'Lesbian couple in the middle of bakery controversy speak out' & other Thur midday news briefs

The Women Who Challenged Sweet Cakes on the Cost of Their Battle - This battle was not about cakes any more than Rosa Parks refused to stand up simply because she was tired. And it's a shame how this situation was distorted: 

 "We’re not political people, never wanted this attention, and only filed a claim with Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries after six months of relentless media attention and harassment. Meanwhile, the Kleins quickly became media darlings of the right wing. Conservative groups flew them out to appear at events, Ted Cruz featured them in a campaign video, and their fundraising page raised over $600,000. In contrast, we became the target of hateful, violent threats and a daily onslaught of negative calls and emails from around the world. Over the past three years, we have received several thousand Facebook messages calling us fat, evil, and dumb — some with threats so violent that we have sincerely feared for our lives, moved houses, and lived in hiding in hopes of protecting our family. "

 
Transgender Students and Parents Say the State Is Putting Children in Danger - Another case in which the anti-lgbt industry and their supporters grab the mantle of concern while those whom we should be concerned about are being put in danger.  

Billboards cause controversy in Waco's LGBT community - 'Ex-gay' billboards. And check out the semantic game of evasion played by the organization behind it. They claim to have no problem with gay folks except for the fact that they think we shouldn't exist.  

10 Quick Lesbian Coming Out Stories That Will Make You Smile - This is a wonderful way to wrap up today's news briefs.

Sia honors victims of Orlando Massacre in wonderful video

Recording artist Sia honors the victims of the Orlando Massacre with this powerful video to her song, 'The Greatest.' 

The clip starts on a black screen with the words #WEAREYOURCHILDREN printed across. Then, we see a crying Ziegler wiping paint under her eyes, as if crying rainbow tears, or perhaps applying warpaint for battle. A large group of kids lies on the ground below her, motionless, and she begins screaming (though we don’t hear her), urging the kids to get up.

Once the music starts, the group begins moving in unison, with Maddie leading the charge. Attitude reports that the children represent the victims killed in the deadliest mass shooting in America’s history ― “49 dancers for 49 lives lost,” as the magazine put it. With lyrics like, “Don’t give up, I won’t give up / Don’t give up, no no no” and “Running out of breath but I / oh I I got stamina,” it’s hard not to draw those parallels.

The kids dance through an old house, eventually coming together as one group. They jump up and down, moving together as a single entity (much like individuals would at a club as music blares through the speakers) before collapsing to the ground, leaving behind the haunting visual of bodies on the floor.

How low will NC Gov. Pat McCrory sink to get a second term?

Behind in the polls, NC Gov Pat McCrory is relying on the old religious right tactic of fear to get folks to vote for him.

Never mind that the ad targets transgender children by implying that they are predators in defense of that awful HB2 law he passed, i.e. the same law which is probably the reason why he has a strong chance of being a one-term governor.

First his re-election campaign exploits a victim of child molestation to attack the transgender community  and now this. With at least two more months left, I'm scared to think how low can McCrory sink:




Hat tip to The New Civil Rights Movement.

Trump a featured speaker at upcoming summit of extreme anti-lgbt groups

Trump to put on the mantle of morality this weekend?

Those who continue to claim that Trump is a friend to the lgbt community deserves a swift kick.  Trump will be a featured speaker at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit," which will be held this weekend.

The organization hosting the program, anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council, bragged earlier last month about attaining Trump as a speaker:

 The organizations gathering together for this mess have always claimed that they have been unfairly attacked for their "personal Christian beliefs" rather than the untrue and ugly claims they have made about the lgbt community. According to Right Wing Watch, this is a lie:

It's always about fear with the anti-lgbt right

In the 10 years I have been blogging, the religious right have decreased its reliance on junk and cherry-picked science to denigrate the lgbt community, but the central exploitation of fear still remains.

Case in point - a bill in Pennsylvania, which has a good chance of passing, would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the already existing state nondiscrimination ordinance law. It sounds simple, but the American Family Association fake new site, One News Now, is spinning the bill into a spooky "bathroom bondoogle" attack against the transgender community. It also is claiming that the law has negative consequence for churches, even while admitting that the law has a religious exemption

It even has a poll question, which further exploits this notion:

Junk science or no junk science, with the religious right, it's always about fear.

'That time Mike Pence spread lies about 'gay sex' . . .' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Mike Pence and gay sex . . .

Journal by Pence-helmed foundation described gay sex in graphic detail - See, children. If you spread lies about gay sex, there are no repercussions. You too can go on to be elected to Congress, serve as governor, and be a vice presidential candidate. THAT is the main reason why more needs to be done to not only refute anti-lgbt propaganda but also hold those who spread it in the present and past accountable.  

You Must Read This Amazingly Graphic Gay Sex Article Mike Pence’s Journal Once Published - More about the article.

Hobby Lobby Redux: Transgender Discrimination in Michigan - Here we go again.  

The 'Black, Queer, Feminist' Legal Trailblazer You've Never Heard Of - It's sad to think about all of the folks lgbt history tends to leave out. We can't all be flashy entertainers.  

Phyllis Schlafly, One of History's Worst Homophobes, Dies at 92 - Let's forget this woman's true legacy. 

 Jehovah’s Witnesses new tactic in spreading ‘anti gay’ message - In London but still a drag.

Wacky reactions to SCOTUS marriage equality ruling revisited (in honor of Phyllis)

Anti-lgbt and all-around conservative hagstorm Phyllis Schlafly passed away yesterday at 92. I won't crack any jokes about her age, her life, or the fact that even though she had a gay son, she bent over backwards to be nasty to us. I will just revisit the wackiest reactions to last year's SCOTUS ruling for marriage equality just as a way of demonstrating how yet again the lgbt community has survived and thrived whilst another enemy of our equality is gone:

And then there is my personal favorite: