Family Research Council blames immorality for shootings, doesn't say a word about those 'mulligans,' though

FRC's Tony Perkins

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins claims to know  what is to blame for the tragic school shooting last week in Florida:

Torn apart by grief and rage, Americans are frantic to know why our nation is unraveling in one act of violence after another. "We're done with thoughts and prayers!" an angry man shouted at a Colorado townhall, when Rep. Mike Coffman (R) asked for a moment of silence for Parkland. But isn't that the problem? Too many schools and colleges are done with prayer. They've been so busy kicking God out (and his standards) that they haven't noticed what's coming in. Every moral vacuum is filled with something. And maybe it's time we stepped back as a nation and take a long hard look at what those things are and how they're impacting our culture. Violence, relativism, promiscuity, and suicide didn't get their start when God was expelled from school. But they've certainly been given a culture in which to thrive now that we've removed the Judeo-Christian foundation that anchored the country.

Donald Trump's opponents are scratching their heads over these shootings, saying, "We've got to control the instruments of the violence." No, what we have to do is impact the hearts and minds of children and let them know their lives have meaning. "It had to have broken Billy Graham's heart," Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told me on radio yesterday, "to see our nation get to the point where we refuse to teach morality, we refuse to teach right or wrong. The two-parent home has come under attack and been destroyed. And really, I've given this a lot of thought. When you get rid of teaching morality, when you destroy the foundational home that's been the foundation for every civilization, then if you want to stay safe, you're gonna have to give up all of your constitutional rights -- at least most of them."

Since Perkins is going all "Carrie Nation" on morality, I wonder how he feels about supposed Christian groups giving a corrupt and incompetent political leader a free pass on his bad behavior simply because he is giving them more power and influence?

Donald Trump is still the answer to many conservative evangelical leaders’ prayers. Or at least to their continuing grievances. They embrace Trump the policymaker, despite being uneasy about Trump as a man, says Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a prominent evangelical activist group.  

 Perkins knows about Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who claimed, in a 2011 interview, that in 2006 she had sex with Trump four months after his wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. He knows of the reports that Daniels (real name: Stephanie Clifford) was paid off to keep the affair quiet in the waning weeks of the 2016 election. He knows about the cursing, the lewdness and the litany of questionable behavior over the past year of Trump’s life or the 70 that came before it.  

 “We kind of gave him—‘All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here,’” Perkins told me in an interview for the latest episode of POLITICO’s Off Message podcast.

Never mind.

But please remember that Perkins is totally aware of the hypocrisy behind his positions here. And he simply doesn't care.  Whatever the solution may be to the problem in America with guns, shooting, and anger, it's one which we will not reach if we allow people like Perkins and groups like the Family Research Council to be the arbiters of our moral principles. They seem to think one can turn morality on and off as if it were a light bulb.

''Defiantly different' 10-yr old reminds us not to forget about our LGBTQ children' & other Thur midday news briefs

Meet The ‘Defiantly Different’ 10-Year-Old Set To Steal The Show At NYC Pride - Some folks - even some on our side of the spectrum - will probably disagree, but I'm not changing my mind. Children are coming out at younger ages and androgynous children exist. We need to accept this and deal with it in a way in which they are embraced and supported. Period.

No recommendation from Mattis yet on trans military service - Come on, Mattis. Get off your butt.

Outspoken Parkland Survivor Emma González is President of School’s Gay-Straight Alliance - Let's not forget that LGBTQ children were also affected by that awful Florida tragedy.

Before Moonlight: 10 films that celebrate the African American LGBT experience - Sweet!

"Queer Eye" Is The Most Empowering And Positive Show On TV Right Now - I didn't particularly care for the earlier version, but this one looks like a real winner.

Black History is LGBTQ History & LGBTQ History is Black History

When some naysayers ask me why do I demand respect for famous LGBTQs of color during Black History Month, my answer is simple:

"I'm like Glenn Close in 'Fatal Attraction.' I will NOT be ignored."

The following videos are simple reminders that the LGBTQ and the African-American communities are more intertwined than folks like to admit.

And another video because transgender African-Americans don't really get their due. I love this video because it includes some contemporary people, including some very good friends of mine (yes, I'm name-droppping):

'New junk science narrative attacks transgender children' & other Wed midday news briefs

'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Is Biased Junk Science - Some things never change, unfortunately. They used to go all out in their usage of junk science to smear gay men as unhealthy pedophiles. Now the same crowd is attacking the transgender community (particularly transgender children) using the same tactics. Sorry folks. We are hip and this mess ain't gonna play.

