Now is the time for the lgbt community to step up efforts against Trump

Bachmann

If, by chance, Donald Trump is elected as president and things begin to go downhill for the lgbt community, please do not expect a sympathetic voice from me.

Expect me to throw this post in the face of the entire lgbt community. Why? Because today is the day the lgbt community needs to start taking this election extra seriously. No matter how many mistakes Trump makes or how far down he is in the polls, he is still running for president, which means until the election is over, he has a chance of winning.

And if he does, it's not going to be pretty for the lgbt community. The following item from Right Wing Watch says plainly why:

Today, Donald Trump’s campaign announced the formation of his Evangelical Executive Advisory Board, which includes right-wing figures ranging from ex-Rep. Michele Bachmann to Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. After retiring from Congress on the heels of a campaign scandal, Bachmann has not let up in her radical preaching. According to Bachmann, the September 11 attacks represented God’s judgment on America; President Obama and gay rights advocates are bringing about the End Times; homosexuality is “personal enslavement” and “part of Satan”; gay people want to change laws “so that adults will be able to freely prey on little children sexually”; and Obamacare death panels will literally kill people any day now

Dobson

. . . .Dobson, who once said that he could not support Trump, has a long history with the anti-LGBT Right, warning that gay marriage will lead to a second civil war and pastors going to prison, as well as ushering in the destruction of religious freedom, God’s judgment on America and the transformation of the U.S. into Nazi Germany. He even linked same-sex marriage to the Sandy Hook shooting. Other board members include Richard Land, who claims gay people are satanic and once lost a radio show after making racist, plagiarized statements, and Harry Jackson, a Maryland pastor who preaches about gay people trying to recruit children and prays against the demons behind same-sex marriage . . .

 . . . The group also include Southern Baptist pastor Ronnie Floyd, who has written about how “Satan has taken his tool of homosexuality, a gross and evil sin, and done a con job on the American culture.” Also on the list is Robert Jeffress, who “believes that gays and lesbians are ‘perverse’ people who are either pedophiles or likely to abuse children in the future; has compared homosexuality to bestiality and called it ‘a miserable lifestyle’; accused gay people of using ‘brainwashing techniques’ to have homosexuality ‘crammed down our throats’; said that gay people ‘are engaged in the most detestable, unclean, abominable acts you can imagine’; predicted that the gay rights movement ‘will pave the way for that future world dictator, the Antichrist’; and labeled homosexuality a ‘filthy practice’ that will lead to the ‘implosion of our country.’” 

In spite of what Trump has said in the past about being a friend to the lgbt community, he is building a "Legion of Homophobia" (I will not refer to this group as religious leaders. They are a "legion," as in the name of the devils Jesus cast out of a person in the Bible) which will follow him to the White House and help create policy.

And I will give you one guess whether or not that policy will be lgbt-friendly.

In the lgbt community, the practice is usually we get beaten down, maligned, and scandalized until we can't take anymore and start "acting up." It is then we start becoming engaged and determined to make changes - after the blows have been struck against us. That simply won't do in this case because our engagement generally takes place AFTER we have been done dirty. In this particular case, we have a chance to stop the "dirty deeds" before they take place.

Yes, Trump is a comical fool and yes he is making mistake after mistake. But with this "legion" he has just created, Trump cannot be taken lightly. Now is the time for us to inject some serious opposition towards him. The surest way for him to win is for folks not to take that possibility seriously.

What is the lgbt community prepared to do now instead of later? Will we stop the flow of anti-lgbt backlash before it starts or will we be forced to play catch up yet again?

We know where Trump stands and we are familiar with the players of his latest game. Let's not wait to engage him and them in the arena of public opinion and debate until after the fact.

'Donald Trump meeting with the anti-lgbt right for seven hours' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Donald Trump is meeting with the anti-lgbt right even as I speak.

Inside Donald Trump’s Private Meeting With Evangelicals - Donald Trump is in the middle of a seven hour meeting with various religious right and anti-lgbt hate group leaders. That's not a meeting. That sounds like a reprogramming. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Whatever happens, the lgbt community need to keep our eyes open. It's gonna be hell for us regardless of the outcome. 

TODAY: Donald Trump Meets With 400 Top Anti-LGBT Christian Conservatives - More details about this "situation."  

Save Your Sympathy. You Are The Problem. - Probably one of the best piece about conservative hypocrisy regarding the Orlando tragedy. The writer gets specific.  

The Bathroom Sign Debate Has Ended And The Answer Is Prince - I'm speechless, but a good point has been made.  

Tennessee’s Anti-LGBT Counseling Law Just Lost It $5 Million In Revenue - Too bad. So sad. NOT!

Anti-lgbt hate group leader asks for prayers before meeting with Trump

Wildmon wants prayers before Trump meeting

This week, GOP presidential candidate Donald (the gays love me) Trump is set to meet with members of the religious right. From this meeting, Trump is hoping to gain their support and these groups are hoping to gain a candidate whom they think will help them with their endeavors (putting the kibosh on lgbt equality being the number one goal).

It's going to be interesting, no doubt, Tim Wildmon,  head of the anti-lgbt hate group American Family Association, already sent out an email call for prayer:

I have accepted an invitation to meet tomorrow (Tuesday) with presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York. Along with other pro-family, Christian leaders, we have a great opportunity to communicate our values to Mr. Trump to make sure our voices and positions are heard. I would appreciate your prayers, asking God to give me the opportunity to share our Christian position on life, marriage, religious liberty and national security with Mr. Trump. This is not an endorsement of the candidate, but a sincere effort to let him know that America can only be great again if government returns to the Biblical values held by our nation's founders. Thank you in advance for praying for me and for the influence of American Family Association.

