falsely says clinics performed “transgender surgery” on 5-year-olds​ - And this fool is supposed to be a 'Christian.' We are full swing into the war now. Bring it on. 

Nebraska GOP Lawmakers Break Filibuster on Banning Trans Care and Abortion - Uh oh. Thursday may be a problem. 

Ron “Don’t Say Gay” DeSantis just suffered through his most humiliating night yet - The night before he signed those awful bills, Ron DeSantis got a warning via an election night upset of a candidate he supported. He didn't heed it of course. Keep your eye on this because it could be a preview of coming attractions. 

Church and state: Kansas Republicans target ’eminently exploitable’ LGBTQ community - Pretty much.

LGBTQ Students Face Barriers to Getting Student Loans Without Parents’ Participation - Another issue needing to be taken care of.

Ron DeSantis' new law allows trans kids to be taken from their parents

When Florida Gov Ron DeSantis isn't targeting LGBTQ people, he attempts to make himself look congenial. It doesn't work.

We already know that on Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a slate of anti-LGBTQ bills into law. You can see this link to read more about them. 

I want to focus on the following law because it's so damn cruel.

According to The New Republic:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a horrifying bill Wednesday that will let the state take transgender minors away from their families if they are receiving gender-affirming care. 

 The new law will allow the state to take custody of a child if they have been “subjected to or [are] threatened with being subjected to” gender-affirming care, which includes puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy. Florida courts could modify custody agreements from a different state if the minor is likely to receive gender-affirming care in that second state. The text refers to gender-affirming care as “sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures” and qualifies this care as a form of “physical harm.” 

 Medical facilities would have to give the state Department of Health a signed attestation that they neither provide gender-affirming care to any patients under the age of 18 nor refer people to providers that do. Their medical license renewal is contingent upon sending in this attestation. 

And it doesn't just target trans kids.

 But the bill also targets trans adults: Only physicians are allowed to offer gender-affirming care (not nurse practitioners). Anyone who violates the law could be charged with a misdemeanor. Minors who have already begun transitioning will be allowed to continue to do so, but they are no longer allowed to receive care via telehealth, including for prescriptions. 

Their doctors have to tell them about the “risks” of gender-affirming care, and patients will have to sign an informed consent form, which the ACLU has pointed out often contains misinformation. Doctors who violate any of these new rules could be charged with a felony.

This news law is simply evil in itself. But it becomes more insidious when one takes into account the allegation that the state may have manipulated data to justify creating it. Independent journalist Erin Reed breaks it all down in a very thorough article:

On August 11th, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration banned gender affirming care coverage from Medicaid. Meanwhile, the board of medicine proceeded to ban gender affirming care for transgender youth. To do this, they relied on a newly created “Standards of Care” for the treatment of gender dysphoria that was rife with errors and omissions. Now, new court filings show that the Florida Surgeon General’s Office and the Agency for Health Care Administration purposefully manipulated this research to justify banning gender affirming care, including a flow chart produced before the “research” was commissioned with the explicit end goal of “care effectively banned.” Worse, they utilized a consultant from a religious conversion therapy organization to do so.

Gender-affirming care for trans people, including trans kids, is safe and supported by over 20 major medical groups including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.  The government has no business interjecting itself into private family decisions by way of laws passed through lies and deliberate misappropriate of studies.

This attack on gender-affirming care is a fraudulent undertaking motivated by lies, prejudice, and - in the case of Ron DeSantis -  a craven desire for higher office. It's very similar to past attacks on gay rights, even down to the fake experts and the horror anecdotes about children being indoctrinated. 

'Parents file a police report after teacher makes LGBTQ-themed book available to her middle schoolers' & other Wed midday news briefs

Parents file a police report after teacher offers LGBTQ-themed book to her middle schoolers​ - This has become way past a pain in the neck.

Man outed to parents after they spot him in Janelle Monáe’s queer-tastic ‘Lipstick Lover’ video - Oh mercy. 

Anti-Trans Gays are Turning New Hampshire Into the Next Transphobic Battleground - THIS is a hot mess. 

Chasten Buttigieg shares secret for ‘fighting back’ against anti-LGBTQ trolls -Don't get me started.

Investigation of teacher for showing students a Disney movie with gay character may prove that FL law does unfairly target LGBTQ community

It looks like Florida Gov Ron DeSantis may be in another self-made mess. This one comes from the 'Don't Say Gay' law he pushed through the legislature in order to build up his "culture warrior" reputation in anticipation of his all but certain presidential run.

According to The Miami Herald:

The Florida Department of Education could visit a K-8 school in Hernando County as early as Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into a fifth-grade teacher’s decision to show a Disney movie featuring a gay character in her classroom. 

 The Tallahassee Democrat broke down how all of this began:

 A Florida teacher is under investigation by the state Department of Education after what she believes is a targeted attack by a school board member who took issue with a Disney movie shown in her classroom. 

 At a Hernando County School Board meeting Tuesday, fifth-grade teacher Jenna Barbee alleges school board member Shannon Rodriguez reported her to DOE for showing her students Disney's 2022 movie "Strange World." It's the first Disney movie with an out, gay character. Barbee, a teacher at Winding Waters K-8, said during public comment the Disney movie tied into her students' Earth science lesson and did not have sexually inappropriate content.

The Miami Herald went on to say:

 The expected visit would be the first time a department official is to visit the school since the investigation’s onset. On Monday, the department confirmed no one from the state had visited the school, “nor has contacted any students” about the movie. Barbee, however, said some students last week were questioned about the event by school administration. 

 . . . Barbee has spoken publicly about the incident and defended her decision, arguing the movie was related to her students’ science lessons and did not have sexually inappropriate content — now a polarizing political issue in the state. 

The Parental Rights in Education Act, passed last year and known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” prohibits educators from teaching about gender and sexual identity in kindergarten through third grade, and in older grades in cases when the lessons are deemed to be not “age appropriate.” Educators, however, have routinely expressed concern about the law’s vague wording and the subjectivity of deciding what is considered age appropriate.

The vague wording of the law was what DeSantis and his allies were counting on to refute claims that it targeted LGBTQ people. DeSantis has said on more than one occasion that the law was necessary to keep children from being exposed to sexually explicit discussions.

So much for that claim.

'Florida agencies accused of manipulating research to ban trans care and coverage' & other Tue midday news briefs

Florida Agencies Manipulated Research To Ban Trans Care And Coverage​ - Manipulate and cherry-pick research are the same tactics the opposition did to undermine gay rights. 

Turning Point efforts to export drag queen attacks and 'take back universities' marred by fringe associations and farcical missteps - Their hate don't seem to be working that well overseas. 

Residents vote against school funding after rightwingers protest “demonic” trans bathroom policy- They are only hurting themselves and their children. That's the saddest part. 

Inclusive church in Henderson County targeted by anti-LGBTQ protestors - So much for religious liberty.