These Transgender Children Say They’re Thriving. They Want to Help Others Do the Same. - Instead of a junk science study, check this out. It's not by accident that the anti-LGBTQ industry tries to drown out the voices of our community, particularly our kids. 

Starkville denies request for LGBT pride parade - Yes, unfortunately this is in America. Some folks have forgotten that this IS America apparently. 

  ‘Queer Eye’ Emotionally Reflects On The Unique Challenges Black Gay Men Face - People often forget the challenges of us who have "multiple marginalized" identities. Apparently we are born playing baseball and folks seem to think we already have two strikes against us. 

Time to 'shine a light' and ban conversion therapies - experts - Damn right! 'Ex-gay' therapy is fraudulent and dangerous. It should be totally banned.

Why do anti-LGBTQ activists talk so much about gay sex?

From Right-Wing Watch comes a video which demonstrates a basic truth with the religious right  In it, anti-LGBTQ activist Gordon Klingenschmitt tries to justify business discriminate against the LGBTQ community. That's how he started. Watch how quickly he moves to talking about an orgy.

If your stomach can handle it, take a gander at videos or literature coming from people like Klingenschmitt. The speed in which they move to speculating about gay sex is mind-boggling. And annoying. Debates about LGBTQ equality should be way more intelligent than breaking it down to fevered sexual images. But that's pretty much the only thing that many of these folks have.

SC Republicans launch ridiculous, idiotic, laughably bad plan to undermine marriage equality' & other Tue midday news briefs

South Carolina Republicans want ‘parody marriages’ to circumvent marriage equality - No! No! No! Exhibit A on why it is so difficult for LGBTQ activists, bloggers, etc who operate in SC to be taken seriously. We are on the cutting edge but still have to deal with these folks. What part of "The Supreme Court already settled the issue of marriage equality. You lost. Get over it." don't they understand?

Lambda Legal Sues HHS after Lesbian Couple Blocked from Serving as Foster Parents - And here we go. A taxpayer funded program turns away this couple. Good luck to them because our community pays taxes too and we can provide good homes for children. We shouldn't have to deal with such blatant disrespect. 

Daniela Vega set to make history as the first openly trans person to present an Oscar - Not bad. Let's also work on nominations and winning. 

Gay comedian goes on rant about body shaming in the gay community - Preach!!!!! 

Religious freedom laws are ‘harming LGBT people,’ says Human Rights Watch - Folks in the media never seem to get to the gist of this problem - 'Religious freedom laws" are never about "religious freedom." They are simply the new tactic to undermine the LGBTQ community.

Trump Administration creating havoc for LGBTQ-friendly policies at health agency

Trump claimed that he would fight for the LGBTQ community, but that turns out not to be true.

Politico has just published a very detailed article which should be shared and remembered.In spite of Trump saying that if elected, he would fight for the LGBTQ community, his Administration has been steadily and meticulously dismantling policies at the nation's health department which would benefit us, our family, and our children. And this dismantling is negatively affecting LGBTQs who work there.

Instead of saying "well we already know this," the LGBTQ community should ask just who is leading Trump in this direction and when we find out who it is, we should direct all attention and vehemence to those individuals and groups. But let's not leave Trump out because you know we shouldn't forget about him either:

. . .upon taking office last year, the Trump administration swiftly froze a series of LGBT-friendly rules, including proposed new regulations to further ban discrimination in Medicare and Medicaid. A regulation that would have allowed transgender HHS staff more protections when using the department's bathrooms and other facilities also was ignored. 

"It was signed and technically finished on Jan. 19, 2017, but not posted online," said one staffer. "And the new administration considered it unpublished and pulled it back." 

The Trump administration also reinterpreted the ACA's Section 1557 anti-discrimination mandate, with the White House declining to fight a court battle to enforce it and signaling that it would roll back the rule. The health agency's new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, which POLITICO first reported last month, is expected to offer greater protections for health care workers who do not wish to treat LGBT patients.

The article also points out how the Trump Administration has appointed appointed anti-LGBTQ activists in key positions and this has caused serious problems with gay employees at HHS:

Career staff say that, regardless of what agency leaders believe or maintain now, their past comments on LGBT priorities have been widely passed around the 80,000-person department. "I photocopied them and left them in the cafeteria," said one staffer. "It's important for people to know these are the leaders they work for." 

It's also fostered a climate where six staffers who are LGBT described removing their wedding rings before coming to work in the morning, taking down photos of their partners and families or ultimately finding new jobs further away from certain political appointees. They did not want to be identified; two said they feared being reassigned for being gay.