'Indiana saying no to refugees, yes to anti-gay bill' & other Wed midday news briefs

Indiana has bad priorities

With two stunningly ugly actions, the state of Indiana practically NAILS what's wrong with American Christianity these days:

Pence: Indiana won't accept Syrian refugees - While Indiana Governor Mike Pence appeals to hysteria by refusing to allow the state to accept Syria refugees . . . 

Indiana Republicans Introduce The Most Anti-LGBT LGBT Rights Bill Ever - members of his party will be pushing the most vicious anti-gay bill through the state legislature. It's that new Bible they are following; the one with the verse which says, "use any excuse to preserve xenophobia and homophobia cause if one thing Gods hates more than homosexuals, it's those brown skin people who aren't victims but the victims of terrorism, but who gives a crap. They aren't Christian anyway."

 Tony Perkins: Refugee Resettlement Shows Obama & Liberals 'Hate America' - Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council apparently not content with being extremely hypocritical last night with regards to the Syrian refugees, wants to extend his ignorance.  

Parents' friend calls their gay teen son 'fag', parents immediately cut friend out of their life - Oh yeah. I would have cut that fool, too . . . out of my life . . .  

Everything You Need To Know About The New Attacks On Caitlyn Jenner In One Sentence - Caitlyn Jenner is catching a lot of flack. She has been called a disgrace to women, a disgrace to the transgender community, a disgrace to the lgbt community because allegedly she plans to vote Republican in the next presidential election. Just cut it out. I may not be happy with some of her statements and choices but she is still a part of our community. I think the problem lies with folks anointing her as the transgender spokesperson for the community. We simply have to stop relying on celebrities. I am one for visibility but I am also one for intelligent visibility and pushing the good people we have into the spotlight instead of lucking out on having some celebrity come out. Just my thoughts which may or may not have anything to do with the article.  

House lawmakers launch bipartisan transgender task force - Now THIS sort of action is what we need to be pushing and supporting in droves.

The so-called Christian group Family Research Council supports abandoning Syrian refugees

FRC president Tony Perkins

I have yet to see any of these so-called morality groups appeal to kindness  or clarity when it comes to the case of the Syrian refugees who have become the scapegoats of the recent attack on Paris. If their comments are like those below from the Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, then its simply another notch in their belts of lies and duplicity:

That's an uncomfortable reality, even for the church. There seems to be a growing chorus of Christians who justify these open-door policies on immigration or asylum with the Bible's command to "love the stranger." I agree, we should love the stranger -- but that doesn't mean we have to do so at the expense of our own security. The president's chief responsibility is to protect Americans from all enemies, foreign and domestic. It's our job then, as individuals, to show love and compassion. And there are plenty of charitable solutions for refugees that don't involve bringing them to America, unchecked and unaccountable. One option would be to make their homelands safe while we offer as much humanitarian relief as possible.

Our nation can be caring and benevolent without unnecessarily endangering our own people. What many forget is that in Scripture, loving the stranger is just one component. God also commands these foreigners to assimilate and keep the laws of the land. As Exodus 12:49 makes clear: "There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you." The United States' goal should be a safe haven for everyone. And that means protecting the refugees' shelter abroad without sacrificing ours at home.

The statement sounds reasonable except for the fact that it is predicated on the unverified belief that one of the perpetrators of the attack in Paris posed as a Syrian refugee.

But according to Think Progress:

The majority of attackers were identified as French or Belgian nationals. An Egyptian passport was also found, but the Egyptian Ambassador to France said it belonged to a critically wounded victim and not a perpetrator. The Syrian passport caused a ruckus, with some politicians in Europe and the U.S. calling for a halt to Syrian refugee resettlement. An increasing number of state governors are trying to defund the settlement program. American officials told CBS News that the passport might be fake, while British-daily the Independent reported that a man was arrested in Serbia while carrying a Syrian passport with matching details to the one found in Paris.

We all know that the Islamic State of  Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks but again, the passport claim has not been verified as a complete fact.

'Bathroom bills' scare merely a cynical shift in anti-gay lies

The right has abandoned this fear tactic because

this one is more successful.

The success of the anti-gay right with stopping a non-discrimination act in Houston has led the Family Research Council to heights of great audacity.

In Houston, anti-gay activists stopped the measure by claiming that  it would lead to male predators invading women's restrooms, i.e. exploiting ignorance about the transgender community. The Family Research Council is using the same distortions to stop a national non-discrimination ordinance, The Equality Act.

