This went up only five minutes away from the Republican convention starting tomorrow.

Courtesy of HuffPo:

Republican National Convention-goers are in for a big surprise. 

Planting Peace, the nonprofit organization behind The Equality House, a rainbow-colored house that sits across the street from Westboro Baptist Church, is calling out Donald Trump and the Republican Party in a massive billboard that went up on Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio, where the RNC will take place next week. The billboard, below, shows an illustration of Trump poised to kiss Ted Cruz beside a caption that reads “Love trumps Hate. End homophobia.”

I would pay big money to see Ted Cruz's face the minute that he sees this billboard. 

This whole next week is going to be incredibly entertaining.

We have been so focused on the Democratic party platform, that we failed to notice the anti-LGBT planks in the Republican party platform.

.@tperkins talking to the press abt today's GOP platform Meeting #RNCinCLE pic.twitter.com/HLkkZ6BKqo

— JP Duffy (@JPDuffy) July 11, 2016

Courtesy of the New Civil Rights Movement:  

Republican National Committee subcommittee members Monday voted to approve a plank embracing the use of harmful anti-LGBT conversion therapy, after it was introduced by the head of a certified anti-gay hate group. The plank will be voted on by a committee and then all RNC voting members before becoming an official part of the 2016 platform. 

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, an RNC delegate, Monday morning met with RNC chair Reince Priebus, reportedly to discuss including the call to support medically dangerous efforts that claim to change a person's sexual orientation.

Of course as many of you know this whole "conversion therapy" consists mostly of shaming the young gay person for their "sinful" feelings and frightening them with eternal damnation if they do not renounce their devil inspired perversions and instead embrace the only lifestyle accepted by their church, parents, and peers.

Other language in the draft of the party platform includes retaining the opposition to abortion rights, including Trump's tough anti-trade rhetoric, and doing away with the pushing for a Constitutional Amendment that would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

There was also a part in there about pornography:  

Republican delegates unanimously adopted an amendment to their draft platform Monday morning that called pornography “a public health crisis” and a “public menace” that is destroying lives.

Holy Meese Commission Batman!

If it is any consolation, much like the Democratic party platform, there is no guarantee that a President Trump, or any other GOP politicians would push for any of these policies, despite their inclusion on the platform.

Think of it as a blueprint which numerous political hopefuls will borrow from to drum up support from the base, but which most of them will completely forget about the minute they are sworn in.

Still the very fact of its inclusion gives us an idea of where the Republican party stands on the issues.

And clearly, for the most part, that it still somewhere back in 1955.

California Catholics upset about a bill which would no longer allow them to discriminate against gays. Oh the humanity!

Courtesy of the National Catholic Register:  

Catholic and other Christian educational institutions in California face the loss of existing protections that allow them to carry out their educational mission in line with their religious principles, due to a new bill working its way through the California Legislature. 

The Golden State’s bishops have opposed the bill as both a violation of the Church’s religious liberty and an attack on poor students. 

State Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, the author of S.B. 1146, has argued that the bill closed a “loophole” that allows religious-based institutions of higher learning to discriminate against homosexual and transgender students, thanks to existing religious exemptions from state and federal non-discrimination statutes. The bill affects all institutions of higher learning in California accepting public funding, either directly from the state or through students. 

“California has established strong protections for the LGBTQ community, and private universities should not be able to use faith as an excuse to discriminate and avoid complying with state laws,” Lara explained in an April statement to constituents about the bill, which has the backing of the LGBT lobby group Equality California. 

Apparently the bill has already passed the senate and is now headed toward the assembly. 

Gee what is this country coming to when Christian schools can no longer hate on the gays while hiding behind their holy book?

You know didn't the Pope JUST ask the Catholics to stop being such dicks to the LGBT community?

Why, yes he did.

The great George Takei takes on the anti-gay Tennessee Republicans as only he can.

"Takei pride" I love it!

George Takei really is a national treasure.

Pope Francis says that the church needs to apologize to gays, women, and children. Yes it does!

Courtesy of National Catholic Reporter: 

The Catholic church and other Christian communities must apologize to gay people and to many groups they have let down or offended throughout history, Pope Francis has said. 

In a press conference Sunday on the flight back to Rome after his weekend trip to Armenia, the pontiff said bluntly: "The church must say it's sorry for not having comported itself well many times, many times." 

"I believe that the church not only must say it's sorry ... to this person that is gay that it has offended," said the pope. "But it must say it's sorry to the poor, also, to mistreated women, to children forced to work." 

"When I say the church: Christians," Francis clarified. "The church is healthy. We are the sinners."

As I have pointed out before I am very reticent to trust this Pope on the things that he says, but damn I have to say that this is a very powerful statement, And one that I would really like to see at least Catholics around the world take to heart.

