Friday, January 22, 2016

'Tenn. ministers file sad lawsuit to stop marriage equality' & other Fri midday news briefs

Ministers seek to invalidate state law on marriage licenses - And the Tennessee controversy about marriage equality continues as three ministers are now trying to suing to stop marriage equality, including preventing the Williamson County Chancery Court clerk from issuing marriage licenses. And they include this guy. Remember him from last night's post?:



In other news:

 No, LGBT Children's Books Do Not 'Endanger' Kids - Doggone right! It's about time we defend our literature.

 UK To Allow Gay Couples’ Marital Status On Overseas Death Certificates - Sad story with a semi-happy ending. 

 A Gay Military Family Shares Their Journey To Fatherhood - We need more stories like this just in case folks conveniently omit our families (talking to you, Sen. Marco Rubio) 

  Va. man charged under federal hate crimes law - I hate stuff like this, but it's necessary.

Family Research Council - 'But he is gaaaaaay!'

Eric Fanning
There is a strong possibility that Acting United States Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning will be officially confirmed. If this take place, he will be the first openly gay man to hold the position.

Naturally the anti-gay hate group Family Research Council seriously opposes this. However, instead of a reasonable argument, the organization has chosen to post a free-form tangent ramble which basically says one thing:

You can't appoint this man because he is GAAAAAAY!

An excerpt is as follows:

What the White House didn’t destroy with budget cuts, it devastated with sexual experimentation. Now, with the Army desperately struggling to meet recruitment goals, President Obama is nominating an activist who will drive people farther away: Eric Fanning. The former Air Force Secretary has been the White House’s pick to take over for Army Secretary John McHugh, who stepped down last fall. But after months of serving as the acting leader, Fanning continued to hold the job without the Senate’s vetting -- exasperating Republicans like John McCain (R-Ariz.). “You don’t put people in jobs until they are confirmed by the Senate,” he said last week. “That’s pretty straightforward.”

Sensing Fanning might face some opposition (he’s been a gay activist for almost two decades), the administration bypassed the rules for government vacancies. With his time expired, Fanning agreed to step down until his confirmation hearing -- the first of which took place in the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Members had plenty of fodder for the discussion since Fanning has been open about his LGBT advocacy. Before rising to one of the highest civilian positions in the military, Fanning served on the board of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, where he caught a vision he hoped to push in the ranks. In an interview with the Washington Blade in 2013, Fanning made his agenda clear: he wants to use his influence to push open transgenderism in the ranks. “I think that the military is stronger, institutions are stronger, and society is stronger the more inclusive that we are,” Fanning said. “So, wherever we can root out discrimination, I think it’s a positive thing.”

With our servicemen stretched to the max, America needs a secretary whose priority is military readiness -- not political correctness. The Pentagon has already wasted valuable time on sensitivity training, EEO instruction, and tolerance sessions at the expense of combat skills. Now, the Senate is considering the appointment of a man who wants to unleash gender confusion and “non-discrimination” policies on an Army struggling to meet wartime demands. As both Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have pointed out, our commander-in-chief is “more interested in promoting homosexuality in the military than he is in defeating our enemy.” So why would the Senate give the president a chance to exacerbate the problem?'

Confirmations like Fanning’s are only setting in place moral and cultural landmines that are sure to detonate when Obama leaves. At the very least, Americans deserve honest answers about what Fanning plans to do to protect the rights of every soldier.

Is this the best FRC can do? Obviously the organization must be slipping.