Thursday, December 31, 2015

'The top 15 anti-lgbt villains of 2015' & other Thur midday news briefs.

Editor's note - unless something incredibly juicy happens, this will be my last post for 2015. It's been wild and it's been fun. We won a lot in 2015. Hopefully in 2016, our minds will be not becoming stagnant or complacent. Hopefully we will be aggressively working on keeping what we have won and gaining more. Thank you to all of my readers and supporters. You mean the world to me. Have a safe and happy new year. And let's come back to gain more. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert gets 'dubious' honor
Here Are 15 Of The Worst Anti-LGBT Villains Of 2015 - You must always know your opposition, as well as keeping in mind that while they may have won some battles, the victory in the war has been ours. 

 Campaign Ad Shows The America Ted Cruz Values: Christian Crosses, Ten Commandments And Guns (Video) - In 2016, we will be electing a new president. And THIS guy is in the running. Ignore Ted Cruz at your own peril. 

 The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children - Reposting the piece I put up this morning. In 2015, we won marriage equality and we must never forget that we won it not only for ourselves but our lgbt children. 

 Indiana Lawmaker Introduces ‘Pay To Pee’ Bill For Transgender People - Another nonsensical thing we will be fighting in 2016. In 2015, the transgender community became more visible. As they did, some nasty individuals began to reduce the dignity of their lives to horror stories about who will use what bathrooms and monsters preying on children. Expect more of the same in 2016, unfortunately. 

 Kim Davis: ‘I am just the first of what’s going to be very many.’ - No you won't be, honey. But in the event that you will be, you ALL should expect to lose. Raise them up and the lgbt community with the law on our side will knock every single one of them down. One. By. One.  

Anti-Gay Bakers Finally Pay Their Fine. Conservatives Throw Them A Pity Party. - While this article may be repeating information which a lot of you already know, it is important to take it in. The anti-gay bakers in Oregon are the epitome of anti-gay lies and deception plaguing our community and the country in general.

The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children




In 2015, marriage equality was officially legalized and it was about damn time.

The legalization of marriage equality represents so much. After a long campaign in which we lost many painful battles, the often dreamed possibility became a reality and millions of same-sex couples and their children had the legitimacy they should have had in the beginning.

But it means so much more.

Granted, some of our own aren't exactly happy about having the right to marry. Some claim that things like marriage is forcing the lgbt community into "conforming" to heteronormative behavior and roles. Some claim that our uniqueness as a community is falling by the wayside because we are attempting to "become" like heterosexual couples.

I don't know a thing about all of that. But this is what I do know.

Before I realized that I was gay, I had the usual dream of wanting to be married and having a family. But after I realized that I was gay, that dream dissipated because at that time, very few thought of gays having families and children. All of the messages drummed into me by society was the quite the opposite.

So my dream was destroyed. It wasn't that I decided not to go that direction. Someone had already decided to deny me what I felt should be a crucial part of my life's desire. Needless to say,  it devastated me.  It was a nasty message sent to me that because I am gay, I am inferior. That I don't get to pick my life's paths. That I was not worthy of having a family, nurturing, or raising children, not because I didn't prove myself of being capable, but because someone else had already decided for me.

That message played a huge role in the depression which gripped me back then and it wasn't pretty. I wish I could say that now things have changed and that hurt of realizing just low I placed in the so-called pecking order of society disappeared when marriage equality became legal. But it hasn't.

Today, I'm 44-years-old and I am not pining for marriage. If it happens, great. If not, then I will be okay. But even now, there is a part of me who is still that young gay man with a void unfairly carved into his heart by the ignorance and religious self-righteousness of others. I am still that young gay man who watched his heterosexual friends love, lose, cry and go through the rituals of having a relationship while silently hating them all with such a hot jealousy that I am ashamed to admit it even now. 

And I'm confused. Am I okay with no longer having the dream of being married and having a family because  I gave up a part of my soul in order to survive?  Is there a small part inside of me so deeply hidden which hasn't rejected the message I was given as a young gay man, i.e. the message saying "you're a fag. And fags don't have families, children, or happy endings."

I don't know and I don't think that I ever will know. But at this juncture in my life, I take solace that younger lgbts are no longer being told by society what I was told. I want our kids to have choices. If they want marriage, family, and the stereotypical white picket fence life, then it's there for them. But if they don't want that, then that is also okay.

But it's their choice No one  has the right to deprive our lgbt kids of their desires or dreams of however direction they want to take their lives.  And most importantly, no one has the right to inflict upon our children psychological scars which can continue to haunt them even as adults.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

'Anti-gay bakers play the victim while still raking in big bucks' & other Wed. midday news briefs

 
The tears, just like everything else the Kleins do, are sad lies.


Sweet Cakes Bakers Still Actively Fundraising, Cash Pouring In - So now things become more clear. Having been recently forced to pay the money they owe, anti-gay bakers Melissa and Aaron Klein, with a little help from the lying Fox News personality Todd Starnes, is using this new situation to raise even more money. They do this by implying that the state is seizing all the money they have (making sure to omit the obscenely large amount of money they have been given via donations by gullible folks.) Unless you are an actual Christian, one who dislikes all forms of deception; especially done in God's name, there is no need for anger. When people destroy the integrity of their own faith system, all you should do is observe and pity them.

Student Who Described Lesbians As “Perverse” In Essay Continues Legal Action Against University - Classic case of why I DESPISE concern trolling from fellow lgbts and allies when situations like this roll around. This originally sounded like a case in which an anti-gay student was done wrong. However, new details proved otherwise.  

Marriage Equality Almost Didn’t Happen: The Strange Tale Of How It All Started - In the future, we will all realize that there was not simply just ONE factor which made marriage equality a reality, but lots of incidents and small stories (a few which include me. Yeah, I said it.) This is merely one of them. We should take them all in.  

The Texas News Station That Helped Fuel The Year's Biggest Setback For LGBT Equality - This article proves that as 2016 rolls around, we need to take new and more aggressive forms in getting our stories out there AND annihilating the lies perpetrated against us. We can't count on the "conventional" media. We should already know to count on ourselves.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Todd Starnes's distortions defending anti-gay bakery sinks Christianity to new low

Fox News personality Todd Starnes

There are times, when I want to point out the basic dishonest of the anti-gay religious right in America, I don't have to go on a long expository. I just merely point out the actions of one of their spokespeople. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, "Crazy" Jane Folger, or the American Family Association are always good for it.

