Maggie Gallagher lost the fight against marriage equality, but is now back with another anti-LGBTQ group

Since losing the fight against marriage equality, Maggie Gallagher has stayed somewhat out of sight. But now, she's back with a new anti-LGBTQ group.

Last week,  People for the American Way's Right-Wing Watch alerted me to the return of an old enemy of LGBTQ equality:

The anti-LGBTQ American Principles Project has launched its first state chapter in the Lone Star State with the goal of mobilizing conservative Texas families in politics and fighting so-called “gender ideology” in schools. APP Texas’ first targets aren’t Democrats however; they’re Republicans. Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican legislators passed anti-trans legislation this fall that APP President Terry Schilling says doesn’t go far enough in discriminating against trans people.

Abbott signed House Bill 25 into law on Oct. 25, effectively preventing trans kids from playing on teams that correspond to their gender identity. The law requires kids to play on the sports teams corresponding to the sex assigned to them on their birth certificates, but it only applies to K-12 schools and does not include Texas colleges. That’s likely a result of an NCAA statement made this spring. In April, as scores of anti-trans bills were introduced in state houses across the country, the NCAA released a statement supporting trans athletes and said the collegiate conference would only have games and tournaments in states “where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

 In other words, the American Principles Project is going to be another one of those dreary 'traditional values' groups attempting to denigrate and stigmatize LGBTQ people (as if we don't have enough of those.) I caught a quick look at its webpage and saw a familiar face in its listing of staff members.

Maggie Gallagher is a senior fellow at American Principles Project, and a co-author of the APP reports, Building a Winning GOP Coalition: The Lessons of 2012 and The Case for Politics: Why Conservatives Must Invest Seriously in Politics. She has been a thought leader on life, religious liberty, and especially marriage for more than 25 years. Ms. Gallagher is the author of four books on marriage, including The Case for Marriage with University of Chicago Prof. Linda J. Waite, and her latest book, Debating Same-Sex Marriage, which she co-authored with Prof. John Corvino. 

After founding and running a think tank on marriage — the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy — Ms. Gallagher went on to co-found the National Organization for Marriage in 2007, which The Washington Post called the “pre-eminent organization” fighting the imposition of same-sex marriage. Her Weekly Standard piece “Banned in Boston” launched a national debate over the religious liberty consequences of same-sex marriage.

Allow me to give a short summary of just who Maggie Gallagher is in light of her return.

For those who don't know, Gallagher was the public figure and face against marriage equality during those tumultuous fight. She was very good in forming narratives against marriage equality, particularly the one which claimed that those who opposed it were the victims because they were being 'unfairly cast as victims' simply because of their religious beliefs. And she portrayed herself as someone who supposedly had no problems with LGBTQ people, but was concerned about how we were supposedly going to harm the " long standing traditional meaning" of marriage. Her side had a lot of success in winning statewide ordinances against marriage equality AND anti-discrimination ordinances. 

And she loved gloating about it:

Flashback: When #Oregon native Maggie Gallagher gloated that “it’s really fun to win.” She is absolutely right!!! http://t.co/icGhrEjo2e

— Jeremy Hooper (@goodasyou) May 19, 2014

But the success began to trickle away and part of it was due to Gallagher herself.

'Joe Rogan - a sad man full of transphobia and COVID misinformation' & other Fri midday news briefs

Joe Rogan signals America's intellectual downward spiral.

Joe Rogan Wrapped: A year of COVID-19 misinformation, right-wing myths, and anti-trans rhetoric​ - Joe Rogan is the personification of how America mistakes wallowing in ignorance for creating nuanced and intelligent public influencers. 

Univ. of Colorado creates first full scholarship to support LGBTQ inclusion in sports - Huge kudos to Colorado. 

She was the school principal for 16 years. Until she hung up a rainbow flag. - The religious right hounded her until she left. BUT she is suing. 

15 celebrities who came out in 2021 - Every bit helps.

