RIPPrince

This Sunday marks the third anniversary of the passing of Prince, one of the greatest artists of our time. The videos featured here are a mere snippet of his vast work and influence.

'Fifteen states where it's legal to fire someone for being gay' & other Fri midday news briefs

15 States Where It's Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay - Like the article's author says, it should be zero.

Soon you won’t be able to justify killing a gay man in Nevada by saying he hit on you - The "gay panic" defense is a travesty and should permanently eliminated everywhere.

License to discriminate: Religious exemption laws are trampling rights in rural America - It bears repeating that you can't tell people to "go somewhere else" when they are discriminated against. Sometimes there is no there place else they can go.

E.W. Jackson: Pete Buttigieg Wants to Turn the Country Into a “Homocracy” - Lawd hammercy! I just can't with this man today. 

Same-sex couples applying for a mortgage face more rejection and higher rates, a study says - Sad but not unexpected. 

Fox "news side" anchor Shannon Bream hosts Alliance Defending Freedom for fifth time in a year - Yet another way Fox News damages the LGBTQ community under the guise of having a "debate." Bream rarely, if ever, invites LGBTQ people on her show.

SC Senate turns away anti-LGBTQ adoption bill

Just got this message from my friends at SC Equality:

Moments ago, Proviso 38.29 (a bill that lawmakers were trying to sneak into the massive state appropriations bill (and) would allow private state-funded faith-based adoption agencies in South Carolina to turn away LGBTQ couples from adopting/foster children) was DEFEATED on the Senate floor  . . .  SC Equality would like to thank Senator Brad Hutto and other allies in the senate for standing strong with us on this issue and having it go down in a ball of flames.

There has been a nationwide controversy regarding faith-based foster care and adoption agencies wanting to discriminate against the LGBTQ community while continuing to receive tax dollars.  Last year, SC governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order which would have allowed faith-based foster care and adoption agency Miracle Hill Ministries to practice this sort of discrimination. And not just against the LGBTQ community, but other religious communities such as Catholics and Jews.  McMasters also asked for a federal waiver so that Miracle Hill could receive federal funds. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration granted the waiver.

Also this year Aimee  Maddonna, a Catholic mother from Greenville, filed a lawsuit against Miracle Hill because she was turned away for not being a "born again Christian."

Atlanta's mayor urges Georgia legislators to ban 'ex-gay therapy'

Unnoticed by many but nonetheless important is the push to eliminate forcing minors into reparative or "ex-gay therapy." Georgia would be the 17th state to do this should state legislators listen to Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms:

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is calling on state leaders to ban the practice and advertising of LGBTQ conversion therapy, a controversial medical method which studies say has led to increased suicide rates. 

In a resolution passed Monday, Bottoms urged the state to ban the practice, also called “reparative therapy,” which uses psychological or spiritual interventions in an attempt to convert someone’s sexual orientation to being strictly heterosexual.“State-sanctioned practices that inflict persecution and suffering on LGBTQ individuals — particularly young people— should end immediately,” Bottoms said in a statement. “Simply put — we cannot and should not endanger the well-being of the LGBTQ community for living their truth.” 

An estimated 698,000 adults have had the therapy and more than half that amount received the treatment as a teenager, according to the William Institute at the UCLA School of Law. According to a study by the Family Acceptance Project, LGBT youth whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation had higher suicide and depression rates. Suicide rates among LGBTQ youth whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation were at 48 percent compared with 22 percent for LGBTQ youth who had no conversion experience, according to the study.

Last month, Colorado outlawed the practice and this week, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to New Jersey's 2013 ban for the third time.

'Former Evangelical, trans daughter testified for Equality Act' & other Wed midday news briefs

A Former Evangelical Testified for the Equality Act Alongside Her Trans Daughter - This is awesome!

No Mr. Staver - Twitter did not "Say goodbye to SPLC" - They have been trying so hard to bury SPLC and their efforts have stayed in their own bubbles.

Majority of Republicans think evangelical Christians are more discriminated against than minorities - Well for Pete's sake . . .

How This Year's Outstanding Blog Nominees Are Using Their Platform to Elevate the LGBTQ Community - WONDERFUL article on this year's nominees for GLAAD's 'Outstanding Blog' award, including this humble blog.

Anti-LGBTQ hate group embarrasses itself with latest fake poll

For an entity which is always whining about how the so-called religious liberty of right-wing evangelicals is in jeopardy, anti-LGBTQ hate group the American Family Family Association cries foul when other religious bodies doesn't follow its definition of Christianity.

Via its fake news service, One News Now, AFA is on a rampage about a group of Tennessee religious leaders who have strongly come out against the "religious liberty" (i.e. anti-LGBTQ) legislation in the state. Rather than respecting that these leaders have different religious beliefs, AFA is spinning dark conspiracy theories, as witnessed by said poll:

I personally voted for "Seduced by LGBT groups" because it sounded rather kinky. As of Tuesday afternoon, though the results were as follows:

I might point out that in between declaring that it has the patent on what God's word is, AFA (via One News Now) has posted article after article on the greatness of  our resident "coochie- grabber in chief. Makes you wonder what type of God AFA worships.

'Evangelical college students don't want Mike Pence to speak at their commencement' & other Tue midday news briefs

Evangelical college students say they don’t want Mike Pence to be their commencement speaker - Well heck, we don't want that turkey at all either.

Christian Site: Life Expectancy Of Gays Is 20 Years Less - Refuting the "homosexuality takes 20 years off of your life" lie is one of the things which made a name for this blog. I'm glad Joe Jervis caught this. 

Mayor Pete’s Marriage is Bogus and the Trumpified SCOTUS Will Agree, Says Brian Brown - Brown keeps dreaming.

Christian university president falsely attacks Pete Buttigieg: ‘Please stop telling us what kind of sex you like’ - Might as well get used to it cause we are gonna hear it from the usual characters who can't seem to stop linking everything about the LGBTQ community to sexual intercourse. But that's not a bad thing. Let the public see them rage.