And today, it's Fox News personality Todd Starnes.

Seriously, someone needs to ask serious questions about how Starnes continues to have a job, even with Fox News, when he has a reputation of distortions and outright lying to further the "anti-Christian persecution" angle which is extremely popular amongst conservatives. (Editor's note - actually, The Atlantic  has asked those questions.)

Today, he put his poison pen on the case of the Oregon anti-gay bakery, Melissa's Sweet Cakes.

First, a little background via an Oregon publication:

The owners of a Portland-area bakery that denied service to a same-sex couple has paid more than $135,000 to cover a legally-binding order from the Bureau of Labor and Industries. Charlie Burr, the communications director for BOLI, told KOIN 6 News the agency received a payment of $136,927.07 from Aaron Klein on Monday. That payment followed a collection effort earlier this month that netted about $7000 earlier in December, Burr said. Klein and his wife, Melissa, own Sweet Cakes by Melissa. They refused to bake a wedding cake for Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer, which BOLI ruled was  unlawful discrimination. In July, BOLI said a state exemption for religious organizations and schools does not allow private business owners to deny service to potential customers because of sexual orientation.

It's pretty standard, although with some details omitted. However, check out how Starnes, via  the American Family Assocation's One News Now, and probably other places where his column ran, spins the story:
 
Melissa Klein was checking her bank accounts just a few weeks before Christmas when her face turned ashen. The money was gone – every single penny.

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries had confiscated all the cash in Mrs. Klein’s checking account and savings account as well as a special account set aside for their church tithe.

Yes, friends – the state of Oregon stole money meant for our Lord.

Mrs. Klein and her husband, Aaron, are devout evangelical Christians who own a mom-and-pop bakery – Sweet Cakes By Melissa.

In July, they were ordered to pay more than $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple after they refused to bake their wedding cake. The Kleins objected because of their religious beliefs.

The judgment was awarded to the lesbians for “emotional suffering.”

Just a few weeks before Christmas, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian wiped out the Klein family’s bank accounts – taking nearly $7,000.


Starnes' sad sack goes on like this throughout the entire article. However, there are two things he glossed over:

'Ted Cruz building coalition between anti-gay religious right, tea party' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Trump may have the press attention, but Cruz is building the power base.

Cruz Taps Evangelicals, Tea Partiers To Fuel 2016 Campaign - Laugh at the coalition all you want. You shouldn't, especially when you read the part about the voting apparatus: 

The Cruz campaign combines a traditional get-out-the-vote operation — making phone calls and knocking on doors — with modern data analytics to identify and mobilize supporters, beginning with Iowa on Feb. 1. He's pairing that with state-by-state teams filled with grassroots tea party leaders, local elected officials and state lawmakers who hail from the most conservative corners of the GOP. 
We Read Rafael Cruz's Book So You Don't Have To - If the potential power of Cruz's voting apparatus doesn't cause alarm, then perhaps this will. Imagine THIS NUT anywhere NEAR the White House. It ain't pretty.

 Outspoken Josh Duggar Defender Mike Huckabee: 'I Never Defended Josh' - Mike Huckabee is playing serious damage control. He recently claimed that he NEVER defended the now infamous Josh Duggar. Huckabee says he was merely defending Duggar's family. What I am about to say is going to probably offend many of my readers, so I profusely apologize, but BITCH, PLEASE!!!!! 

 How Anti-Gay Talking Points Are Being Recycled For The Transgender Community - Not at all surprising in the least. Media Matters confirms what us monitors of anti-lgbt propaganda have known and have been shouting about for the longest time. Anti-transgender talking points are nothing more than general anti-gay talking points which have been scrubbed up, altered, and recycled. I hear so many folks whining about "how do we combat this" or "how do we fight this. we need a plan." @!% ! The plan has been there all of the time, only some folks have been too timid to take initiative. You DO NOT wait until the next referendum battle or the next public vote or the next public controversy. The fact that anti-lgbt groups use these lies as talking points should be THE argument. Until the lgbt community harnesses all of our resources (television, magazine, blogs, online news services, etc) to initiate the battles instead of waiting for them to be initiated on us, we are going to continue to look like and be treated like walking victims.  

5 Times 2016 Presidential Candidates Were Anti-LGBTQ - Just five?

Another reason the lgbt community should pay Ted Cruz as much attention as Trump


As the above tweet shows, presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz should be garnering more attention in terms of being the candidate we should be weary of. Not only has he gained the support of the religious right, but his followers aren't exactly "all there." Eat your heart your out, Donald Trump.

Read the entire article at Raw Story.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

'Bathroom bill lies hindering lgbt progress' & other Wed midday news briefs





This Kryptonite Argument Against Trans Rights Is Beating America’s Top LGBT Group - Kryptonite argument my ass. We've been here before and even way before the time I began blogging. The anti-gay right establishes a powerful talking point which is attuned to exploiting ignorance and fear (usually implying that lgbts will harm children.) We run around like scared animals due to our inability to defuse it. The talking point runs its course and we start winning again, until the new anti-lgbt talking point takes hold. We are like rabbits trembling under the shadow of a hawk. If I've said it once, I've said it repeatedly. We have to call out the totality of anti-gay talking points before we have to fight them in such things like ordinance fights. And yes, I am talking about coming out the blue and calling out the anti-gay industry for their lies with the goal of initiating a national conversation of anti-gay propaganda. We will look like the aggressors, but isn't it time for us to stop having to explain our lives and instead making the anti-gay industry explain their lies? 

New Mexico Lawmakers Seek To Legalize Anti-LGBT Discrimination With ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill - Batten down the hatches. We fixin' to have some fun.

 Ted Cruz campaign rally morphs into creepy ‘prayer revival’ so everyone can pray for him to be president - All I will say is that if I was there, things would have gotten VERY INTERESTING.

Ted Cruz's Two-faced Stance On Marriage - JUST on marriage?

 18 Stars Who Came Out In 2015 (But You Probably Didn't Hear About It) - Nice but I remain unimpressed a bit until black gospel singers start coming out en masse (no further comment)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Kim Davis enjoys artificial 'victory' while gays can still legally marry in Kentucky

Kim Davis will be celebrating a non-victory because of the new governor.
Anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is back in the news and no doubt her supporters will be crowing:

Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin ordered the state to prepare new marriage licenses that do not include the names of county clerks, in an attempt to protect the religious beliefs of clerk Kim Davis and other local elected officials.

