'Anti-gay activist 'Porno' Peter LaBarbera angry about LGBTQ success in midterm election' & other Fri midday news briefs

Me presenting this noxious interview above is not gloating by any means. The LGBTQ community has EARNED the right to see this while laughing our asses off, drinking champagne, twerking, doing a celebratory booty dance, whatever. Long-time virulent homophobic activist "Porno" Pete LaBarbera is interviewed by equally repulsive bigot Cliff Kincaid. LaBarbera spends the entire interview bellyaching how the so-called gay issue was ignored during the midterms, how the LGBTQ community picked up Congressional seats, and how an anti-transgender referendum was defeated by a landslide in Massachusetts. As disgusting as he is, LaBarbera brings up a point. Being openly LGBTQ used to be a deterrent to running for public office. In the recent midterms, it wasn't. We don't know what the future holds, but a door has blown open, right in LaBarbera's face. It's a joy to watch him gripe about it. You don't have to watch the entire interview. Just the sad expression on his face "is like heroin." (Editor's note - I have never used heroin. It's a line by the late actress Debbie Reynolds from the movie 'In & Out.')

 In other news:

Why Jussie Smollett Said ‘F**k No!’ To His ‘Empire’ Character Having A White Boyfriend - I probably wouldn't have said it like that, but I am in agreement with Smollett. We do need to see more black gay couples on television. It means a lot to LGBTQs of color to not send a message that our blackness can't mix with our sexual orientation, i.e. eliminating the ridiculous idea that we are only who we are because of the "influence" of white people.

Conversion therapy harms kids’ mental health, new study finds - We know this, but IT STILL NEEDS TO BE REPEATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN! We are in a war and any fact which rips homophobia should be repeated until folks can cite it from memory. 

This Short Film Takes A Powerful Look At The Struggles Of Transgender Youth - In honor of Trans Awareness Week.

IF you care about LGBTQ equality & safety, you need to check out the devastating webpage 'NoGaysAllowed'

A new website, NoGaysAllowed.org, is calling out the largest and most powerful anti-LGBTQ hate group in America, the Alliance Defending Freedom, and it's not taking any prisoners (Editor's note - click on the graphics if they are too small to read):

Finally recognizing how ADF and other anti-LGBT hate groups and organizations tend to play nice in the public eye via perfectly coiffed spokespeople and precisely rehearsed talking points, NoGaysAllowed is taking it upon itself to yank all of the organization's garbage out of the closet and into the streets.

 

And now a word from 'GOP Jesus'

Don't let the evangelical anti-LGBTQ right fool you with their support of Trump. As I understand it, people are running away from their brand of religion. While there will be many guesses as to why, the hilarious video from above via Friend Dog Studios probably gives the most accurate reason. Basically, the evangelical anti-LGBTQ right, teaming up with the Republican Party in general, has created a bastardized version of Jesus - selfish, homophobic, and totally hypocritical to what the Bible claims that his mission was. And just in time for the 'War on Christmas.'

'Kansas governor-elect does NOT support anti-LGBTQ adoption law' & other Wed midday news briefs

KS governor-elect Laura Kelly

Kansas governor-elect hopes to thwart adoption law seen as anti-gay - The situation in Kansas is why A. elections always matters and B. there isn't a %!@  thing wrong with the LGBTQ community supporting someone who will protect our rights and safety. Due to the Blue Wave last Tuesday, we have gone from a Kansas governor who sees nothing wrong with a law which will allow anti-LGBTQ entities to receive gay tax dollars to a new governor who is saying "oh hell no!"


Professor sues over rebuke for calling female transgender student 'sir' - I've posted a news brief about this incident before but I want to throw a positive shout out to NBC for including something very important in its article:

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the lawsuit on Meriwether’s behalf. The Arizona-based conservative Christian law firm has a decadeslong track record of litigating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and it has been labeled an anti-LGBTQ “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center . . .

This passage means millions of readers will be able to link to SPLC's work on ADF.

The GOP strategy to make the midterm elections about bigotry pretty much failed - hehehehehe!

Some Of The First Migrants From Caravan To Reach U.S. Border Are LGBTQ Asylum Seekers - Sad story of how LGBTQ migrants aren't treated right by their own people.

'Boy Erased' has anti-LGBTQ right running scared because it exposes the lie of 'ex-gay' therapy

It's almost Oscar season, which means Hollywood will be coming out with big prestige pictures all vying for the golden statuette. One movie, out in limited release, is already causing a buzz.

