'Bigoted right-wing pounces on isolated chant at NYC Drag Parade' & other Thur midday news briefs

Right Wing Pounces on Isolated Chant at NYC Drag Parade​ - They are jackals. Any little thing they can pounce on to use to their advantage is what they want. 

Across the U.S., Pride symbols are being attacked in outbreak of vandalism - Cowards will be cowards. 

As Pride Month draws to a close, Joe Biden has one simple message- Always remember that voting matters. It's the difference between having a president who cares and one who will attempt to take our rights away. 

Amid anti-LGBTQ hate, online groups offer safe spaces for parents of LGBTQ kids - Thank you. 

North Carolina lawmakers give final OK to ban gender-affirming care for trans children - Another ban set to be knocked down like so many others.

Double boom! Anti-trans bills in Tennessee and Kentucky temporarily blocked by federal courts

I told folks a while back when these awful anti-trans bills were being passed that the courtroom is totally different from legislative chambers. In legislative chambers, the ending is mostly pre-determined. You can basically pass any type of junk. But the courtroom is still a place where you have to defend your sh!t. And it looks like those who pushed for these anti-trans bills are having a real problem in that area. 

First, there is Kentucky. 

From The Associated Press:

A federal judge temporarily blocked Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youths on Wednesday, taking the action shortly before the measure was set to take effect. In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge David Hale sided with seven transgender minors and their parents, who sued the state officials responsible for enforcing the provisions banning the use of puberty blockers and hormones. “Justice is served today as the most egregious parts of Kentucky’s anti-trans law are struck down by a federal judge,” said Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group. 

 . . . In their lawsuit, the Kentucky plaintiffs claim that the prohibition interferes with parental rights to seek established medical treatment for their children. The plaintiffs requested a preliminary injunction to prevent the disputed portion of the law from taking effect on Thursday. In his order, Hale concluded that the plaintiffs showed “a strong likelihood of success on the merits” of their constitutional challenges to the contested portion of the measure. In his order, the judge said that if the disputed sections were allowed to take effect, they would “eliminate treatments that have already significantly benefited six of the seven minor plaintiffs and prevent other transgender children from accessing these beneficial treatments in the future.”

And while we were rejoicing over that, we got more good news from Tennessee. 

Brody Levesque from The Los Angeles Blade reported:

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming healthcare care for trans youth up to age 18 while several families’ legal challenge against the law proceeds in court. United States District Court Judge Eli Richardson in his sixty-nine page ruling granted the request for a preliminary injunction against the law, SB1, in a lawsuit brought by Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 15-year-old daughter, as well as two other anonymous families and Dr. Susan N. Lacy. The law would prohibit medical providers from providing gender-affirming health care to transgender youth and would require trans youth currently receiving gender-affirming care to end that care within nine months of the law’s effective date of July 1, 2023, or by March 31, 2024. 

 Richardson wrote in his conclusion: “The Court realizes that today’s decision will likely stoke the already controversial fire regarding the rights of transgender individuals in American society on the one hand, and the countervailing power of states to control certain activities within their borders and to use that power to protect minors. The Court, however, does not stand alone in its decision. 

As repeatedly emphasized above, several federal courts across the country have been confronted with laws that mirror SB1 in material respects. To the Court’s knowledge, every court to consider preliminarily enjoining a ban on gender-affirming care for minors has found that such a ban is likely unconstitutional. And at least one federal court has found such a ban to be unconstitutional at final judgment.”

According to the ACLU:

Tennessee’s is the fourth ban on gender-affirming care blocked by a federal court following similar rulings in Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida, and Kentucky. The ACLU and the ACLU of Oklahoma secured a binding non-enforcement agreement with the Attorney General of Oklahoma preventing enforcement of that state’s ban in May 2023. On June 16, 2023, the ACLU and the ACLU of Indiana were granted a preliminary injunction in a legal challenge against Indiana’s ban on gender-affirming care. In June 2023, a federal judge in Arkansas struck down that state’s ban in a permanent injunction, the first court ruling on the merits regarding a ban on gender-affirming care.

'Outsports Power 100 honors the most power and influential LGBTQ people in sports' & other Wed midday news briefs

Outsports Power 100 honors the most powerful and influential LGBTQ people in sports - LGBTQ visibility in sports is very important. When I was a child, nothing like that would have ever happened. We've definitely come a long way.

Minnesota Senator Blames Pride for Mankind’s Impending Fiery Apocalypse -Wonderful.  We are being blamed for the 'coming Apocalypse.' Again.

Gender-affirming care for trans youth: Medical facts vs. misinformation​ - It took you long enough to get this going CBS but thank you for the primer. 

Kansas is going to change gender markers on trans people’s IDs back to their sex assigned at birth - Unbelievable mean-spirited nonsense. 