Bevin said he directed the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives to issue the revised marriage license forms to all county clerks. The executive order comes after Davis, the Rowan County clerk, spent five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis said she could not issue the licenses because they had her name on them.

Bevin said he issued the executive order to “ensure that the sincerely held religious beliefs of all Kentuckians are honored.” It was one of five executive orders he issued Tuesday, the first of his administration, that mostly revised or suspended recent actions by former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.

 . . . It’s unclear how Bevin’s order will affect a federal lawsuit brought by four couples against Davis. One of Davis’ deputy clerks has been issuing altered marriage licenses to eligible couples since September. They do not include Davis’ name or the name of the county. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the four couples, has asked U.S. District Judge David Bunning to order Davis to reissue the licenses. Bunning has not made a decision yet.

No doubt, Davis and her supporters will be claiming that this is what she merely wanted and it is a victory for her.

Don't be fooled. Davis is a silly demagogue who attempted to use the power of her office to force her religious beliefs on others. Bevin's order means nthing because gay couples in Kentucky can still legally marry.

And there is nothing Davis can do about it.

In other words, we are still drinking the champagne, so let her enjoy the little drips coming from our glasses.

'Is Franklin Graham pushing for a theocracy?' & other Tue midday news briefs

Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham Quits The GOP - Franklin Graham, demagogue extraordinaire, is angry that the GOP didn't defund Planned Parenthood. And he hasn't exactly been in OUR corner, constantly attacking our equality victories. Because of these things, Graham is officially quitting the Republican party. And according to the article, he is pushing for a theocracy in all put name:

 Franklin Graham will, effectively, follow in the footsteps of his pals like the American Family Association and their David Lane, who heads AFA's American Renewal Project, to sire an army of Christian pastors to take over America! "Unless more godly men and women get in this process and change this wicked system, our country is in for trouble. I want to challenge Christians, even pastors, across the country to pray about running for office where they can have an impact. We need mayors, country commissioners, city council members, school board members who will uphold biblical values." 
Yes, because this sort of thing worked so well in the past if one will ignore certain eras of religious persecutions throughout history. Not saying that Graham and his ilk will be totally successful, but this is still nothing to laugh off. At the very least, Franklin and company can cause the lgbt community considerable amount of trouble on the local state county, and city areas. 

 Chris Christie Wants To Spare Transgender Kids The 'Confusion' Of Choosing Their Own Bathroom - Nonsense. The grand irony is confusion begins when folks like Christie begin spreading horror stories of predators in bathrooms. 

  A simple question someone should ask Marco Rubio about his bigotry - Reposting this item from last night because it effectively stymies the whining that folks like Marco Rubio push when they want to take rights away from lgbts.  

State Department defends LGBT rights efforts in Africa - State department pushes back against claims that it made life worse for lgbts in Africa.

 Religious Right Leaders Head To Farris Wilks Ranch To Plot How To Make Ted Cruz President - Lawd, hammercy! Making this guy likable will truly be a miracle for the ages.

Monday, December 21, 2015

A simple question someone should ask Marco Rubio about his bigotry

After watching this clip of presidential candidate Marco Rubio whine about being called a bigot because he opposes marriage equality and would like to reverse the Supreme Court ruling which legalized marriage equality, please answer my simple question. I think my question puts a much needed outlook on the situation:



Okay here is the simple question - Marco Rubio's desired actions would disenfranchise scores of same-sex families, particularly those with children by taking away the rights they earned. So why does it seem that folks are more worried about whether or not Rubio (and folks of his ilk) are called bigots more than the families whom his actions would hurt?

I suggest people ask that question often and aggressively. I don't give a #@! whether or not Rubio worries about being called a bigot. I do care that he is deliberately telling Americans that they are second-class citizens when it comes to families and relationships in spite of the fact that they did everything right to protect their families and relationships.
 
Sounds like a bigot to me.

'US attention on lgbt equality in Africa causing harm' & other Mon midday news briefs


SPLC gains huge victory over 'ex-gay' group


U.S. Support of Gay Rights in Africa May Have Done More Harm Than Good - A nasty conundrum here which breaks my heart. Calling attention to the negative treatment of African lgbts have emboldened the enemies of equality. 

SPLC suit forces New Jersey group to cease bogus ‘conversion therapy’ program, pay damages - Kudos to the Southern Poverty Center for eliminating a fraudulent anti-gay group. HUGE NEWS! 

Extreme anti-gay activist running for Ohio state legislature - Reposting this morning's item because I neglected to send it out to enough folks and groups.

 Alliance Defending Freedom: the Right-Wing Lawyers Fueling Transphobia in Schools - More proof that the anti-gay right has declared war on our transgender children. We need to be cognizant of this.

Extreme anti-gay activist running for Ohio state legislature

The lgbt community and all sensible people in general may have a new headache stomach ache in the Ohio legislature:

The president of a Christian activist organization will challenge incumbent state Sen. Larry Obhof of Montville Township for the 22nd district in the March Republican primary. . . .Porter is president and founder of Faith 2 Action, a Christian organization that says it opposes same-sex marriage. Before starting the organization in 2003, she was the national director for the Center for Reclaiming America for five years and a legislative director at Ohio Right to Life for nine years.

According to Right Wing Watch:

Porter has also long warned that increasing acceptance of gay rights will turn Christians into criminals who will eventually be rounded up and tossed in jail, going so far as to try and prevent the Supreme Court from ruling on the issue of gay marriage. Recently she produced an anti-gay documentary called "Light Wins" that featured a variety of Republican members of Congress, GOP presidential hopefuls and anti-gay activists warning that gay activists are "grooming" and endangering children, for which they should be held criminally liable.
But for my money, the following video, in which Folger demands that God give people like her control of the media:



Now for those of you who are laughingly proclaiming that Folger would never win a seat in the Ohio legislature, I remind you that stranger things have happened. For example, THIS GUY below is now a member of the Colorado legislature:

Friday, December 18, 2015

'Christian schools want tax dollars & right to ban lgbt students' & other Fri midday news briefs

Hilary Clinton makes today's news briefs
Waivers Allowing Christian Schools To Ban LGBT Students Spike In 2015 - "Religious liberty," my foot. I don't care how religious you are, no one should have the right to receive tax dollars AND be able to discriminate against lgbts, period. I don't care if it sounds cold, but the tax dollar proponent of this argument (one which is hardly ever mentioned) is a VITAL part of the situation. The last time I checked, lgbts pay taxes, too. 

Lawmakers in Va., Md., introduce religious freedom bills - Fun! Fun! Fun! Here we go again. For those who think the struggle for lgbt equality is over, think again. 

 Court To Catholic School: No, You Can’t Fire People Because They Are Gay - Situation just right for the anti-gay industry to distort as an example of "religious persecution" but we need to stand our ground here. It should NOT be allowed.  

Hillary Clinton unveils extensive LGBT agenda for potential presidency - NIIICE!!  

This Lesbian Couple Will Make Network Television History Tonight - It's about time that there is more of a spotlight on our families.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

NPR regrets not properly identifying anti-gay hate group during radio discussion

Sprigg
According to Media Matters, NPR is expressing regret for not properly identifying the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg when he took part in a debate on same-sex parenting last week:

After NPR's The Diane Rehm Show hosted a spokesman from a notorious anti-gay hate group during a discussion of same-sex adoption, NPR's ombudsman admitted that the show erred in failing to properly identify the group.

On the December 10 edition of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, guest host Melissa Ross interviewed Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council (FRC), to discuss legal battles over parenting and adoption rights for same-sex couples. While the Southern Poverty Law Center has listed FRC as an anti-gay hate group since 2010, NPR didn't identify Sprigg as a hate group spokesman, and Sprigg used the platform to peddle misinformation about LGBT equality.

In a post responding to criticisms of the segment, NPR's ombudsman Elizabeth Jensen joined Diane Rehm in acknowledging that the show erred by "not us[ing] a clear identifier" for Sprigg. Rehm admitted that she has "to do a better job of being more careful about identification":

A portion of the post reads as thus:

Media Matters wrote that NPR (which distributes the show but does not produce it) gave Sprigg "a national platform to peddle misinformation about same-sex parenting." The organization Faithful America also sent an email blast that said: "Tell NPR: Don't let anti-gay hate group speak for Christians." In the last 45 seconds of the program, as Ross was focused on wrapping up, Sprigg said that "most orthodox Christians" believe that "engaging in homosexual conduct is contrary to the will of God," a claim that depends on the murky definition of "orthodox Christians." (See this May 2015 Pew Research Center poll looking at Americans' attitudes over whether their religious beliefs are in conflict with homosexuality.) But as I read the transcript, the show's other guests forcefully pushed back against Sprigg's other claims at pretty much every turn.

I asked Rehm about the guest booking. Her view (with which I agree): "I certainly don't see that there's a problem having someone like that on the program." Where the show erred, she said, "was we did not use a clear identifier [for Sprigg] other than the title of his organization." She added, "We have to do a better job of being more careful about identification."

Of course, the saving grace of the entire situation is how Sprigg's distortions about same-sex parenting were exposed by genuine experts during Rehm's show. Still, proper identification of Sprigg and FRC doesn't hurt. Neither he nor his group have any business being passed off as genuine experts on anything about the lgbt community. 

Related posts:

Anti-gay spokesman's distortions exposed by actual experts on NPR 

 Those times anti-gay groups were caught lying about science and lgbts . . .

'AIDS drug price gouger arrested, Kansas anti-gay adoption scandal finding scapegoat' & other Thur. midday news briefs

Guess which AIDS drug price gouger got arrested today?

Kansas families' secretary in anti-gay adoption controversy - And the controversy in Kansas involving anti-gay adoption bias rolls on, netting a huge catch.  

Kansas Official Accused of Antigay Bias in Adoption - More details. It was bound to happen that this scandal would center on one scapegoat.

 Martin Shkreli, detested pharma CEO who jacked up price of AIDS pill, arrested on securities fraud charges - No comment. I think that all of the talks about "karma" and "kismet" and the very very unnecessary jokes about prison rape (it's not funny, people) says it all.

Infamous Reparative Therapy Clinic For Transgender Youth Set To Close - Now THIS is something to celebrate. "And another one down, and another one down. And another one bites the dust . . ."  

Scott Lively Names Anti-Gay 'Inquisition' Advocate Theodore Shoebat Among The Anti-Gay 'Heroes' Of 2015 - A hateful list created by a hateful man. Ugh!

  If It's Hard to Picture Legal Anti-Gay Witchunts, Watch This Movie About Cameroon - Difficult to watch but VERY necessary.

Anti-gay publication uses CDC data as weapon against lgbt community


In the hands of the anti-gay right, a study created to help the lgbt community has become a weapon against it. According to the phony news site, One News Now:

After conducting an extensive study on homosexual behavior, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that those involved in such lifestyles experience a far greater amount of violence from one another than those in heterosexual relationships.


CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey is a first-of-its-kind study geared to determine the difference between the victimization of men and women by sexual orientation. The results show that men and women involved in homosexual behavior undergo much higher rates of sexual violence than men and women who are heterosexual. Surprising to many, homosexual women experience more violence than men. According to the study, a whopping 44 percent of lesbians were either raped, experienced physical abuse, and/or were stalked by their intimate partners during their lifetime. Even more shockingly, 61 percent of bisexual women endured such violence from their partners. 

It is also reported that 37 percent of bisexual women indicated they were stalked, which is more than double the rate that heterosexual women experience from their male partners. Furthermore, the CDC found that 37 percent of bisexual women were injured during the rape, physical violence, and/or stalking that they experienced at the hands of their sexual partners.Tragically, 48 percent of bisexual women who reported that they were raped said that their first experience of being raped occurred when they were adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17.The research also shows that 26 percent of homosexual men experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by their intimate partners. It’s even higher for bisexual men, who experience these types of assaults at a rate of 37 percent.

