Eight is Mike Pence's unlucky number

While Arkansas may still pass an awful "religious freedom" bill and North Carolina's Governor Pat McCrory coming out against one, it's important that we continue to hammer the lies told by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence with regards to that state's "religious freedom" law

This video by the Human Rights Campaign needs to go viral.  It condenses Pence's 'This Week' interview to the eight times he refused to say whether or not Indiana's religious freedom law could be used to discriminate against lgbts.

To reiterate, Pence was asked this question eight times and every time, he wouldn't give a definite answer. Pence's sidestepping is an indictment against his character and that of these anti-gay "Christian conservatives" who claim to stand for God, morality, and values, but then would use underhanded tactics while hiding their motives.

They have been doing this sort of thing for decades, but now it is not only time for us to strike back, but also demand answers. If they want to engage in a debate regarding the positive existence of lgbts, we should demand that their anti-Christian lies and tactics be a part of the debate.

'Backlash against 'religious freedom' bills reaches other states & CNN' & other Monday midday news briefs

The video above outlines lgbt success in two ways. One - Chris Cuomo of CNN blisters the Family Research Council's Peter Sprig for attempting to defend Indiana's anti-gay "religious freedom" law. Secondly, and of specific interest to me, Cuomo mentions the picture of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signing the law while being flanked by anti-gay lobbyists. This picture contradicts Pence's claim that the law wasn't meant to be a vehicle for anti-gay discrimination. See what we can accomplish when we work together to spread good information. For more on this lovely beat down, including some background info on Sprigg's past dips into homophobia, check out Jeremy Hooper. 

 Opposition rallies to keep anti-gay bill dead - Don't think for a minute that folks aren't watching what's going on in Indiana. Georgia's "religious freedom" bill is just about dead. And many folks are doing to do what they can to keep it flatlined.  

Montana House Narrowly Defeats 'Religious Freedom' Bill With Evenly Split Vote - Another one just died in Montana. 

  The Big Lie The Media Tells About Indiana’s New ‘Religious Freedom’ Law - Speaking of that anti-gay law in Indiana, the anti-gay right and conservatives are mounting a big defense of lies, claiming that it's similar to bills in 19 states. You wanna bet . . . .  

Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Anti-Gay Religious Freedom Laws Are Dangerous - It's so nice to have one of your own with an extreme power of the purse. Money always talks, my friends.  

Anti-Gay Florist Fined $1,000 And Ordered Not To Discriminate - She'll continue to turn it down. Her lawyers want her case to reach the Supreme Court. 

 Glenn Beck's Co-Author Decries Gay Parenting As A 'Profound, Disgusting, Vile Evil' - Just a reminder that no matter how victorious we may look, the battle is never over. We are dealing with folks who want to devalue EVERY aspect of our lives.

Mike Pence's claim about his anti-gay law contradicted by picture of him with lobbyists

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will have you to believe that the recent 'religious liberty' bill he signed into law isn't anti-gay. He claims that beliefs of the alleged anti-gay animus of this law is some sort of campaign of mis-education.

Don't believe Pence.  He is lying. And the proof comes from the signing ceremony of the bill.

While the signing of the bill was private, this particular picture was released on Pence's twitter account. It shows the governor with  priests, nuns, orthodox Jewish leaders, and lawmakers:

HOWEVER, this picture below shows the governor with a different group of folks, i.e. lobbyists who pushed for this bill. Thanks to GLAAD and Twitter user @SeaMonkey237, we know who these folks are. Their names and what they have to do with anti-gay activism are clearly described (click on pictures if you need to enlarge them.):

Just in case you need the links concerning the folks in the second picture and their  history of vicious anti-gay activism:

www.glaad.org/cap/micah-clark

www.glaad.org/cap/curt-smith

www.glaad.org/cap/eric-miller

Based upon this picture we now know why Gov. Pence wasn't forthcoming about his "religious liberty/freedom" law on 'This Week.'

If he had said no when asked does the bill allow for anti-lgbt discrimination, he would have been clearly lying.

And that picture of him with those anti-gay lobbyists is the smoking gun.

Failure Alert! Indiana Gov. Mike Pence fails to clarify anti-gay law on 'This Week'

In reviewing the interview of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Sunday's edition of 'This Week,' two adages come to mind:

"It's not always about what's said, but what's not said" and "give your enemy enough rope and he will hang himself."

No doubt, Pence thought he was going to cast the image of righteous defiance in supporting that awful anti-gay "religious freedom" law his state passed and he signed last week. His interview was part of his effort to somehow reclaim the narrative which was lost the moment he signed the bill. However, he failed on a monumental scale and this was chiefly because of his not answering interviewer George Stephanopoulos's direct question of whether the law allows anti-gay discrimination. And Stephanopoulos asked the question more than once.

Needless to say, Pence did nothing to quell the controversy started by this law and I think he significantly hurt his image . Don't be surprised is his interview only adds to the the constantly growing backlash:

Indiana restaurant begins barring gays thanks to new 'religious freedom' law

Whether the following is a hoax or not, it just made the brush fire started by Indiana's new "religious freedom" law explode into a veritable firestorm. To say the religious right and other supporters of "religious freedom" laws have lost the narrative would be an extreme understatement:

An Indiana business owner went on a local radio station and said that he had discriminated against gay or lesbian couples even before Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed a law on Thursday protecting business owners who decide to discriminate for “religious liberty” reasons. He then defended the practice and suggested he would do it again.

The business owner, who would not give his name or the name of his business, said he had told some LGBT “people” that equipment was broken in his restaurant and he couldn’t serve them even though it wasn’t and other people were already eating at the tables. “So, yes, I have discriminated,” he told RadioNOW 100.9 hosts. The hosts were surprised the owner said he was okay with discriminating.

“Well, I feel okay with it because it’s my place of business, I pay the rent, I’ve built it with all my money and my doing. It’s my place; I can do whatever I want with it, “he said. “They can have their lifestyle and do their own thing in their own place or with people that want to be with them.”

You can hear the audio here

As Indiana deals with an ugly backlash from businesses and celebrities such as Broadway's Audra McDonald, this audio only makes things worse. The old adage of "being careful what you wish for" definitely comes to mind here.

'Did Georgia provide the pathway to kill anti-gay 'religious freedom' bills?' & other Friday midday news briefs

How To Kill A Discriminatory ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill: Call The Bluff - One lesson we should learn from what happened yesterday in Georgia to possibly kill that state's "religious liberty" bill is a way to wreck other "religious liberty" bills which may be proposed in other states. And if the bills aren't destroyed, we would still win the narrative, which is equally important.

Gay Money Is No Good in Indiana - MEANWHILE, Indiana is learning a lesson regarding bigotry and the inanity of anti-gay propaganda. The religious right tells us that lgbts don't need protection from discrimination because we are in a high income bracket. So why are they proposing reasons for us to withhold ALL OF THAT MONEY we are supposed to be making.

 7 Entities That May Boycott Indiana Over New LGBT Discrimination Law - Second verse, same at the first (damn, this is so much fun!)

 Hillary Clinton condemns Indiana discrimination law - Now you KNOW if Hilary is wanting a piece of the "Indiana beat down," things just got real.

  Court blocks implementation of FMLA rule for same-sex couples - Okay, time to come down from the high so we don't get victory disease. We still have a long way to go to secure equality.

Eleven Republicans Vote For Benefits For Married Same-Sex Couples - A nonbinding vote, but wait until you read the list of Republicans who voted for it.

 Rand Paul Suggests Gay Marriage Is The Result Of A 'Moral Crisis' In America - My God, if I hear ANOTHER PERSON talk about how this country "needs a revival" or "great awakening," I am going to DO SOMETHING (and I seriously don't know it is yet, but it will be spectacular). They've been saying that junk for the longest time. Jerry Falwell said it decades ago. Jesse Helms said it decades ago. Perhaps those claiming how this country "needs a revival" would do well to see if THEY THEMSELVES need said revival before pointing fingers. 

Jerry Boykin Calls Upon 'God's Army' To Rise Up And Fight The 'Evil' Of Gay Rights - Uh sorry. I think that God's Army is too busy feeding hungry, clothing the naked, and generally helping mankind. You know, that stuff that Jesus did when He was alive.

Georgia's 'religious freedom' bill gutted & tabled after unexpected move

While Indiana is dealing with the consequences of passing their "religious freedom" bill, a bit of unexpected drama caused a similar bill in Georgia to be tabled by the folks who proposed it:

Last minute dramatics capped off a two-hour long meeting of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, as an amendment adding protections against discrimination passed, which led to a successful vote to table the bill. If the bill would have passed in today's hearing, it likely would have reached the House floor for a vote as soon as Friday. Now the bill's future is in serious jeopardy as the days left in this year's legislative session dwindle.

The amendment was proposed by Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven), who stated that he was inundated with calls and emails from constituents concerned about the bill's effects. After several minutes of debate and a call to vote on the amendment, Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) gave a stern warning to the committee that if the amendment passed and anti-discrimination language was included in the final version of the bill, he would vote no on it.

"This is the amendment that will gut this bill," he said emphatically. The committee then voted 9 to 8 to pass the amendment. Joining Jacobs and the six Democrats who voted in favor of the amendment were Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla) and Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta). Beskin's vote is notable in that she voted against a similar amendment in Wednesday night's hearing, only to vote in favor a day later. Following passage of Jacobs' amendment, Fleming made a motion to table it, got a second and the bill was tabled.

Check out the full story in the Georgia Voice.

If this bill does not pass, it would be a huge psychological defeat for the religious right. A situation in Atlanta involving that city's fire chief, Kelvin Cochran, supposedly being "dismissed for his faith" was used as a rallying point for supporters of these "religious freedom" bills in general.