There is indeed quite a lot for the Catholic church to apologize for, as it has caused great harm in many places around the world.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this is the first step towards taking real responsibility for some of the most horrific policies of the church and a step toward having more inclusive policies moving forward.

Hey, I can dream.

2016's Miss Missouri becomes the first openly gay woman to compete for Miss America. Wait, did that say Miss Missouri?

Courtesy of ABC News:

Erin O'Flaherty has been crowned the 2016 Miss Missouri, becoming the first openly gay woman to win a state pageant leading to the coveted Miss America competition. 

“It’s certainly making history and I’m not sure I set out to do that, but I am the first openly gay Miss Missouri and contestant to head to Miss America so I am excited about that. But, mainly, I’m excited to represent the LGBT community,” O'Flaherty, 23, said on “Good Morning America” today live from St. Louis. 

“We’re underrepresented in public in positions of influence. So I’m excited to take that on and I hope that my presence will help with visibility for the community.”

Wow! I have to say that I would never have expected the first openly gay Miss America contestant to have come from Missouri.

Good for you Missouri! 

Asshole from Texas attempts to bully LGBT folks during Pridefest in Anchorage. Update!

Courtesy of ADN:  

A fight broke out at the Alaska PrideFest event on Saturday involving anti-gay protesters brandishing a megaphone, police said. 

The altercation began near the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage and involved PrideFest participants and protesters, police said. One of the protesters identified himself to an ADN photographer as David Grisham of Repent Amarillo, a Texas Christian and political organization. 

Police estimated about 20 people were involved. They said officers intervened before anybody was hurt.

According to the article the incident only involved some pushing and shoving. (And undoubtedly some name calling). Afterwards the police stayed to keep the peace until the event was over.

I have to say that I am proud of our LGBT community for standing up for themselves, I only wish I could have been there to help.

I know that guy with the flaming red doo. He is friends with my daughter, and I met him during the Democratic caucus this year. (Yes, he was a Bernie supporter.) (Update: Okay that is apparently NOT the same guy I met during the Dem caucus, and my daughter does not know him. Seriously how many people in town have that hair color?)

By the way Southern Christians were part of the Summer of Hate back in 2009, when they were mobilized by Jerry Prevo and brought in from Wasilla to protest against a ballot measure to protect gays in the workplace here in Anchorage.

They won that time, but since then the laws and attitudes have changed and our LGBT community feels much safer.

Apparently that still does not mean that some asshole from Texas cannot fly up here in an attempt to spoil their day of celebration however.

Which is sad.

President Obama makes the historic Stonewall Inn a national monument.

Courtesy of the New York Daily News: 

President Obama has declared the Stonewall Inn a national monument, making the iconic West Village bar the first national monument of the LGBT rights movement. 

"Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story for the struggle for LGBT rights," Obama announced in a video released Friday. 

The President honored the Stonewall patrons who fought back against a police raid on June 28, 1969, igniting the national gay rights movement 47 years ago. 

"They stood up and spoke out. The riots became protests. The protests became a movement. The movement ultimately became an integral part of America," he said.

I remember the first time I heard about Stonewall.

I was in my early 20's working at a car dealership, and my direct supervisor was an out of the closet gay man.

The guy was hysterical, always cracking jokes. Many at his own expense.

But one day while we were talking he got dead serious and started to tell me about his experiences during something called the Stonewall riots. I swear it was almost like hearing a veteran talking about Nam.

By the end of the conversation he was literally shaking with emotion.

I think that was the first time I really understood how much hatred there was toward the LGBT community.

President Obama has a lot to be proud of, many accomplishments under his belt, but what he has done to protect and inspire LGBT folks in this country is completely unprecedented.
 

In response to the mass shooting in Orlando more LGBT folks are taking up arms.

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Weapons sales and membership in a group calling on gays and lesbians to arm themselves in self-defense against homophobic attacks have surged since the massacre at a gay nightclub in Florida last weekend. 

The group, the Pink Pistols, announced last week a tripling in acknowledged members in the five days since a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 in an attack on Pulse in Orlando in the early hours of 12 June. 

The Pink Pistols, a gun club predominantly for LGBT members and their supporters, promotes “legal, safe and responsible use of firearms for self defense of the sexual minority community” according to its website. 

A senior Pink Pistols member said that if patrons had been armed at the Orlando nightclub they might have prevented the shooting or minimized loss of life.

Somewhere Wayne LaPierre is rubbing his hands together in glee. 

Simply put, more guns, mean more bullets, which mean more death.

What's it like in Canada this time of year again?

I lied this is actually my favorite tweet of the week. (So far.)

#LGBTQHatesTrumpParty Accurate don't you think? pic.twitter.com/7PdSZZFijP

— Judy Farelo (@JudyFarelo) June 15, 2016

I know it's a little childish but I swear I could watch this over and over again.

In fact I already have.