I've  heard that devils could use Scripture for their own nefarious purposes, but this is the first time I've ever heard of them asking folks to pray.  If they are staking hopes on Trump, perhaps they really need it.

It doesn't mean I, or anyone else with good sense, should give it to them, though
.

Related post - Self-Proclaimed LGBT Hero Donald Trump To Announce Advisory Board Of Anti-LGBT Activists

'Some people 'uncomfortable' about Orlando tributes' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Tributes To Orlando Trouble People Uncomfortable With Homosexuality - Apparently to some people, being openly gay and unashamed is an offensively political act. Whatever. 

LGBT people of color refuse to be erased after Orlando: 'We have to elbow in' - It's been like that always with everything regarding the lgbt community. Orlando simply makes more of a point about it. 

 This Gay Man Isn’t Having Sex For A Year So He Can Donate Blood - Sadly fascinating but downright admirable in the face of a bad policy. 

 Bryan Fischer: 'Homosexuals Were At The Core Of Forming The Nazi Party' - The reason why part of me mourns the fact that Tony Perkins did not appear on 'This Week.' If he did and played the victim card, he could have been asked about this trash regarding the anti-lgbt rhetoric of folks on his side.  

Gay Congressman Slams GOP Colleague Who Suggested Gays ‘Worthy of Death’ - THANK YOU!

How the media should interview a hate group leader such as Tony Perkins

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins's near interview on ABC's 'This Week' generated much deserved controversy on the soft glove treatment the media generally gives him and other anti-lgbt hate group leaders.

Before the cancellation - which we still have no details about - Media Matters provided sound advice on how the media should handle folks like Perkins:

In the past, mainstream media outlets have regularly failed to identify FRC as an anti-LGBT hate group, instead allowing it to pass as a serious policy organization. Outlets have treated Perkins as a credible and legitimate conservative commentator, regularly inviting him to speak on behalf of Christians without identifying him as a hate monger.  But last April, Bob Schieffer, former host of CBS’ Face The Nation, set the gold standard when it comes to interviewing members of groups such as FRC  by accurately identifying Perkins as the president of “an anti-gay hate group.”

 

Media owe audiences pertinent information about the guests they bring on to offer commentary. In the wake of the Orlando massacre at a gay nightclub, it is vital hosts disclose Perkins’ extreme anti-LGBT record to provide audiences with the necessary context to adequately assess his commentary.

It's not that members of the media should refuse to interview Perkins. It's just that they shouldn't allow him to misrepresent himself or his organization. Perkins is not a faith leader. He is the leader of a group which cynically exploits religion and fears via lies and demonization to undermine the rights of the lgbt community. 

'GOP's pitch to hurt Dems - play lgbts & Muslims against one another' & other Fri. midday news briefs

GOP Makes 'Appalling' Pitch To LGBTs: Dems Are Choosing Muslims Over You - More unbelievable is the fact that they think it would actually work. "Hey gay people, sure we have passed legislation stripping you of rights and dignity, labeled you as pedophiles, diseased perverts, and basically disrespected you and your families. But hey, it's not like we tried to kill you like those Muslims that the Democrats support would. Granted, we may have supported other countries, Muslim and otherwise who do it. But it's not like WE do it." 

Why Conservatives Won’t Identify The Orlando Shooting Victims As LGBT - Meanwhile . . .  

Rainbow signs appearing in West Hollywood advise to 'shoot back' - Nothing more than mess feeding into people's feeling of helplessness.

 20-Plus Years Of Anti-Gay Hate From The NRA - Just a reminder.

 Pulse and the Long History of Violence Against Queer Latinos - Sad but necessary article.

 Here’s The Beautiful Story Of How These Dads Created Their Family Over 3 Decades - Let's end today's news briefs on a positive note.

'Anti-gay group distorts picture of Obama crying to create Islamophobic smear' & other Thur. midday news briefs

You see this jpeg of a twitter post:

It is a lie and an especially vicious lie. That picture of President Obama crying was taken from earlier this year when he spoke about the 2012  attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The organization behind this smear is Accuracy in Media. Its leader, and the author of the nasty piece referenced in the twitter post, is one Cliff Kincaid. Kincaid, as you can guess, isn't exactly the lgbt community's best friend.

This is why it is important to bring attention to the workings of anti-lgbt groups and activists. This smear also proves why the lgbt community must not allow the Orlando tragedy to turn us against the Muslim community.

There is always a third party waiting to exploit grief and tragedy.

Hat tip to Rude Pundit.

Perkins: Obama Fosters Environment For Terrorism In America - Tony Perkins of the anti-lgbt Family Research Council points to Obama instead of his group's anti-lgbt lies. One finger forward, three fingers back to you, Tony.

 Florida’s Attorney General Declared War On Anderson Cooper. It’s Not Going Well. - Anderson Cooper practically OWNED Florida's hypocritical attorney general on her anti-lgbt bigotry. She got angry, responded, and he owned her again.

  David Brock Explains How NY Times Editorial Correctly Highlights Trump Pandering To LGBT Community, While Undermining Their Rights - PREACH! We aren't falling for Trump's lies.

 ‘Ask The Gays’ Is The Best Twitter Meme Donald Trump Never Wanted - WE are not to be trifled with.