FRC spokesman Peter Sprigg had an interview with the American Family Association's One News Now in which he spouted off several lies:

Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council notes that U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) is sponsoring the "Equality Act," which would amend current federal laws to protect homosexuals based on claims of discrimination. Asked if the Equality Act mirrors the non-discrimination bill that was recently defeated by voters in Houston, Sprigg tells OneNewsNow that it is.

In fact, he says, it also includes the "public accommodations" requirement in Houston's HERO law. That allowance is the reason Houstonians described HERO as a "bathroom bill" and likely a reason it was soundly defeated. 

The Equalty Act would give homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, trangender, and "gender noncomforming people" access to "places of public accommodations,"  Lambda Legal, a pro-homosexual legal organization, admits on its website.

"And it does not make any exception for facilities in which there's a normal expectation of privacy from the opposite sex such as restrooms, locker rooms and showers," Sprigg warns. "So it would be a bathroom bill on a national level being forced on all 50 states."

Sprigg and the rest of the religious are merely exploiting a useful hook. In the past, they spoke against ENDA, another national non-discrimination ordinance which lgbts were attempting to make into law, by claiming that children would be "trapped" in classrooms with "drag queen" and "cross-dressing" teachers:

It now seems that they have abandoned the classroom lie because focusing on bathrooms and locker rooms, where females are seemingly more vulnerable, reaps more success.

If you don't think so, check out the comment section under the Sprigg article.  The religious right know how to exploit a good scare when they see one.

Of course it's a lie. Transgender-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances will NOT lead to predators coming into women's restrooms and bathrooms. In fact, that has never been a problem with other areas which do have transgender-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances.

 The following graphic is courtesy of Media Matters:

But we know what they say about how hard it is for the truth to compete with a lie, particularly one draped in religion and false concerns about safety.  The sad thing is that people are either so scared or so exploited by their religious beliefs, they won't see that they are being used by folks like Sprigg and organizations like the Family Research Council

'Scalia compares legal protection for lgbts to protection for pedophiles' & other Tue midday news briefs

Scalia

Scalia Compares Legal Protections For Gay People To Protections For Pedophiles - Based on his logic, you can compare legal protections for African-Americans and women to pedophiles, too. To help answer your question, Scalia, minority groups whose behavior is not against the law and historically have been the victims of historical oppression should have legal protection. Folks, whoever wins the next presidential election gets to pick SCOTUS judges and Republicans want more judges like THIS $@!*

Charlie Sheen, HIV Stigma and Why the Media Panic Is Ugly - Charlie Sheen announcing his HIV positive status opens a much needed discussion on stigma.  

Breaking: Utah Judge Who Mandated Foster Child Be Placed With Heterosexual Parents Removes Himself - Just in case you haven't heard this piece of good news . . .

Manhattan Fed Judge Says Trans Equal Protection Claim Merits Heightened Scrutiny - Wonderful!

Here's How These Two Amazing Gay Dads Started Helping Other LGBT People Adopt - I need more "happy." THIS is happy.

Barbie doll commercial guaranteed to send anti-gay right into ORBIT

As a guy who collects male and female action figures (I own several Wonder Woman figures), I don't see anything wrong with this commercial featuring a boy with a Barbie doll. Of course you just KNOW not everyone will be as understanding. But, while my tastes don't run to Barbie dolls, the little boy is right. She is "fierce."

 

'New York Times blasts Cruz for appearing with death penalty for gays' pastor, media for not caring' & other Mon midday news briefs

Sen. Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz and the Anti-Gay Pastor - There should be other venues besides the New York Times calling out Ted Cruz AND the other presidential candidates for appearing with this nut. Still, it's nice that the press also gets called out for not caring.

 Tennessee pastor lashes out after Paris attacks: ‘There is no such thing as a good Muslim’ - And he even worked in some nasty crap about marriage equality. It's always sad how tragedy brings out the worse in some people. 

The POZ 100: Celebrating Long-Term Survivors - A wonderful issue which proves that HIV isn't a "death sentence."

 Linda Harvey: Obama's Support For Equality Act, Appearance In Out Magazine Are Signs Of God's Judgment - Crazy Linda always good for giving me gas.

 Mormon Church Punishes Children For Having Gay Parents. Hundreds Respond By Quitting Church - Just in case you haven't heard, the Mormon church has a little insurrection on its hands. And it's totally deserved. 

 15 Things You Really Shouldn’t Say To Trans People - Be honest. How many of us are guilty of this?

 Last but not least, Happy 10th anniversary to Box Turtle Bulletin!!

Saturday Night Live destroys anti-transgender bathroom horror stories

In less than three minutes, Saturday Night Live destroys the horror story of "men invading women's restrooms" - i.e. the lie which led to the defeat the non-discrimination ordinance in Houston: