Tag: anti-LGBT

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Trump Spokesperson: “Gay Is Not Normal – Accept That”

Surprising no one, Donald “Ask the Gays” Trump’s spokesperson Katrina Pierson turns out to be not so friendly to “the gays.”

Dominic Holden of Buzzfeed finds several anti-LGBT comments in Pierson’s Twitter history, such as the one below.

When asked about the tweets Pierson replied:

“It’s a long reach to go back to 2012 to try to create a new hit piece and call it relevant,” Pierson wrote to BuzzFeed News in an email. “You’ll also find that as a grassroots volunteer for multiple campaigns, it’s quite common that Twitter is a platform to promote/defend the policies and values of the candidates at the time. Many times, it’s about engaging trolls which can lead to humorous and sarcastic banter.”

Saying “it’s a long reach to go back to 2012” is an interesting comments considering the entire Trump campaign against Hillary Clinton is about “reaching back” much, much further than 4 years.

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NBA Announces No 2017 All-Star Game For North Carolina Due To Anti-LGBT Law HB2

Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical is reporting that the NBA will soon announce that the 2017 All-Stars game will be pulled from North Carolina over it’s hateful anti-LGBT legislation, HB2.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver had threatened to move All-Star Weekend out of Charlotte unless a discriminatory North Carolina law aimed at the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was changed – and time to do so has run out because of the logistics and planning the NBA needs to run its marquee midseason event, league sources said.

The issue is centered on North Carolina’s House Bill 2, a law that mandates transgender people use public restrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. The law also omits LGBT people from North Carolina’s anti-discrimination protections, forbids local governments from widening LGBT protections and excludes all forms of workplace discrimination lawsuits from North Carolina state courts.

New Orleans, which last hosted an All-Star game in 2014, now looks to be the leading contender to host the event.

Here’s the official notice from the NBA:

The NBA has decided to relocate the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte with the hope of rescheduling for 2019. Since March, when North Carolina enacted HB2 and the issue of legal protections for the LGBT community in Charlotte became prominent, the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets have been working diligently to foster constructive dialogue and try to effect positive change. We have been guided in these discussions by the long-standing core values of our league. These include not only diversity, inclusion, fairness and respect for others but also the willingness to listen and consider opposing points of view.

Our week-long schedule of All-Star events and activities is intended to be a global celebration of basketball, our league, and the values for which we stand, and to bring together all members of the NBA community – current and former players, league and team officials, business partners, and fans. While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2.

We are particularly mindful of the impact of this decision on our fans in North Carolina, who are among the most passionate in our league. It is also important to stress that the City of Charlotte and the Hornets organization have sought to provide an inclusive environment and that the Hornets will continue to ensure that all patrons – including members of the LGBT community – feel welcome while attending games and events in their arena.

We look forward to re-starting plans for our All-Star festivities in Charlotte for 2019 provided there is an appropriate resolution to this matter. The NBA will make an announcement on the new location of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in the coming weeks.

The Human Rights Campaign chimes in with praise:

Today the NBA and Commissioner Silver sent a clear message that they won’t stand for discrimination against LGBTQ employees, players or fans.

The NBA repeatedly warned state lawmakers that their hateful HB2 law created an inhospitable environment for their 2017 All-Star Game and other events.

Nevertheless, Governor McCrory, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore doubled down on HB2 and refused to undo their discriminatory and costly error in judgment.

Every day that HB2 remains on the books, people across North Carolina are at risk of real harm.

We appreciate the leadership of the NBA in standing up for equality and call once again on lawmakers to repeal this vile HB2 law.

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Log Cabin Republicans On Anti-LGBT Republican Platform: “Losers! Morons! Sad!”

As hard as they try, the gay men and women of Log Cabin Republicans remind me of the Peanuts cartoons where “Lucy” fools “Charlie Brown” over and over again by yanking the football away before he can kick the ball.

Year after year LCR hope to get to be part of the Republican party. To be respected. And every year, the GOP shows disdain for the LGBT community.

The self-loathing is painful to watch.

This year, in the wake of the most anti-LGBT platform ever,  LCR has run a full page ad in the Cleveland edition of USA Today denouncing the virulently anti-LGBT positions taken this election year.

Via press release:

Log Cabin Republicans has placed a full-page ad in USA Today calling out the GOP Platform Committee for drafting the most anti-LGBT platform in the Republican Party’s 162-year history. The ad runs today in the Cleveland edition of the largest newspaper in the United States and will be available in most every hotel speakers, Delegates, and credentialed guests will be staying at during the Republican National Convention.

“Response from allies to our reaction in the wake of the drafting of this vitriolic anti-LGBT platform has been nothing short of staggering,” Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo stated. “The email sent to our members last week propelled Log Cabin Republicans to the top trend on Facebook for more than two days, and now holds the record as the highest-grossing single fundraising appeal this organization has ever sent. But this was fundraising with a purpose—I’m pleased to share that every last cent donated to Log Cabin Republicans via last week’s email has been spent on this project. This unprecedented support is representative of the GOP I know, and this is the GOP our members want to see.”

The provocative advertisement reads, “LOSERS! MORONS! SAD! No, these aren’t tweets from Donald Trump. This is what common-sense conservatives are saying about the most anti-LGBT platform the Republican Party has ever had. GOP Platform Committee: Out of touch, out of line, and out of step with 61% of young Republicans who favor same-sex marriage.”

“It’s my hope this advertisement will be a wake-up call to the intransigent and ancient voices on the GOP Platform Committee that marriage equality is the law of the land, gay families are a part of the fabric of America, and LGBT Republicans have an important role to play in growing the Party,” Angelo concluded.

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GOP Co-Chair Mary Fallin: Our Platform Can’t Be Anti-LGBT – A Gay Person Was On The Committee

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin tried to make the hilarious assertion that this year’s Republican platform couldn’t possibly be anti-LGBT because there “were gay people on the platform committee.”

Fallin refers to the one, lone gay person included in the platform committee – Rachel Hoff – who was unable to sway her fellow Republicans to soften the platform view in terms of same-sex marriage.

So that would be less than 1% of the committee was gay.

Fallin goes on to say that the GOP is “an inclusive party, a big tent.”

Yep. As long as you’re not gay.

(h/t JMG)

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MIssissippi: Federal Judge Strikes Down Anti-LGBT Legislation HB1523

Judge Carlton Reeves

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Last night, minutes before it was set to go into effect, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the implementation of Mississippi’s discriminatory and harmful H.B. 1523, calling it “a vehicle for state sanctioned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The bill would stop state and local government agencies from taking action against state employees, individuals, organizations and private associations that deny service based on “religious beliefs.”

In other words, all bigots would have to say is “I’m a Christian – I don’t have to serve gays,” and they get a free card to legally discriminate.

The case was successfully argued by Roberta Kaplan, the civil rights lawyer who argued in front of the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark case United States v. Windsor.

This ruling effectively blocks the implementation of the unconstitutional law, as LGBT advocates push for full repeal.

From Mississippi Today:

In a blistering opinion that reached into Mississippi’s segregationist past, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves said House Bill 1523, signed by Gov. Phil Bryant in April, was another unfortunate example of Mississippi trying to write discrimination into its laws.

“Religious freedom was one of the building blocks of this great nation, and after the nation was torn apart, the guarantee of equal protection under law was used to stitch it back together. But HB 1523 does not honor that tradition of religion freedom, nor does it respect the equal dignity of all of Mississippi’s citizens,” Reeves wrote in his opinion.

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House Committee Schedules Anti-LGBT Legislation Hearing For One Month Anniversary Of Orlando Massacre

Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz

They say timing is everything.

So, you have to wonder about House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz’s decision to schedule a hearing for the anti-LGBT “First Amendment Defense Act” (also known as FADA) on July 12 – exactly one month to the day that the nation was rocked by the deadliest mass shooting incident (and the worst anti-LGBT hate crime) in the history of the country.

The legislation would allow anyone who claims “deeply-held religious beliefs” the right to legally discriminate against LGBT folks.

The bill was introduced in the House last year, and has had no movement since. So, it’s odd that Chaffetz would now decide to hold a hearing, except to present his “dog and pony show” as an election year stunt to placate anti-LGBT Americans.

According to the official summary for the bill, the First Amendment Defense Act “prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.”

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Mike Huckabee Hit With $25K Tab For Playing “Eye Of The Tiger” At Kim Davis Rally

Gov. Mike Huckabee (L) with Kim Davis (C)

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee may have ended his 2016 presidential campaign on February 1st of this year, but he’s still paying off the debts racked up on his behalf.

