Tag: anti-LGBTQ

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Wyoming School Bans, Then Un-Bans, Rainbow Flags

Earlier this month, I reported on an incident at McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where homophobic and racist flyers appeared in the hallways of the school.
McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Earlier this month,  I reported on an incident at McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where homophobic and racist flyers appeared in the hallways of the school.

Students discovered flyers which read, “It’s great to be straight. It’s not OK to be gay. Black lives matter only because if it weren’t for them who would pick our cotton.”

“Join the kkk,” concluded the message, which appeared to be signed by “the confederate kid club.” 

After Kaycee Cook, a substitute teacher and co-sponsor of the school’s gay/straight alliance, reported the flyers she was later notified that she’d been fired by Principal Jeff Conine.

Since then, Laramie County School District 1 Superintendent Boyd Brown announced that he had identified at least one student believed to be responsible for creating the racist and anti-gay flyers, and that Cook was likely to be reinstated at the school.

But wait – there’s more!

Last Wednesday, 20-25 students who are members of the GSA were called out of class to a meeting with three faculty members who told them they could no longer post any rainbow flags, wear any rainbow clothing or anything LGBTQ-related.

According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Ashlynn Kercher, an 8th grade member of the GSA, said, “They told us it was a school distraction and ‘You don’t want to make other people feel like you felt when you saw the posters.’”

The students were reportedly told that if they break the ‘no rainbow/LGBTQ paraphernalia’ rule they will be written up on dress code infractions, and possibly suspended.

Principal Conine told the Tribune Eagle he didn’t know anything about the meeting taking place and that he had not decided to ban anything.

But Ashlynn’s mother, Abby Kercher, spoke to the district’s Title IX coordinator, John Below, who reportedly told her he and the principal had decided to ban the flags and clothing.

On Thursday, the School District issued a statementwhich read, in part:

“Because of the provocative use of flags, especially under the current controversy at the local junior high, the District will not allow the display of confederate flags on District property or at District events. Further, the District will review potential policies or regulations regarding the disruptive use of flags and symbols within the District.”

You’ll note the statement does not say the district is banning rainbow flags.

Superintendent Brown clarified the next day that rainbow flags were not being banned“as long as students do not use them to incite other students.”

(Source: Wyoming Tribune Eagle)

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Lizzo On A Mission: “Putting Big, Black, Femme, LGBTQ+ Bodies On Stages And Telling Our Stories”

Lizzo (L) and

With all the fun going on at Coachella this year – Ariana Grande reuniting *NSYNC, public sex on a Ferris wheel, former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock getting handsy with a guy– some have wondered why LGBTQ folks spend their money or take part in a festival whose owner, Philip Anchutz, makes sizable donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations. A fan of Lizzo’s posed that very question on her Instagram, and the diva came back with the best answer. User jacobthebeau asked, “I’m so confused why so many people are supporting this event that supports anti-lgbt organizations?!” And Lizzo responded writing, “Because Jacob, whether we like it or not most major organizations are run by bigoted millionaires that donate to bigoted organizations.” That said, Lizzo isn’t daunted by standing up to ‘bigoted millionaires.’ She knows what her job is, and it’s not to stand by and watch bad things happen. “I realize my activism is to disrupt those spaces and spread my message to thousands of ppl,” said the 30-year-old rapper. “Y’all may not agree w it and that’s ok. But know that I’m doing what I gotta do to make sure my big black ass voice is heard.” “Can’t wait to dismantle the hate that funds this country,” she added. “But until then, imma be putting big, black, femme, lgbtq+ bodies on stages and telling our stories.” Here’s the full post with Lizzo’s exchange with fans in the comments. Lizzo struggled with her own body image issues at a young age. So today, she advocates for body positivity and self-love, making diversity the focus of her music. Her songs have addressed body image, (“Juice”), sexuality (“Boys”), and race (“My Skin”). Her back-up dancers, known as the Big Grrrls, are all plus-size dancers. And – she loves herself some fierce drag queens. For instance, check out Lizzo’s latest music video, “Juice,” where she not only brings her own big and beautiful self to the small screen, but she’s got some friends from RPDR with her. The former Drag Race guest judge is joined by Mariah Balenciaga, Morgan McMichaels, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, A’keria C. Davenport, Detox, Asia O’Hara, Soju, Sonique and Mayhem Miller all lip-syncing to the body positive bop.

Miss Lizzo is everywhere these days because her new album, Cuz I Love You, drops on Friday, April 19. In addition to Coachella, Lizzo has a 25-date tour plus appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, covers on New York Magazine and Allure, and a feature spread in Playboy. You can follow the rising superstar on Instagram here.

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Right-Wing Loon: Mayor Pete Will Be “The Greatest Threat To Religious Liberty In Our Nation’s History”

Homophobe Bryan Fischer pens this essay for the virulently anti-LGBTQ American Family Associations' OneNewsNow site:
Bryan Fischer

These things make it to my inbox all the time. I only subscribe to such lists to keep tabs on what ridiculousness homophobic haters work themselves into.

Most of the mainstream doesn’t ever see this kind of hate, but we deal with it every day.

Every now and then, I like to share these here on The Randy Report because we should know this kind of hate exists.

Homophobe Bryan Fischer pens this essay for the virulently anti-LGBTQ American Family Associations’ OneNewsNow site:

Pete Buttigieg is an open and defiant homosexual who wants to be our next president. His sexual proclivities are enough all by themselves to disqualify him from the Oval Office.

We can certainly understand the left’s condemnation of Trump for his sexual romps with porn stars 12 or 13 years ago. This means, of course, that unless they are profoundly hypocritical, regressives will be able to understand our legitimate concerns about Buttigieg’s aberrant sexual conduct and what it means for his qualifications to become the leader of the Free World.

He is an enthusiastic supporter of “The Equality Act” (more accurately, “The Homosexual Supremacy Act”). This bill is the single greatest direct threat to the America established by the Founders. Under a Buttigieg presidency, it would indeed be “Homosexuality Uber Alles.” Buttigieg’s own sexual preference is a huge problem in all this. His identity is wrapped up in getting societal approval for his behavior. He cannot live in a society that does not celebrate his sexual choices. If that means trampling on the First Amendment, tough darts.

In other matters, Buttigieg believes “climate change” is a threat to our national security, and supports gun control laws, single-payer health care, and amnesty for illegal aliens. Do not let his boyish good looks and charm deceive you. He threatens everything that you and I cherish.

Under President Buttigieg, the First Amendment will be eviscerated. It will just be words on parchment, a relic of a time gone by when America was free.

Bottom line: President Pete Buttigieg will be the greatest threat to religious liberty in our nation’s history. Consider yourself warned.

Interesting that Fischer notes Buttigieg’s “boyish good looks and charm.”

Fischer was fired from his position as spokesman for the AFA back in 2015 after trying to connect LGBTQ people with Nazis, although he’s been allowed to continue hosting a radio show for the anti-LGBTQ organization.

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Rowan University Students Dance To Drown Out Anti-LGBTQ Hate Speech

The students at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, were not having it when demonstrators showed up on their campus holding anti-LGBTQ, anti-women and anti-Muslim signs.
Dancing to drown out the hate at Rowan University (screen capture)

The students at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, were not having it when demonstrators showed up on their campus holding anti-LGBTQ, anti-women and anti-Muslim signs.

According to the university’s online newspaper, The Whit, one of the signed held high read, “Warning: homos, whores, porno freaks…Muslims, drunks…obey Jesus or hellfire.”

Charming.

At the time, a social media post went out among students which claimed the demonstrators make their appearances on college campuses around the country in an attempt to make money.

The social media message implored the students not to engage:

“Dude so just so you know the thing happening is this group of guys who travel across the country to public college campuses and yell controversial things with the signs that they have, they do this to make money by hoping that students will get riled up and physically attack them, and then they can sue the students or even the school. They can also make money if the campus police or Glassboro police kick them off the campus; because this is censorship of freedom of speech of the first amendment, they can sue the school for a lot of [$$$]. They are con artists and scammers, don’t give them the time of day and spread this message.”

Note: There hasn’t been any evidence that confirms the anti-LGBTQ demonstrators were looking to have their appearance escalate to violence for financial gain.

It wasn’t long before hundreds of students showed up with their own signs and Pride flags forming their own, largely peaceful, protest.

One student, Elijah Olumakin, brought a speaker and music to try and distract from the demonstrators.

“I felt as though, to protest the poisonous words they’re trying to infect our minds with, we need to infect the heart with positive messages,” Olumakin told The Whit. “Whether you’re black, white, Spanish, Indian, broke, poor, gay, straight or non-binary, you love good music.”

The music led to dancing, and pretty soon the students turned the incident into a big party drowning out the hate speech.

Student government president Rbrey Singleton got on the mic at one point to congratulate the students for standing up to hate speech.

“I am so proud of everybody – we are stronger together,” Singleton told his peers. “We came out here, we stood up to hate. We’re going to keep turning our backs to hate.”

Later, in a message to the university community via email, Singleton praised the students writing, “You continue to amaze me every day by your strength and resilience.”

“We’ve been standing in the face of hate today, and many in our community have been standing against hate their entire lives,” he continued. “Let’s be bigger and turn our backs on hate. If we don’t give prejudice and bigotry our attention or power, it WILL leave. Let’s continue to spread love, inclusivity and pride everywhere we go, on and off campus.”

Rowan University President Ali Houshmand issued a statement emphasizing that, while freedom of expression is allowed at all times, hate speech has no place on campus.

“Rowan is obligated as a public institution to allow freedom of expression, but we do not endorse or condone hate speech in any form,” wrote Houshmand. “Rowan University is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the community and rejects the abhorrent sentiments expressed by the protesters.”

According to the local ABC News affiliate, two students were arrested for throwing soda at the haters.

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Texas Senate Approves ‘License To Discriminate’ By Vote Of 19-12

By a vote of 19-12, the Texas state Senate has approved legislation that would allow licensed professionals to refuse to serve anyone - including LGBTQ people - based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

By a vote of 19-12, the Texas state Senate has approved legislation that would allow licensed professionals to refuse to serve anyone – including LGBTQ people – based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The vote went down Democrat, Sen. Eddie Lucio, voted for the bill, and one Republican, Sen. Kel Seliger, voted against.

According to The Texas Tribune, the bill has become a top legislative priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R).

The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Charles Perry (R), says Senate Bill 17 would allow professionals who are licensed by the state – like lawyers, social workers, barbers, pharmacists, physicians or plumbers – to cite their beliefs as a valid defense should they be brought up on charges by their respective credentialing boards due to professional behavior or speech.

The legislation does include a requirement that medical professionals would have to treat patients who are at risk of death or serious injury. And licensed law enforcement officers would not be covered by the law.

Opponents of the bill say “sincerely held religious beliefs” is a vague concept that could ultimately excuse any unprofessional behavior.

Equality Texas, an LGBTQ advocacy group, called SB 17 this legislative session’s “number one threat to the LGBTQ community.”

Samantha Smoot, Equality Texas’ executive director, said in a statement, “Dan Patrick has doubled down on his attack on the LGBTQ community, moving out of bathrooms and into every single licensed profession in Texas.”

“SB 17 would create a religious litmus test, and open the doors to discrimination and to real harm to LGBTQ Texans. Dan Patrick has launched a whole new war against LGBTQ people,” she added.

Perry pushed back against the ‘discrimination’ label during the debate saying, “It’s not licensing discrimination at any level.”

Sen. Jose Menendez, a San Antonio Democrat, attempted to put that to a test with an amendment to the bill that would specifically prohibit professionals from refusing service based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Perry allowed the amendment to go to a vote which failed 12–19, which pretty much sums up the motivations behind the bill.

So much for “not licensing discrimination at any level.”

Sen. Borris Miles, a Democrat from Houston, announced in no uncertain terms, “You know that saying, ‘You can put lipstick on a pig? Sen. Perry, this is a discrimination bill.”

Major businesses like Google, Facebook and Amazon have all announced their opposition to the bill.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement today after the vote.

“Today’s vote on SB 17 marks a dark moment for Texas: the passage of one of the most broadly discriminatory bills under consideration across the country,” said Rebecca Marques, HRC Texas state director. “This bill would allow state-sanctioned discrimination against many Texans, but would particularly impact the LGBTQ community.

“Before the session began, Texas’ elected officials promised to focus on key issues important to all Texans and not to revisit the fights of the previous session,” she continued. “Instead, it’s legislative deja vu, as Dan Patrick is pushing a discriminatory anti-LGBTQ agenda yet again. We implore the House of Representatives to not take up this harmful bill.”

The legislation will head to the state House after one more vote in the Senate which is primarily a procedural step.

The HRC notes that there are “at least” 19 bills in this legislative session that threaten LGBTQ Texans.

(h/t Texas Tribune, HRC)

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San Antonio Votes ‘No’ On Chick-Fil-A Airport Location Due To Anti-LGBTQ Donations

The San Antonio City Council has voted against allowing a Chick-Fil-A franchise to open at the local airport.
(image via Pexels)

The San Antonio City Council has voted against allowing a Chick-Fil-A franchise to open at the local airport.

According to USA Today, the fast-food restaurant was originally included in a seven-year concessions agreement for Terminal A at the San Antonio International Airport. But, a new report from Think Progress citing continued contributions by the Chick-Fil-A Foundation to anti-LGBTQ organizations gave the council pause.

That report showed donations of more than $1.8 million in 2017 to companies that have public records of anti-LGBTQ animus, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The amendment to remove Chick-Fil-A from the airport plans was approved by the city council by a vote of 6-4.

In a statement after the vote, Councilman Robert Treviño said that the council “reaffirmed the work our city has done to become a champion of equality and inclusion.”

“San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior,” added the councilman. “Everyone has a place here, and everyone should feel welcome when they walk through our airport.”

For its part, Chick-Fil-A told USA Today that the company found the news “disappointing.”

“We wish we had the opportunity to clarify misperceptions about our company prior to the vote,” read the statement. “We agree with  the council member  that everyone should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A,” the company said in the statement.

“In fact, we have welcomed everyone in San Antonio into our 32 local stores for more than 40 years,” the statement continued.

The fast-food chain has had a long history of donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations.

When asked about donations to Exodus International, a company that promoted so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy proudly told the Baptist Press in 2012 his company was “guilty as charged.”

The restaurant’s foundation has also made donations to Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, groups identified as anti-LGBTQ “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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SCOTUS Says ‘No’ To Anti-LGBTQ Bed & Breakfast

The U.S. Supreme Court declined the hear the appeal of a bed & breakfast owner in Hawaii who refused to host a same-sex couple due to her religious objections over homosexuality.

The initial lawsuit, Aloha Bed & Breakfast v. Dianne Cervelli, stems back to an incident in 2007 when Cervelli contacted the B&B owner, Phyllis Young, about accommodations.

Cervelli indicated there would be two guests as she would be traveling with her same-sex partner, Taeko Bufford.

According to the complaint, Young asked “Are you both lesbians?” Young then refused to board the couple saying she was uncomfortable having lesbians in her home.

The couple filed complaints with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission which found Young had illegally discriminated against the couple. Hawaii’s public accommodation law clearly bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Associated Pressreportedthat Young told the commission she is Catholic and feels that homosexuality is wrong. She felt her decision to deny accommodations to the couple was protected by her right to free exercise of her religious beliefs under the First Amendment.

Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit on behalf of the couple in 2011, along with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission as co-plaintiffs. 

In April of 2013, the Hawaii First Circuit Court ruled in favorof Cervelli.

Young appealed the ruling, and in February 2018, the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision.

The B&B owner tried to take her case to the Hawaii state Supreme Court, but the high court refusedthe hear the appeal last year.

In October, Young filed a petition to have her appeal heard at the U.S. Supreme Court.

As SCOTUS has declined to take up the case, Young has exhausted her legal options and the ruling by the lower court will stand.

Peter Renn, counsel for Lambda Legal’s Western Regional Office, celebrated the news.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to let the lower court ruling stand reaffirms that the freedom of religion does not give businesses a right to violate nondiscrimination laws that protect all individuals from harm, whether on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation,” said Renn in a statement to the Washington Blade. “The Supreme Court declined to consider carving out an exception from this basic principle when a business discriminates based on the sexual orientation of its customers.”

“LGBT people deserve an equal right to go about their everyday life without the fear that discrimination waits for them around the corner,” he added.

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Anti-LGBTQ Baker Agrees To A Ceasefire With Colorado Civil Rights Commission

Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop

Anti-LGBTQ baker Jack Phillips has agreed to call it a draw with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Phillips was brought up on charges by the commission for declining to make a pink and blue cake in 2017 celebrating a transgender woman’s transition.

Autumn Scardina, a Denver attorney, asked Phillips to make a blue and pink cake celebrating both her birthday and the anniversary of her transition.

The commission found, with probable cause, that Phillips had discriminated against Scardina due to her gender identity, a violation of the state’s public accommodation laws.

Phillips filed a counter-lawsuit against the commission alleging persecution for his Christian faith.

On Tuesday, Phillips’ attorneys and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser mutually agreed to drop both legal actions.

Weiser told the local CBS news affiliate that both sides “agreed it was not in anyone’s best interest to move forward with these cases.”

Regarding whether religious beliefs can trump public accommodation laws intended to protect LGBTs from discrimination in his state, Weiser said, “The larger constitutional issues might well be decided down the road, but these cases will not be the vehicle for resolving them.”

“Equal justice for all will continue to be a core value that we will uphold as we enforce our state’s and nation’s civil rights laws,” he added.

But attorneys for the anti-LGBTQ legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Phillips, claimed there was “overwhelming evidence” of hostility towards Phillips by the state.

The Denver Post reports Phillips issued a statement saying, “Today is a win for freedom.”

“I have and will always serve everyone who comes into my shop,” added Phillips. “I simply can’t celebrate events or express messages that conflict with my religious beliefs.”

Phillips famously waged a six-year battle with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission after turning away a gay couple seeking a cake to celebrate their marriage in 2012.

The fight went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where Phillips won in a narrow ruling saying the commission showed anti-religious bias in determining its sanctions on Phillips.

The issue of religious freedoms over LGBT civil rights was not resolved in that case.

The Denver Post notes that the agreement between Phillips and the CCRC does not preclude Scardina from moving ahead with any legal action of her own.

(h/t Denver Post, CBSDenver)

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News Round-Up: March 5, 2019

Oh no, I'm nor jealous at all of InstaHunk Jim Newman and his Brazilian infinity pool afternoon. #HowNiceForHim :)
InstaHunk Jim Newman in Brazil

Some news items you might have missed:

• Oh no, I’m not jealous at all of InstaHunk Jim Newman and his Brazilian infinity pool afternoon. #HowNiceForHim #SeeWhatHardWorkGetsYou

• CNN reports that Donald Trump pressured White House staff to issue Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations. This comes just days after The New York Times reported that the Trumpster intervened to secure a high-level security clearance for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

• Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in exchange for the commission giving up on its own administrative discrimination complaint against Phillips.

• NBC News reports North Korea started rebuilding a banned long range missile site 48 hours after Donald Trump’s failed Hanoi summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

• An unlicensed gun owner in Indiana is recovering in a hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the penis. #WhatElseIsThereToSay?

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is reported to be scrambling to avoid embarrassing Donald Trump as possibly 15 Senate Republicans may join Democrats in a resolution denouncing the Donald’s use of ‘national emergency’ to get funds for his beloved wall.

• Madonna celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of her mega-hit, “Like a Prayer,” yesterday. The actual date was Sunday, but apparently Madge was ‘blocked’ from posting then.

The Queen of Pop writes: “30 years ago today I released Like a Prayer and made a video that caused so much controversy because I kissed a black saint and danced in front of burning crosses! I also made a commercial with PEPSI that was banned because my video was seen as inappropriate. Happy Birthday to Me and Controversy! #likeaprayer meant to post this yesterday but was blocked! what a shocker!”

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Mike Pence’s New Chief Of Staff Once Penned Homophobic Op-Ed Calling Gays “Repugnant” & “Perverted”

Marc Short, incoming Chief of Staff for Vice President Mike Pence

It’s common knowledge that Vice President Mike Pence has been no friend to the gay community.

A short list of attacks against LGBTQ folks while in Congress includes voting against marriage equality, opposing transgender rights, and opposing the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’

While governor of Indiana, he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law making it possible for businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ community, suggested shifting federal funds meant for AIDS research to programs that would “provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior” and more.

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Pence’s incoming chief of staff, Marc Short, penned an op-ed while in college that called homosexuals “perverted” and “repugnant.”

As the saying goes, ‘birds of a feather flock together.’

According to The Daily Beast, the essay appeared in The Spectator, a conservative student newspaper for Washington & Lee University that Short co-founded.

In the article, which appeared in 1989, Short wrote that AIDS activists efforts in the 1990s were a “propaganda campaign” that was meant to “scare all heterosexuals into believing they are prime targets for contraction of the disease.”

“The campaign’s purpose,” alleged Short, was to “both lobby Congress for more federal funding of AIDS research and to destigmatize the perverted lifestyles homosexuals pursue.”

He even went so far as to claim the LGBTQ community “celebrated” the news of NBA superstar Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis because it “refueled the propaganda campaign ignited by gay activists and carelessly perpetuated by journalists whose intent is to scare all heterosexuals into believing they are prime targets for contraction of the disease.”

While he did say that AIDS victims deserved sympathy, Short added “that does not mean that we glorify homosexuals’ repugnant practices of frequent anal intercourse.”

When contacted by The Daily Beast about the op-ed, Short issued a statement, which read, “I regret using language as an undergraduate college student that was not reflective of the respect I try to show others today. We have all learned a lot about AIDS over the past 30 years and my heart goes out to all victims of this terrible disease.”

Legendary AIDS and gay rights activist Peter Staley wasn’t swayed by the apology.

“I wrote stuff in college too,” Staley told The Daily Beast. “And I don’t look back and say, ‘Oh, sorry, it was my college years.’ You’re either on the right side of stuff or the wrong side.”

“He was taking classic Jesse Helms-style rhetoric from the late ’80s and putting an early ’90s spin on it and sounding like the fools they all were,” added Staley. “Guys like him wanted us to die. And they had an effect.”

The article surfaces as the public debate about past behavior and statements of Washington power players while in college continues to grow, like the recent scandals regarding Democratic leadership in Virginia involving dressing up in black face.

The Daily Beast reports that Pence’s office did not issue a statement regarding the essay.

(image via White House/public domain)