 From Wikipedia:

Boy Erased is a 2018 American biographical drama film based on Garrard Conley's 2016 memoir of the same name. It is written for the screen and directed by Joel Edgerton, who also produces with Kerry Kohansky Roberts and Steve Golin. The film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Edgerton, and follows the son of Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.  

My guess is Boy Erased will not only be a hit, but will also shine another a much needed light on the dangerous fraud known as "ex-gay" therapy. And apparently I'm not the only person who feels that way. Peter Sprigg from the anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council wrote a post on the group's webpage which (suprise, surprise) pans the movie. In a humorously long-winded piece Sprigg takes it upon himself to analyze the movie, calling out what he claims are "Hollywood" errors and fabrications.

You can read it here if you want, but the most important thing which I took away from Sprigg is the hilarity of him attacking someone else's personal story because he doesn't agree with the outcome. Sprigg's attack on the Boy Erased is less about clearing the air and more about his preemptive fear of how the movie refutes the deceptive message he and his group tries to put out about the LGBTQ community and attempts to change one's sexual orientation.

'Anti-LGBTQ folks swept out of Congress via Blue Wave, the 'Crying Nazi' returns' & other Tues midday news briefs

'Crying Nazi' Christopher Cantwell is back with fake bravado and a horrible video game. See news brief five.

The Blue Wave Swept Many Of The GOP’s Anti-Gay Bigots Out To Sea - This cannot be emphasized enough. Dana Rohrabacher, Jason Lewis, Steve Knight, Karen Handel, Dave Brat, Pete Sessions, and so many others who used their Congressional power to undermine LGBTQ equality and safety are gone. Voted out. This was a sea change in LGBTQ history and should be remembered as such.

The religious right wants you to think it blunted the blue wave - Who's going to tell them the truth?

Anti-LGBTQ Pastor Heads to Congress with Help from Karen Pence, Christian Nationalist David Lane, Trump ‘Prophet’ Lance Wallnau - Unfortunately, the anti-LGBTQ industry did get one new Congressional leader.

What This Dad Of 4 Wants You To Know About The Foster System - We need to talk more as well as raise more awareness about LGBTQ parenting. The opposition will lie by calling it a "social experiment." That dehumanizing language is far from the truth. 

 You ‘win’ a horrific new video game by shooting LGBTQ people in a nightclub - What kind of mess is this? Guess who came up with this abomination? The "Crying Nazi," Christopher Cantwell Remember that chickenshyte bastard? He can dream up junk like this, but when it comes to facing the consequences of his actions, he cries like a bunch of babies who want their bottles. 

Tanzania: Officials order physical exams of 10 men arrested at gay wedding in Zanzibar - Ugh! The struggle is real. And it is universal.

'Over 100 LGBTQ candidates claimed victory in midterm elections' & other Fri midday news briefs

The LGBTQ community voting in 2016

The LGBTQ community voting in 2018

Still looking over the positive repercussions of Tuesday's midterms for the LGBTQ community. There are just so many. It is astounding. This what happens when you get out, run for office, and vote en masse. It may not have been a quick victory but that makes it tastier.

Over 100 LGBTQ candidates claim victory in midterm elections - The final count (for now) is that over 100 LGBTQ candidates won.This article came out on Nov. 7 so things may have changed but not for the worst.

Record LGBT support for Democrats in midterms, NBC News Exit Poll shows - And we love our Democratic party.

In seven years, Zach Wahls went from an activist to the Iowa state Senate - Even the children in LGBTQ families kicked ass on election night. I know this young man and he is going far.

A Florida Town is Now Completely Run by LGBTQ Folks - Don't let the religious right know but Wilton Manors, FL is now completely run by us.

A Rainbow Wave in Texas? 14 of 35 LGBTQ Candidates Win - Forty percent of LGBTQs who ran for public office in Texas won their races.

But let's not waste too much time celebrating. A good friend of mine, Michelangelo Signorile once said after the marriage equality fights that "it's not over" and he was right. Whenever we win, those who oppose our equality and safety always spring back with something meaner and deadlier like the news brief below proves. We have to always be ready and every victory should be a way to gain more victories because junk like this is going to be with us for a while:

A professor was told stop denigrating a student. Now he’s suing because God told him to do it.