Tag: anti-gay

Posted on

Businesses decide against relocating to Arizona due to “Religious Freedom Bill”

Barry Broome of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council

That was quick.

Businesses are already deciding NOT to relocate to Arizona due to the impending “Religious Freedom Bill” that would legalize LGBT discrimination based on religious beliefs.

From KJZZ in Tempe, Arizona:

Barry Broome, President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, said businesses are concerned.

“The potential litigation threats to the state, the costs to taxpayers, the potential litigation to businesses,” he said. “It’s immeasurable the damage a bill like this could do to Arizona.”

Broome said he has already heard from businesses that have reconsidered Arizona as a location.

“One company that dropped us this morning was considering investing up to 1,000 jobs, and the HR director of the company told me and the CEO they could not in good conscience relocate people into this market,” Broome said.

Posted on

Sign of the day: Tuscon pizzeria reserves right to refuse service to AZ lawmakers

After yesterday’s vote in the Arizona state House that approved legalized discrimination against the LGBT community, Rocco’s Little Chicago Pizzeria in Tuscon decided they could choose who THEY want to serve.

Via George Takei:

“The AZ legislature just passed bill allowing businesses to refuse to serve gays on religious grounds. Glad to see some businesses throwing it back at them. #TheNewSegregation”

Posted on

Arizona Rep. Chad Campbell receives death threats after defense of LGBT rights

https://twitter.com/repcampbell/status/436860052477968385
Via Chad Campbell Twitter account

Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell was one of the LGBT community’s strongest and most impassioned voices yesterday in the Arizona House’s debate on legalizing anti-gay discrimination.

Today, he shared on Twitter that he’s now received death threats for speaking out against hate.

For the record, Campbell is heterosexual and married.

Unfortunately for Arizona he is term limited out of office this year. Here’s hoping he moves on to even bigger and better in public office.

Posted on

Anti-gay people die earlier

NOM President Brian Brown may want to consider his health when campaigning against rights of gays

A study in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health shows that people who have anti-gay animus tend to live shorter lives.

The study included the responses of 20,226 heterosexuals who participated in General Social Survey interviews between 1988 and 2008, 4,216 of whom had died by the end of the study period.

From Business Insider:

People who espouse anti-gay views die younger than those who don’t, found a sure-to-be-controversial study in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

“Anti-gay prejudice is associated with elevated mortality risk among heterosexuals, over and above multiple established risk factors for mortality,” wrote the researchers, led by Mark L. Hatzenbuehler of Columbia University.

In fact, those who were not highly prejudiced against gay people lived an average of 2.5 years longer than those who were.

Researchers hypothesize that the increased anger and stress of anti-gay prejudice could lead to risk of higher heart disease.

More at Business Insider.

Posted on

Message to anti-gay Brian Brown: Stop harming LGBT Russians

Today the Human Rights Campaign released a new web video highlighting the role that American extremists have played in the passage of Russia’s draconian anti-LGBT laws.

The video details how more than a dozen Americans, including NOM President Brian Brown have traveled to Russia in the last year to meet with policy makers and lobby for these laws.

The consequences of these laws have been immediate and severe. In less than a year since the signing of the propaganda ban we have seen activists arrested and beaten in the streets and a surge in asylum requests from LGBT Russians trying to leave the country.

This is what Brian Brown and the other Americans have been lobbying for and what they’d like to see implemented here in the US as well.

(via HRC)

Posted on

Scott Lively on Uganda: The anti-gay laws aren’t all that bad

Anti-gay activist Scott Lively

Anti-gay Scott Lively writing on his website today:

“I agree that the Ugandan law is overly harsh on its face, but this is typical of African criminal law across the continent. Poor countries with limited criminal justice systems tend to rely on the harshness of the letter of the law to be a deterrent to criminals.

“In practice, the sentencing is usually pretty lenient. Kenya, for example, has the death penalty for burglary, but burglars are definitely not being executed there.

“I’ve explained this phenomenon to over two dozen journalists at top media outlets that have interviewed me over the past couple of years, but none have included this perspective in their stories. I guess it would undermine their efforts to bolster the ‘gay’ cause.”

Lively is currently being sued for crimes against humanity by Ugandan activists who say his campaigns have helped to lead the African country to extreme and harsh laws against LGBT individuals.