One News Now does, for a time, give objective reporting here. However the title of the article, CDC report: Homosexual lifestyle extremely violent, gives an indication as to what direction the article will end up. And after reporting the above facts, One New Now steers the article in the "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" angle:

Refuting many of the claims by LGBT activists that homosexual behavior is a natural biological condition, the CDC report found that a large percentage of homosexual transgenders and bisexual women experienced sexual violence during their childhood years, which could have likely resulted in their choices in adulthood to adopt a homosexual lifestyle. Even though the government agency would not make an official determination that such early exposure to sexual violence was the cause of men and women ultimately choosing to engage in homosexual behavior, the statistics themselves appear to point to such a connection.

But at no time did the CDC report blame the so-called "homosexual lifestyle" for the violence.  In fact, the CDC makes no judgement on any of the sexual orientations of the perpetrators in its report, unlike One News Now, which was so quick to point the finger of "unclean" at the lgbt community, while not attacking heterosexuals for the amount of violence in their relationships.  

The fake news site merely took CDC numbers and extrapolated a false dichotomy against the lgbt community, i.e. the notion that homosexuality is unnatural because gay and bisexual relationships are fraught with violence; something which the CDC never even stated. Furthermore, One News Now omitted that fact the data here is from 2010. It also omitted that this report is a facet of a larger group of CDC reports,  Injury Prevention & Control : Division of Violence Prevention, which also looks at other issues, such as Elder Abuse, Global Violence, and Child Maltreatment.

The sad irony is that the way One News Now twists the CDC report could play a role in future problems with reporting violence in gay and bisexual relationships. By stigmatizing the victims for being gay or bisexuals, rather than assessing the incidents objectively, the false news site creates an atmosphere which would make it difficult for victims to report the incidents and also for the CDC and other organizations to create ways to combat it.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Anti-gay right rallies around Cruz in secret meeting - News Brief Special

Ted Cruz is the anti-gay right's candidate for president

Religious Right Leaders Rally Around Ted Cruz At Secret Endorsement Meeting - I think we can all call it official. Sen. Ted Cruz is THE candidate of the religious right for the 2016 presidential election. According to an article in the National Review (ew! ew! ew!), he was chosen by a large margin. 

Everything You Need To Know About Tony Perkins, The Man Who Brought The Religious Right To Ted Cruz - It gets worse, or rather more interesting. The man who convened the meeting in which Cruz was chosen was none other than anti-gay hate group leader Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. 

 Those times anti-gay groups were caught lying about science and lgbts . . . - Reposting last night's piece, Cruz would fit right in with the anti-gay, scientific cherry-picking organizations in the anti-gay industry.  

Meet Ted Cruz’s ‘Secret Weapon’: An Old Man Who Wants to Scare the Hell Out of America - And WITH Ted Cruz, should he win, will come his father, Rafael. And this guy is to the right of Torquemada. Seriously, if he could, Atilla the Hun would send this guy a message from the grave telling him to lighten up. Of course, he is viciously homophobic.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Those times anti-gay groups were caught lying about science and lgbts . . .

By cherry-picking research, anti-gay groups manufacture this image about lgbts

Monday's post on how the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg was exposed and refuted on NPR during a debate on same-sex parenting has gone viral big time and it has me thinking.

One of the main reasons why it is difficult to get the truth out about the deceptive nature of organizations like FRC is due to their ability to exploit religious beliefs.  They tend to use the phrase "personally held religious beliefs" as an excuse to push a variety of anti-lgbt points of view.

But in the case of NPR, no one was arguing about religious beliefs. It was purely about science and research. And it was because of this reason that Sprigg failed. And more than that, his failure epitomizes  how anti-lgbt groups lie and distort. Religious right groups such as the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, the Liberty Counsel, etc. have a belief that homosexuality is a sin. and because of that, they stand against all facets of lgbt equality.

However, knowing that having a religious belief against homosexuality isn't enough to prevent pro-lgbts laws from being passed, they tend to distort or cherry-pick science in order to create the false idea that homosexuality itself is a so-called dangerous lifestyle.

Sometimes they are successful in pushing this meme, but other times they get caught lying. I have collected a few incidents over the years in which researchers, professors, Ph.Ds., and various others  have called out anti-gay groups for distorting science. I've published this list a number of times but always enjoy re-publishing it because we need to hammer this into everyone's minds. The media won't do it, so it's up to us. And I prefer it that way:

In 2012, Seton Hall professor Dr. Theodora Sirota complained about how her work was being distorted by Rick Gibbons of the anti-gay groups NARTH  (the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) to make the case against same-sex families.

National Institute of Health director Francis Collins, who rebuked the right-wing American College of Pediatricians  in 2010 for falsely claiming that he stated sexual orientation is not hardwired by DNA.

Six researchers of a 1997 Canadian study (Robert S. Hogg, Stefan A. Strathdee, Kevin J.P. Craib, Michael V. Shaughnessy, Julio Montaner, and Martin T. Schehter), who complained in 2001 that religious right groups were distorting their work to claim that gay men have a short life span.

The authors of the book Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Professors Richard J. Wolitski, Ron Stall, and Ronald O. Valdiserri), complained in 2009  that their work was being distorted by Focus on the Family.

University College London professor Michael King, complained in 2008 that the American Family Association was distorting his work on depression and suicide in LGBT individuals

University of Utah professor Lisa Diamond, also complained in 2008 that NARTH distorted her research on sexual orientation.

Dr. Carol Gilligan, Professor of Education and Law at New York University, complained in 2006  that former Focus on the Family head James Dobson misrepresented her research to attack LGBT families.

Dr. Kyle Pruett, Ph.D., a professor of child psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine,  also in 2006 complained that Focus on the Family distorted his work.

Dr. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, consistently complained that religious right groups distorted his study to claim that the LGBT orientation is easily changeable. In 2012, Spitzer apologized to the gay community for the original study which religious right groups were distorting.

 Judith Stacey, Professor of Sociology at New York University,  has had to, on more than one occasion, cry foul over how religious right groups distorted her work on LGBT families.

Greg Remafedi, Professor at the University of Minnesota, complained several times about how religious right groups such as the American College of Pediatricians and PFOX have distorted his work

John Horgan, a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology complained in 2010 that various religious right groups were distorting his work on homosexuality.

In 2011, Tom Minnery, a spokesman from Focus on the Family, was dressed down by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) during a Congressional hearing for deliberately misrepresenting a study. Minnery initially used the study to claim, as Fitzgibbons did in his misrepresentation, that same-sex households are inferior to two parent mother/father households.