Florida Reverends, Rabbi Slam DeSantis, Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws - Don't let folks fool you into believing the LGBTQ community vs. religious community narrative.

'The big myth about the supposed 'anti-trans' backlash' & other Tue midday news briefs

The big myth about the supposed 'anti-trans' backlash​ - The media is always screwing up our issues. This is no different than the other times. 

Jesse Watters: A Primer on Fox News Star’s Racism, Transphobia - He was just given Tucker Carlson's former spot. This promises to be nauseating.

14 LGBTQ+ characters who deserved (or still deserve, in some cases) their own spinoffs - What do you think? 

Dr. Jill Biden partied with the gays all weekend at Pride & conservatives are losing their sh*t - They will have to get over it. 

Democrats introduce federal conversion therapy ban - Good Luck.

Digitally altered photo falsely accuses CA state legislator Scott Wiener of 'sexualizing' children

 

Bigot spread a digitally altered photo of gay CA legislator Scott Wiener to make it seem as if he approves of sexually grooming children.

I've said it once and I will say it again - once the anti-LGBTQ industry finds a good lie, they will continuously repeat it no matter how many times it has been refuted.

An recent incident involving an openly gay California state legislator Scott Wiener proves this point. Check out the tweet below.

A California State Senator, Destrict 11, Scott Wiener has a bill he has introduced. “Among other allowances, it authorizes courts to “take temporary jurisdiction” of a child if they have “been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care.” pic.twitter.com/Oc0HPheJAU

— Scott Mason (@hypnoksa) June 25, 2023

Wiener supports legislation allowing trans kids to get gender-affirming care, so wannabe social media influencers on Twitter have accused him of "grooming" kids. This tweet accentuates the accusation because it shows Wiener proudly holding a book which encourages kids to keep secrets from their parents. The implication is that Wiener supports being kids molested, sexualized, or "groomed" and not  telling their parents. As you can see, the tweet has spread. Here are just a few retweets:

But guess what - and you know where I am going with this - it is a lie. The picture was digitally altered. Here is the actual picture:

As more & more states ban books & drag queens, we’re celebrating both at San Francisco Public Library’s #NightOfIdeas. pic.twitter.com/i4pk9Qxdix

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) March 5, 2023

And what's worse about this lie is that it was already refuted by several news sources. This is what Reuters said in March:

Erik Mebust, communications director for Wiener, told Reuters via email that the recently shared altered photo originates from a March 4 tweet by Wiener, which shows an identical background and apparel In his original photo posted in March, Wiener is holding a book with a yellow cover titled, “Gender Pioneers."  The photo was taken at the San Francisco Public Library’s “Celebration: Night of Ideas” event, held on March 4. Mebust said the circulating photo is “digitally altered” and an attempt to “use the Senator’s strong stances on LGBT youth rights to incite hate against the entire LGBT community.” 

Reuters also said that another digitally altered picture showed this:

Unfortunately, this one incident is indicative of what's happening on social media, but mostly on Twitter in general. This is what the LGBTQ community has to deal with now. It's not just far-right groups with huge budgets. It's also idiotic nobodies looking to gain social media influence by spreading hateful narratives about us. 

Elon Musk and Twitter has opened the door to a cottage industry of greedy homophobes hoping to monetize bigotry and sad losers deceiving themselves into thinking that their lives have value by being child defenders. Both groups are scapegoating LGBTQ people as pedophiles, and they don't care if they have to lie to do it just as long as they get their clout.

For LGBTQ people, it's like being trapped in a long-awaited sequel to a horror movie.  

Anita Bryant on Steroids, maybe.

'The war on LGBTQ people being waged in rural America' & other Mon midday news briefs

The War on LGBTQ People Being Waged in Rural America - We've had war waged on us before. We will not give up nor will we be defeated. No matter what. 

Ron DeSantis is campaigning on his record. Judges keep saying it’s unconstitutional​ - From the article - "Critics say DeSantis has built his governorship around enacting laws that appeal to his conservative base but that, as a Harvard-trained lawyer, he knows are unconstitutional and not likely to take effect."

Federal court halts Florida’s drag ban, calling it attempt to ‘suppress the speech’ rights of performers - A perfect example of the above news brief. 

5th grade Georgia teacher fired for reading “divisive” book about acceptance - The book, 'My Shadow is Purple,' is an international best-seller. There is nothing in it remotely divisive. 

The LGBTQ population is growing, but medical schools haven't caught up - And some folks are trying to suppress healthcare for LGBTQ people.

Randy Rainbow pokes good fun at Trump again with 'Donald in the John With Boxes'

 Let's waltz into this last week of Pride with smiles and laughter courtesy of Randy Rainbow. With a hilarious parody of the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," Randy Rainbow blisters Donald Trump and his recent indictment.