With unanimous vote to ban 'ex-gay' therapy, Canada House of Commons puts America to shame

 A recent vote in Canada just demonstrated how progressive a country can be when government officials aren't caught in a strange hold by so-called religiously moral figures and false precepts.

From The Hill:

Canada’s House of Commons on Wednesday voted unanimously to outlaw LGBTQ+ conversion therapy, a rare example of harmony in a Parliament often fraught with discord. The bill, first proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in March of last year, will now go to the upper Senate chamber for approval. An earlier version of the bill died after the government prorogued Parliament last August and was reintroduced the following October.

 “There are clearly people in the Conservative caucus who exercised a great deal of leadership on the issue, and I thank them,” Canada’s Liberal justice minister, David Lametti, told reporters Wednesday. “This is what we can do when parliament works together.” "We said we wanted people to be on the right side of history on this issue. No one can consent to torture," Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, one of eight openly queer, trans, and Two-Spirit candidates elected to Parliament this year, told reporters Wednesday. 

According to The Guardian:

The governing Liberals had made repeated attempts to pass legislation banning the practice, which aims to change individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity, and has been deemed harmful by health experts globally. The Liberals first introduced the bill in March 2020, but it died after the government prorogued parliament. Trudeau’s party reintroduced the bill again but it died when parliament dissolved ahead of the September federal election. 

 The Conservative leader, Erin O’Toole, has become an outspoken proponent of LGBTQ rights since taking control of the party. By voting to fast-track the bill, lawmakers avoid having to record their vote. Previously, 62 Conservatives voted against the motion in June. The bill will now go to the senate for a separate vote before it becomes law.

 A recent UN report found that conversion practices are performed in at least 68 countries, although experts say some version of conversion practice is still found in all nations. Aversion therapy, where a person is subjected to a “negative, painful or otherwise distressing sensation”– including electric shocks – to create a negative association, has been used in many countries. 

 The vote puts Canada one step closer to joining a small number of nations – Brazil, Ecuador, Germany and Malta – that have outright banned the practice.

Canada's vote is a stark contrast to some of what's happening in America these days. While Canadian officials are working together to ensure fairness for all of their citizens,  the autonomy of certain facets of our government seem to be under attack with the end result being the personal beliefs of conservative evangelicals taking precedent in issues such as  women's health, simple LGBTQ fairness, the fight against the COVID pandemic, and the taxpayer subsidization of private religious schooling.

'What does abortion case at SCOTUS mean for LGBTQ rights?' & other Thur midday news briefs

The Supreme Court’s eagerness to overturn Roe v. Wade is a bad sign for LGBTQ rights​ - Could be, but let's not completely assume

'Jeopardy!' winner will be 1st trans contestant in Tournament of Champions - Good for her! 

The never ending Jussie Smollett hate crime drama is finally heading into its final act - Damn, Jussie. You dumbass! 

Sports commentator launches into crazy homophobic tirade over rainbow shoelaces on live TV - Say whaaat? 

How a Seattle man became a lifeline for persecuted LGBTQ people in other countries - Wonderful article.

SCOTUS abortion arguments on same day of Trump COVID reveal is an ugly indictment on conservative evangelicals

The conservative evangelicals who supported Donald Trump are a sad bunch.

The irony of this particular Wednesday is incredibly stark. 

Conservative evangelicals finally got a taste of the moment they have been wanting  and anticipating for decades - a Supreme Court which may actually overturn Roe v Wade. A court which embraces their view of the so-called sanctity of life - however hypocritical - is something they have been pining for with all of their planning, plotting, and basic maneuvering.  It's possibly the same court which could also give the LGBTQ community and our rights - particularly the one to marry - fresh hell after it finishes carving up a woman's right to an abortion.

And they owe it to their canny vigilance and cynical support of Donald Trump. By overlooking his basic faults, making excuses for his tendency to lie, and practically anointing him as a "baby Christian," conservative evangelicals  are now in the catbird seat overlooking a moment in history where they may actually get what they want. 