'Kansas gay adoption bias scandal heats up under radar' & other Tue. midday news briefs


Committee Puts Off Investigation Of Gay Adoption Bias By Kansas Agency - Flying under the radar of everyone, the possible scandal in Kansas involving biases against gay adoption heats up with this story. 

How Baby Isabella Went from This Couple to An Alleged Child Abuser - and this wonderful story courtesy of Buzzfeed. It's not over by a long shot.  

Cruz Prayer Team: 'We're In A Spiritual Battle' Against Gay Marriage - Meanwhile, the homophobic follies of the 2016 GOP presidential candidates continue. I would say something but I'm simply rendered speechless by the fact that Ted Cruz has a prayer team and none of them have been struck by lightning as of yet.  

Nebraska’s Aggressive New Plan To Keep Transgender Students From Playing Sports - And AGAIN they are picking on transgender children. I mean come on, folks!  

Clinton campaign launches for ‘LGBT for Hillary’ - Girlfriend, I LOVE you and I support your presidential campaign, but work on getting diverse faces. More African-Americans and other people of color as well as different age groups. Also, keep Ricky Martin. He is a winner. 

 Bill Kennedy, One Of The NBA's Top Referees, Comes Out At Gay - A nasty comment on court yields a new hero for the lgbt community, particularly for the African-American lgbt community.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Rubio's tv ad covertly disrespects same-sex relationships and families

Unfortunately, we should expect more of this.

Presidential candidate Marco Rubio attempts to portray those who stand against marriage equality as victims. It's a non sequitir made famous by former NOM head Maggie Gallagher and a cynical attempt to take attention off of the fact that lgbts won the right to marriage equality fair and square.

It is also an attempt to  erase our families and children from the public debate. Coming out of Rubio's deceptive mouth, the phrase "traditional values" seems to be a buzzword to claim that lgbt relationships and families are inferior.


'Will major anti-gay leader James Dobson endorse Ted Cruz?' & other Mon midday news briefs

Will James Dobson endorse Ted Cruz?

James Dobson: Evangelicals 'Coalescing Around' Ted Cruz Over His Objection To Marriage Equality - And Dobson is claiming that he may endorse Cruz. Cruz is getting closer to the nomination or at least a vice presidential call . . . and all on the back of the lgbt community. 

Religious Right Leader James Dobson To Endorse Ted Cruz - More info and little background on Dobson which underscores that if he does endorse Cruz, run to the other direction . . . and quick! 

 Supreme Court Grants Relief To Lesbian In Alabama Adoption Case - The Supreme Court steps in because Alabama is now playing the "culture war" with same-sex families.

 Anti-gay spokesman's distortions exposed by actual experts on NPR - Just in case you missed this morning's post, Family Research Council spokesman and phony expert Peter Sprigg got caught spewing distortions last week during an NPR debate and I got the transcript to prove it. 

 Rubio Outlines Plan To End Marriage Equality - Because apparent THIS issue is more pressing than other issues to Americans in Rubio's small world.  

Indiana’s Limited LGBT Protections Under Fire By Lawsuit - For those who think the fight for equality is over, if the Rubio piece above doesn't bother you, then check this one out. People actually sit around crafting plans to take away lgbt rights, even if they aren't many. And they are paid good money to do it.

Anti-gay spokesman's distortions exposed by actual experts on NPR

Peter Sprigg's lies got destroyed on NPR
NPR, recently received some criticism for giving a platform to Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council to spread distortions about same-sex parenting.

From Media Matters:

NPR hosted a spokesman from a notorious anti-gay hate group during a discussion of same-sex adoption, giving him a national platform to peddle misinformation about same-sex parenting.

On the December 10 edition of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show, guest host Melissa Ross interviewed Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council (FRC) to discuss legal battles over parenting and adoption rights for same-sex couples.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed FRC as an anti-gay hate group since 2010 due to the organization's propagation of known falsehoods about LGBT people. The group has a history of making wild and inflammatory attacks on LGBT equality while masquerading as a serious policy organization in the media. Sprigg, who served as an ordained Baptist minister before joining FRC, has called for recriminalizing gay sex in the U.S. and suggested LGBT people should be "export[ed]" from the country.

But NPR didn't identify Sprigg as a hate group spokesman, and Sprigg used the platform to peddle misinformation about LGBT equality. Sprigg cited a widely discredited paper to suggest that children raised by same-sex couples perform poorly, and resurrected the long debunked horror story that Catholic adoption agencies have been shut down for refusing to serve same-sex couples. While guest host Melissa Ross did not push back on Sprigg's talking points, fellow guest Emily Hetch-McGowan, Director of Public Policy the Family Equality Council, called out FRC's use of discredited research

I am not one for shutting down views or keeping points of view from being debated, but Media Matters does make a good point. The media cannot ignore the fact that the Family Research Council has an ugly history of spinning distortions and lies against the lgbt community.  And the organization should not be treated as a credible source when it comes to issues of same-sex parenting or any other lgbt issue.

But I'm not totally upset at NPR because, while the network gave Sprigg  a platform to spread more distortions, it also provided a platform for actual experts and people in the know (Hetch-McGowan, Michele Zavos - managing partner and founder of Zavos Juncker Law Group, a metropolitan D.C. area firm specializing in family law, and Martin Gill plaintiff in the lawsuit which overturned Florida's ban on adoption by same-sex couples ) to refute Sprigg and expose him as a liar.

The following are portions of the debate (in transcript form) in which Sprigg was called out:

Friday, December 11, 2015

Ted Cruz quietly becoming the anti-gay right's favorite GOP presidential candidate

Editor's note - Today's news briefs may be either pre-empted or postponed.

Ted Cruz
Here is a scary FACT. While Donald Trump is grabbing all of the headlines and attention, Ted Cruz (a more serious candidate for president) has been quietly grabbing support and endorsements from anti-gay organizations and figures.