(h/t JMG)

Posted on

Ugandan Ethics minister: We are tolerant of homosexuals – we are not slaughtering them

Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo of Uganda made these statements regarding the recently approved legislation that allows for life imprisonment if found to be gay in his country:

“We are tolerant. That’s what we are saying: we are not slaughtering them.”

“They can come and be helped to come out of this unfortunate situation… It’s like a drug addict. Drug addiction is not an innate situation, it is acquired. But they can be transformed and become better.”

“So we are saying anybody found committing this incredible and abominable act should be checked and isolated from society.”

“If you are found practising it, we shall take you to a cell.”

President Obama has called on the Ugandan president to not sign the legislation into law.

(source)

Posted on

Former Italian MP arrested in Sochi for “gay protest”

Vladimir Luxuria,  who was Italy’s first openly transgender elected official, was allegedly arrested after she held a rainbow-colored banner that said “Gay is OK” in Russian.

Luxuria also tweeted a picture of herself outside the Olympics’ Medal Park holding a rainbow-colored hand fan. The message under the picture said ‘I’m in Sochi! Regards with the colors of the rainbow, in the face of Putin!’

Luxuria apparently was protesting a Russian anti-propaganda law approved last year that many perceive as anti-gay. President Barack Obama and several other world leaders skipped attending the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony because of the law.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/02/16/218337/italian-media-transgender-ex-government.html#storylink=cpy

Luxuria tweeted this photo of her protest shortly before she was arrested:

(source)

Posted on

President Obama denounces Uganda’s “Anti-Homosexuality Bill”

President Obama issued a statement today saying Uganda’s continuing steps to criminalize the LGBT community in that country is becoming more and more of a threat to the two country’s political relationship.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Ugandan president signaled that President Yoweri Museveni was likely to sign a bill that would punish the “the promotion or recognition” of same-sex relations with as much as life in prison.

As written, the law would dictate a 14 year prison sentence for first time “offenders.” Subsequent convictions could lead to life in prison.

President Obama issued this statement via press release:

“As a country and a people, the United States has consistently stood for the protection of fundamental freedoms and universal human rights. We believe that people everywhere should be treated equally, with dignity and respect, and that they should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, no matter who they are or whom they love.

“That is why I am so deeply disappointed that Uganda will shortly enact legislation that would criminalize homosexuality. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, once law, will be more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda. It will be a step backward for all Ugandans and reflect poorly on Uganda’s commitment to protecting the human rights of its people. It also will mark a serious setback for all those around the world who share a commitment to freedom, justice and equal rights.

“As we have conveyed to President Museveni, enacting this legislation will complicate our valued relationship with Uganda. At a time when, tragically, we are seeing an increase in reports of violence and harassment targeting members of the LGBT community from Russia to Nigeria, I salute all those in Uganda and around the world who remain committed to respecting the human rights and fundamental human dignity of all persons.”

Through a series of tweets, national security adviser Susan Rice said she had spoken to the Ugandan president and shared President Obama’s concerns.

https://twitter.com/AmbassadorRice/status/435111586387095552
Posted on

Kansas state Senate kills anti-gay “religious liberty” bill

The Kansas state Senate president has killed – at least for now – legislation passed in the House that would have legalized discrimination against the LGBT community.

From MSNBC:

House Bill 2453, as drafted and passed by the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives this week, would give any individual, business, group, or government official the right to deny same-sex couples a host of basic goods, services, benefits, or employment – on the grounds of a conflicting “sincerely held religious belief.” Lawmakers in the state House approved the measure on Wednesday by a vote of 72-49.

The bill was widely expected to pass the state Senate, too, as Republicans outnumber Democrats 32-8 in that chamber. But Republican state Sen. Susan Wagle, the Senate’s president, poured cold water on its prospects Thursday night when she released a statement saying that a majority of her caucus opposed the bill’s potential green light to discriminate. On Friday, she reaffirmed that position.

“I believe that when you hire police officers or a fireman that they have no choice in who they serve,” Wagle said at a news conference Friday, according to the Wichita Eagle. “They serve anyone who’s vulnerable, any age, any race, any sexual orientation.”

Many organizations, including the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, criticized the bill saying it would strain employer/employee relations.

A Facebook page titled “Stop Kansas House Bill 2453” has netted more than 50,000 “likes” as of Friday evening.