And it's on this same day that we learn something else equally nauseating about Donald Trump, the man which they owe their success to.  According to his former aide Mark Meadows, Trump was COVID positive three days before his first debate with now President Joe Biden.  And this was a day before an event he held with Gold Star military families whom he later blamed for giving him COVID. 

So on top of everything else people have reason to despise Trump for, we can possibly mark him as a  personal spreader of COVID. And this doesn't begin to account for how his sad governance indirectly caused the pandemic to wreak deadly havoc across the country.

Taking all that into account, you would think I am going to weave a sad narrative about how conservative evangelicals supposedly sold their souls for what looks like a moment of victory. You probably think that I am going to make literary comparison of people like Franklin Graham and groups like the Family Research Council to the legendary Faust, who sold his sold to the devil to gain his heart's desire.

But I'm not going to. 

For the comparison to make sense, a soul must first be involved. The pain that comes from attaining your heart's desire at the cost of your innocence must be involved. And the sad realization that what you gained in your deal with the devil isn't worth what you gave up must be acknowledged. 

But none of this internal trauma is going to happen with conservative evangelicals.  How can it when they obviously didn't have a soul to begin with. 

The truth is that they don't give a damn. All they care about is what Donald Trump has done for them. Because of him, they now have a conservative majority on the court and this majority is very close to overturning Roe v Wade. At least for now. 

Everything else - the lives lost to COVID, the hypocrisy, the lies, the awful governance -  is simply collateral damage to be explained away. Or worse yet, ignored.

'Fox News suggests Omicron COVID variant created to make Pete Buttigieg president' & other Wed midday news briefs

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Fox News suggests Omicron COVID variant was created to make Pete Buttigieg president​ - Just the Democrats? They didn't get help from us gays?  But aren't WE the criminal masterminds?

These Events Commemorate World AIDS Day Wednesday December 1st 2021 - Remember and learn from this day. 

Google Sued for Anti-Trans, Antigay Discrimination by Former Employees - Time to get up off of the money. 

Hungary parliament clears way for government's LGBTQ referendum as election nears - Look out cause this is not gonna be pretty. And how much will reverberate in America?

Family Research Council embarrasses itself in attempt to fundraise off of homophobic NC government official

FRC president Tony Perkins 

In its latest fundraising, anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research Council and its President Tony Perkins commits a serious sin of omission. The organization has chosen to take up the cause of controversial North Carolina Lt Governor Mark Robinson by making him sound like a strong steadfast Christian battling the forces of evil (i.e. LGBTQ people) trying to "groom" (I believe that's the popular accusatory word these days) children into our supposed "lifestyle."

In reality, Robinson is a raging loudmouth hypocrite. whose words belie any attempt to make him look like a latter-day Joan of Arc. But in its email, FRC chose not include Robinson's various comments. Instead, the group utilized glowing adjectives to describe him. Well I decided to adjust FRC's email just a little by including various comments Robinson has made as well as certain other facts the group chose to omit or alter. 

Let's begin:

As you well know, the far Left has been on a quest to police and censor parents from having a voice in their own children's education. 

The claim that "the far Left has been on a quest to police and censor parents" is a lie. There have been complaints that school board officials have been threatened by certain parents and other attendees of meetings. Because of this, the Justice Department had been asked to investigate. 

They thought they found a prime target in North Carolina's Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a bold Christian and conservative. All Robinson did was exercise his constitutional right -- to speak freely without fear of government punishment.

 But they were wrong. 

When the media pounced, FRC was there to back him up and elevate Robinson's story as he courageously stood for truth.

Mark Robinson - “We had them kind of folks back in the day/ Back when I was a kid, my momma used to tell me about them. She’d say, ‘When y’all go down to the playground, if y’all see anybody hanging around in a raincoat and you don’t see no pants hanging under his raincoat, y’all get y’all stuff and come on home because that’s what we call a pervert.'” 