From Right Wing Watch:

Ted Cruz won a major victory in his effort to consolidate support from the Religious Right today when he was endorsed by Bob Vander Plaats, who leads the Iowa-based conservative group, The Family Leader. Vander Plaats, a two-time gubernatorial candidate who in the two previous election cycles backed Iowa caucus winners Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, respectively, offers one of the most highly sought after endorsements in the state: Donald Trump reportedly joked that he would turn his plane around to join The Family Leader’s presidential forum if Vander Plaats would guarantee him his backing. Vander Plaats is one of several right-wing figures to coalesce behind Cruz, who has attracted the support of ultraconservative activists like Troy Newman, who wishes the government would execute abortion providers; Ron Baity, a pastor who links gay rights to Ebola; Flip Benham, a convicted abortion doctor stalker who holds protests at gay couples’ weddings; Sandy Rios, a virulently anti-LGBT radio host and hate group official; Dick Black, a Virginia lawmaker with noxious views on marital rape and “baby pesticide”; and Cynthia Dunbar, who thinks gay rights advocacy is “the same type of thing that was done in pre-Holocaust Germany.” 

And then there are these words from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council via email:

The campaign's intentional effort to win over social conservatives is paying off, as Cruz pieces together a formidable army of support from evangelicals, whose causes he has never failed to champion. While Ted has been effective on an array of national issues, he hasn't strayed from his theme -- which is that 2016 is going to be a "religious liberty election." That continues to resonate with Americans, who open their newspapers every day to a new story of religious hostility -- whether it's the Air Force Academy football team or the University of Tennessee's censorship.

Unlike the ghosts of candidates past, Cruz is not only unafraid of the tough issues -- he's fearless in tackling them. Just this week, the senator blasted the most disliked commander-in-chief in generations, telling a group of black pastors that it's no wonder President Obama has a pathetic level of support (15 percent) from American service members. "You look at the military," Cruz told FRC's E.W. Jackson, "and one of the things we've seen is morale in the military under the Obama administration has plummeted, and it has plummeted because you have a commander-in-chief that doesn't support our soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines." He won't even name the enemy "radical Islamic terrorism," Cruz went on, and is "more interested in promoting homosexuality in the military" than in "defeating our enemy."

I don't know how you feel, but I personally think Cruz is scarier than Trump. Trump is a self-aggrandizing blowhard. Cruz may actually have a shot at being the GOP nominee.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Cincinnati bans fraudulent practice of "ex-gay" therapy



Even though I hope Cincinnati's pro-football team loses to the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend, I must commend the city for taking the right step in ensuring the health of lgbts and particularly lgbt children. And it did this in spite of opposition.

From Cincinnati.com:

Almost two dozen pastors and citizens packed Cincinnati Council Chambers on Wednesday in an organized effort to stop a proposed city ban on so-called "conversion" therapy for gay youth.

In the end, council voted 7-2 to pass the law, which prohibits therapy designed to change sexual orientation or gender identity for minors, and imposes a $200-a-day fine on violators. Cincinnati follows four states – California, Oregon, Illinois and New Jersey – and the District of Columbia banning the therapy, becoming the first city outside of D.C. to do so.

 . . .  "This is about saving the lives of LGBT people," said Councilman Chris Seelbach, who led the effort to bring the ban to the city. He spoke of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teenager who killed herself last December; her suicide note cited the controversial therapy to which she had been subjected.
"She challenged us to make her death matter, and we’re doing just that," Seelbach said.

Twenty-one people spoke out against the ban during Council's comment period, decrying it as an assault on free speech and freedom of religion.

These folks should be aware of the fact that both freedom of speech and religion have reasonable limits. You can't yell "fired" in crowded theatre and parents can't keep their children from getting proper medical care even if they claim said medical care is against their religion.

And according to several medical organizations; including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and the American College of Physicians, "conversion" or  "ex-gay" therapy is not only fraudulent but can pose a serious danger.
 

'Community, school board strike back against Liberty Counsel lawsuit threat' & other Thur midday news briefs

Score one for the good guys.

Conservatives Threatened A School For Supporting A Transgender Student. Their Response Was Perfect. - Wonderful!  When a school in its area is threatened with a lawsuit for having kids read a book about a transgender child, the Mount Horeb Area School District community (Wisconsin) strike back by having a public reading of the book AND the school board unanimously passes full transgender-inclusive measures. This tea is so sweet and lemony when it is sipped.  

Tennessee school wins right to ban gays and women who’ve had sex: ‘This is who we are’ - "For our religious liberty . . . and everything . . ."  

Anti-LGBT Texas Officials Claim They're Being Bullied By Pro-Civil Rights Group - Cue the violin. If you are affiliated with national anti-gay hate groups, you only have yourself to blame for the attention you receive.

Texas Appeals Court Reinstates Convictions Of Hateful, Violent Gay Pride ProtestersTexas is popular today (and not in a good way). 

 Lastly, two posts from the past two days to serve as reminders: 

 Muslims join lgbts as the victims of Family Research Council lies 

  That time when a Family Research Council spokesman wanted to 'export' gays . . .  

The Family Research Council uses junk science and lies to demonize the Muslim community, just like it usually does against the lgbt community. And it wasn't that long ago that a member of that group was talking about "exporting" gays, much like Donald Trump is talking about not allowing Muslim immigrants to come to the United States. It's sad and funny that scapegoating never changes except for the names of the innocents who are targeted.

Muslims join lgbts as the victims of Family Research Council lies

Tony Perkins lies about Muslims the same way he lies about lgbts.

I generally go after the Family Research Council for the lies and distortions it spews about lgbts. However, since Donald Trump's eruption against the Muslim community, all attention seems to be there.

And this includes that of the Family Research Council's.

I wish I could say  that the organization actually shows itself as the Christian group it claims to be - i.e. the reason it claims to be against lgbt equality - by calling out Trump's incendiary and prejudiced rhetoric, but no such luck.

Instead, FRC uses techniques which us lgbts should be used to (citing distorted or junk science and wholesale demonization under the cover of religion) to actually defend Islamophobic prejudice in general.  The following is just a snippet from an email by its president, Tony Perkins:

What most people either don't realize or willfully ignore is that only 16 percent of Islam is a religion -- the rest is a combination of military, judicial, economic, and political system. Christianity, by comparison, isn't a judicial or economic code -- but a faith. So to suggest that we would be imposing some sort of religious test on Muslims is inaccurate. Sharia is not a religion in the context of the First Amendment. Under the framework proposed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rick Santorum, America wouldn't vet refugees based on religion but an ideology that's incompatible with American liberty. "I've proposed actual concrete things [like eliminating the visa lottery system] and immigration law that would have -- not the effect of banning all Muslims, but a lot of them," Santorum explained.