Part of that tab is settlement from a copyright infringement lawsuit surrounding his campaign’s using the song “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor at a rally for anti-marriage equality County Clerk Kim Davis.

Apparently, Huckabee initially tried to get out of paying the royalty infringement by saying in court the rally was a “religious assembly.” But then the item showed up as a presidential campaign expense on his Federal Election Commission filing.

Clearly presidential campaigns are not “religious assemblies.”

From CNN:

Huckabee played the triumphant song by the band Survivor at a rally he held for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

But Huckabee never paid for the rights — so his campaign got sued for copyright infringement.

He recently agreed to a confidential settlement with Rude Music. That company is owned by the Survivor guitarist who cowrote the song, Frankie Sullivan.

They settled out of court, and it came to light when Huckabee listed the $25,000 cost as a campaign expense on federal election records. A payment to Rude Music is listed as a “legal settlement” for “copyright infringement.”

Huckabee paid half of it in May and listed the $12,500 payment as an “itemized disbursement.” He listed the other half as “debts and obligations.” Both appear on a June 20 filing.

Huckabee ran for the Republican ticket until he dropped out Feb. 1, but he’s still paying off the cost of his campaign.

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Protestors Confront Hate Leader Tony Perkins: “You’re Lies Are Killing Us”

(image via JoeMyGod)

Bravo Angela Peoples of GetEQUAL for calling out anti-LGBT activist Tony Perkins.

Perkins was one of several “faith leaders” who met with presidential candidate Donald Trump yesterday at a private meeting where, it seems, Trump tried making the case that he IS indeed ‘Christian’ enough to be the president of the United States.

Via Raw Story:

The advocacy group GetEQUAL took credit for the demonstration in a statement sent on Tuesday afternoon, identifying the protesters as the organization’s co-directors, Heather Cronk and Angela Peoples.

“The incisive hate-mongering of Donald Trump and right-wing religious ‘leaders’ is responsible not only for the massacre in Orlando, but also for the systemic violence that trans and queer people of color face everyday,” Peoples said in the statement. “That violence doesn’t just happen in the streets or at nightclubs — it happens in the legislative chambers where right wing politicians have passed over 250 bills restricting the rights of LGBTQ people and people of color.”

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Fort Worth Pastor On Orlando Shooting Survivors: “I Pray That God Will Finish The Job”

I think a lot of people don’t really believe these hateful folks exist.

But they do. Each one gets more and more scary.

And THIS one is from my own hometown.

Raw Story has the grim details:

Pastor Donnie Romero of Stedfast Baptist Church in Fort Worth told his flock he agrees “100 percent” with Baptist Pastor Roger Jimenez, who made news with his sermon advocating that the government should use a firing squad to “blow their brains out.”

“These 50 sodomites are all perverts and pedophiles, and they are the scum of the earth, and the earth is a little bit better place now,” Romero said in the Sunday sermon.

“And I’ll take it a step further, because I heard on the news today, that there are still several dozen of these queers in ICU and intensive care. And I will pray to God like I did this morning, I will do it tonight, I’ll pray that God will finish the job that that man started, and he will end their life, and by tomorrow morning they will all be burning in hell, just like the rest of them, so that they don’t get any more opportunity to go out and hurt little children.”

Romero’s church has been named by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.

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Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Still Whining About Questions On Her LGBT History

After years of fighting against LGBT rights in the state of Florida, Attorney General Pam Bondi is still whining that she was asked about her sudden change of tone towards the LGBT community in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting (and hundreds of TV cameras broadcasting nationwide).

On Tuesday, CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked her about the turn of heart, wondering if it isn’t somewhat hypocritical to now claim to be an LGBT ally after fighting against marriage equality for years.

Wednesday, Bondi went on a friend’s radio show to complain about the encounter, and then yesterday, she went running to Fox News for a sympathetic ear.

Ironically, she gets on Fox News saying she still wanted to talk about scams going on involving the Orlando shooting but pivoted immediately into a “woe is me” moment. Along the way she shrugged saying the CNN interview “is what it is” but clearly came on Fox News merely to whine.

Grow up and own your positions, Ms. Bondi.