 “There is somebody somewhere right now on the internet grooming somebody’s child to put their hands on them,” Robinson warned. “You ain’t got no reason to be teaching these children those kinds of concepts unless you got—like the old folks used to say—some ideas about putting your hands on them.”

Comparing LGBTQ people to pedophiles? So much for truth, Part 1 

Your gift will enable FRC to rapidly respond when the religious freedom and constitutional rights of Americans like Lieutenant Governor Robinson are under attack by far Left activists. An elected public official, Mark Robinson has spoken boldly against the promotion of LGBT ideology in schools that is evident in books such as Gender Queer, a graphic novel about sexual fantasies. 

Robinson actually said Christians (who believe has he does, of course) should take over public schools because he felt that learning about LGBTQ people and such is child abuse:

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says Christians must take control of public schools because children are being abused by being taught "filth": "There's no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth." pic.twitter.com/aXjCPFKTs0

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) October 6, 2021

And (surprise! surprise!) The book Gender Queer is not about sexual fantasies. So much for truth, Part 2.

Attempting to intimidate him, Right Wing Watch stirred up the media by releasing a recording of Robinson speaking at a local church -- expressing these same truths.

Right Wing Watch released a few recordings of Robinson speaking. One was in August at the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, NC. During that speech, he called trans rights "demonic" and "full of anti-Christ spirit." FRC omitted that item in its fundraising letter. The organization also omitted the fact that the Upper Room Church of Christ is run by Patrick Wooden,  "a vehemently anti-gay right-wing pastor who once claimed that gay men have to wear diapers because they routinely insert cellphones, baseball bats, and animals into their anuses." 

Someone should ask FRC and Tony Perkins which of these comments do they consider as truths.

America needs more bold leaders like Robinson and parents who know their God-given, constitutional rights -- and the harms presented by the radical ideologies infiltrating our schools.

Really? Here is an example of Robinson's 'boldness' signified by a few more comments from him.

October 29 -  North Carolina’s Christian nationalist Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who recently announced that he’s “about 95 percent sure” that he will be running for governor in 2024, spoke at a Stand Up For America rally in Raleigh Friday morning, where he thundered that “the Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation.”

 . . . “Tell our enemies on the other side of the aisle that will drag this nation down into a socialist hellhole that you will only do it as you run past me laying on the ground, choking on my own blood because I will not give up this nation to you!” Robinson bellowed. “It is not yours. You did not build it, you did not defend it, and you will not own it. We will. The Christian patriots of this nation will own this nation and rule this nation and help freedom survive for future generations.”

Oct 7 -“To every animal, God has given the ability to defend yourself,” Robinson said. “God didn’t even leave the garden slug out. Garden slugs have little enzymes in it that make it unappealing for folks to eat. Certainly we wouldn’t want to eat them. But even some animals look at garden slugs and find them unappealing because there’s an enzyme in them that gives off something that drives creatures away. And there’s even an inside enzyme in some of them that if creatures eat them, they automatically spit them out.” 

 “God gave the garden slug a way to defend itself,” he continued. “Now, if God gave the garden slug a way to defend themselves, what makes you think he didn’t give man, who he created in his own image, a way to defend himself? Those AR-15s and Glock 9mms and .45 calibers; where do you think they came from? Who do you think inspired them? God knew the world he was putting us into, so he formed in our mind the ability for us to be able to defend ourselves from anybody who may threaten us.” 

Mark Robinson is an egotistical self-righteous loon who loves the sound of his own voice. And apparently FRC and Perkins feels that his story is good for fundraising, with a few alterations added and many more details deleted. Give Robinson time and he will either say something extra offensive or people will get tired of his nonsense. The real story here is the Family Research Council and Perkins. It shouldn't be ignored or understated that yet again, they are exploiting Christianity as a transient commodity of fear and ego instead of the deeply held personal faith they are always claiming that it is.