The bottom line is this: the U.S. Constitution is an agreement between people about how they'll be governed. What good is it if people immigrate to America with the sole purpose of undermining that contract? We shouldn't be embarrassed to say that we oppose those who want to come to the United States to destroy it. And while most Muslims are not radicalized, Sharia certainly encourages it. Based on polling from the Center for Security Policy, that's the system most would choose. The majority of Muslims in America believe they "'should have the choice of being governed by Sharia [law].' Sharia authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings, and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women."

First of all, for an organization constantly whining about attacks on religious liberty, it is extremely hypocritical for the Family Research Council to dictate what encompasses Islam. No matter what the organization says, Islam is a religion, just like Christianity. And if one looked at the historical perspective, Christianity  once embraced a military, judicial, and economic code in Europe and in the early days of this country.  Lastly, as much as FRC likes to brag how Christian beliefs encompasses the actions and decisions of its favored legislators and leaders, the fact that the group seeks to pull back and claim that Christianity is merely a "faith" is morally dishonest.

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

That time when a Family Research Council spokesman wanted to 'export' gays . . .

I noticed that the Family Research Council, that lovely "Christian" group, has been conveniently silent during this madness with Donald Trump and Muslims. It's probably because a few years back, a spokesman with the group, Peter Sprigg, made the following comment about "exporting" gays:



The mindsets that prejudiced fanatics share are certainly fascinating, aren't they?

'The victims of 'religious liberty'' & other Wednesday midday news briefs


 We Were Turned Away on What Should Have Been Our Happiest Day Because We're a Same-sex Couple - This wonderful post underscores what we need to do when it comes to the bogus religious liberty argument. The religious right bogarts time focusing on those who discriminate, painting them as the victims when they are not. We need more lgbt couples telling THEIR stories of how they were discriminated against and how this discrimination is an attack on their rights and dignity. 

FRC: 'Sexual Radicals' Are Coming After 'Your Family' - Lovely! Tis the season to fundraise by demonizing lgbts. For the Family Research Council's information, we are not after families. We just want Judy Garland's birthday to be declared an international holiday . . . 

 911 Audio: Hotel Manager Reports Guest For Being Transgender - Hot mess and a half!!

 LGBT and Allied Community Dominates Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations - In the nominations which are the precursors to the Oscars, lgbt-themed movies did well. Of course I'm not satisfied, but it's a start.

 Law Created To 'Protect' Magistrates From Marrying Same-Sex Couples Now Target Of Federal Lawsuit - Things just got interesting in North Carolina!

 This Man Is Challenging Jamaica’s Ban On Homosexuality - Kudos to this brave man.

Muslims and Gays - GOP targets for the 2016 election

Thanks to Donald Trump, the 2016 presidential election is turning into a sort of open season on Muslims. However, the lgbt community shouldn't feel left out. We're not exactly left behind on the pecking scale of scapegoating. Think Progress has come out with an excellent article showing that while Trump has made attacks on Muslims into a main issue, other GOP candidates have extreme anti-gay positions. Allow me to give a few examples:

Rubio
Marco Rubio:

In an interview this weekend with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Marco Rubio outlined outlined extensive plans for enabling discrimination against LGBT people in the name of religious liberty. As president, Rubio said he would do the following:
  • Rescind President Obama’s executive order protecting the LGBT employees of federal contractors.
  • Only appoint Supreme Court Justices committed to undoing marriage equality and a woman’s right to an abortion.
  • Protect religious organizations that wish to refuse service to same-sex couples.
Rubio seemed to imply that employing and serving LGBT people were themselves sinful actions. “There are many government contractors and small companies who provide services to the government who are faith-based people, and they are being compelled to sin by government in their business conduct,” he said. “That is not something we should be supporting.”


Cruz
 Ted Cruz:

Ted Cruz recently sat down with National Organization for Marriage founder Robert George for an interview on EWTN, a Catholic television network. In one segment, Cruz agreed with George that the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision was “profoundly wrong,” “fundamentally illegitimate,” “lawless,” and “not based on the Constitution.”

Cruz then referenced Justice Anthony Kennedy’s recent comments that a public official that can not follow the decision, like Kim Davis, should resign. During his remarks, Kennedy alluded to the fact that very few judges resigned from the Nazi German government. Thus, Cruz claimed, he was comparing the Supreme Court to Nazis. “This isn’t me calling them the Nazis,” Cruz explained, “this is Justice Kennedy calling the court on which he serves, calling the opinion that he wrote — analogizing that to the Nazi decrees that we must obey. That is an arrogance, it is an elitism, it is being out of touch with our nation.

In another segment, Cruz fielded a question about accommodations for transgender students in public schools. He condemned such policies as “ridiculous” decisions made by “zealots.” “I don’t want my daughters taking showers with little boys; I don’t want them when they’re in junior high or high school. And it’s absurd. No parents do.”
 
And those two are seen as the front-runners behind Trump. The others - Huckabee and Carson - aren't exactly "prom nights" for the lgbt community.

In light of what we have gained this year - i.e. marriage equality - it would be cultural suicide for the lgbt community to sit this election out or not pay attention to the Islamophobic rhetoric coming out of the mouths of the GOP.

Tuesday, December 08, 2015

'The anti-gay right and the targeting of transgender children' & other Tue. midday news briefs




District 211 keeps deal on transgender student after heated debate - In the case of the transgender student in Illinois, confusion reigns. There are some stories which say the school capitulated to the Justice Department in this situation. But it's not clear.

How One Illinois School Really, Really Wants To Discriminate - One thing which is clear is something everyone is missing in terms of just how sinister transphobia is as compared to basic homophobia. False claims about gays and lesbians being predators were centered more on adults. The negative effects of these claims trickled down to gay and lesbian children, making us feel isolated and depressed. In the case of transgender children, the anti-gay right and their supporters have NO compunctions with putting the bullseye directly on the child. 

'We will teach tolerance': After community debate, Mount Horeb School Board approves transgender measures - But there is good news in Wisconsin without any confusion.  

Sharp Rise In HIV Among Young Black Gay Men Is “An Injustice,” Health Official Says - Yes it is. And symbolic how in both the lgbt AND African-American communities, gay black men are falling through the cracks. Don't pray for us afterwards. Help us now.

Same-sex adoption case challenges what it means to be parent - Still things to do . . .