This tweet was found on the highly entertaining twitter feed called #LGBTQHatesTrumpParty.

The GOP's latest latest attempt to fear monger over the recent "Islamic terrorist attack" falls apart as evidence surfaces that the attacker was most likely a self loathing gay man.

Omar Mateen

Okay so as we know Donald Trump and the GOP have been having a field day with this recent mass shooting at that Florida nightclub, suggesting that it is indicate of President Obama's pathetic attempts to keep us safe from Islamic terrorists.

Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

However recently the meme has started to crumble.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail:

Omar Mateen, the gunman who murdered 49 people in an Orlando gay club early Sunday morning, was a gay man himself according to multiple people who knew and had met the man. 

A gay man who attended the police academy in 2006 with Mateen said that the pair went out to gay bars and that at one point Mateen told the man he wanted to pursue a relationship. 

Meanwhile, multiple people are now coming forward to say that they had spoken with Mateen on gay hookup apps including Grindr and Jack'd. 

The attack, which many assumed was an act of Islamic extremism, now appears to possibly be tied to Mateen's own shame over his sexuality and investigators are now looking into this internal conflict as a possibly motive. 

The shooter's father, Seddique Mateen, made his beliefs on gay people very clear in a video he posted to Facebook on Monday saying 'homosexuals will be punished by God.' 

While early news reports seemed to focus on Mateen's ties to Islamic groups, that almost seems like an afterthought in light of new evidence which  suggests that Mateen was a regular at the Pulse nightclub.

What appears to be emerging is a picture of a man torn between his desire to be loved and the religion which condemned him, and those like him, to death.

Salon makes this rather important point as to why this attack may not serve the Republicans as well as they might hope:

After all, it’s not just fundamentalist Islam that is anti-gay. Fundamentalist Christianity is, too, and if anti-gay religious teachings can cause a Muslim to reach for his gun, they can surely do the same to a Christian. Indeed, hate crimes against LGBT people are common in this country, and most of them are not being committed by Muslims. 

All of which, in turn, is going to make it a lot harder for conservatives to demagogue against gay rights to rally the troops. If this is a homophobic crime, then it’s a testament to how anti-gay rhetoric can inspire horrific violence. Conservatives are still smarting over how the racist church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, resulted in the nation turning against those who fly the Confederate flag. There can be little doubt that this crime will lead to a similar darkening of attitudes against those who persist in spewing prejudice against LGBT Americans. 

So quite a lot of evidence suggests that Omar Mateen did not go into that nightclub on behalf of ISIS, he went into that nightclub to punish those within for feeling free to embrace who they were without shame.

Something he was clearly incapable of doing. 

That is NOT Islamic terrorism, if anything it is something even more disturbing. 

Mass shooting at gay nightclub in Florida. Multiple fatalities. Update!

Courtesy of CNN:

Approximately 20 people are dead inside Pulse nightclub, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said Sunday morning, just hours after a shooter opened fire in the club. At least 42 people have been transported for medical treatment, he said. 

Police have shot and killed the gunman, Mina told reporters. 

"It's appears he was organized and well-prepared," the chief said, adding that the shooter had an assault-type weapon, a handgun and "some type of (other) device on him." Orlando authorities said they consider the violence an act of domestic terror. The FBI is involved. 

The shooting began around 2 a.m., and an officer responded, Mina said. The officer engaged in a shootout outside the club, after which the gunman ran into the club. 

"That turned into a hostage situation," Mina said. Authorities were getting calls from people inside the club but away from the gunman, the chief said. 

More police rushed to the scene and broke down a door with an armored vehicle, helping some 30 clubgoers flee to safety, Mina said. At that point police shot and killed the gunman, he said.

The suspect has been identified as Omar Mateen though that seems to be all the authorities know about him right now.

This is still an ongoing investigation so it has not yet been determined if this was an act of international terrorism, a  hate crime, or simply some lunatic who decided to kill a bunch of people because he was bored and had access to an assault rifle.

Since this was a gay club there is of course the strong possibility that this individual targeted the club for that reason, but since the investigation is ongoing there is no definitive proof as to the motive.

Of course Donald Trump is ready to jump to conclusions. 

Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism. Many people dead and wounded.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

Here is some amateur video taken by a witness. In it you can hear the number of shots fired, and see the dead and wounded being tended to on the street outside of the nightclub.

Update: We are now learning that the number of dead has reached 50, with 53 injured.

Bernie Sanders just continues to make friends. Update!

Millions of gay men alive & able to vote today thanks to @peterstaley. Attack on Peter from Sanders camp appalling. pic.twitter.com/LjUyi7x2vQ

— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) May 28, 2016

Perhaps his aides neglected to tell Bernie that the Democrats are typically pro-LGBT.

In other news it appears that Sanders is still trying to stack the deck in his favor at the convention.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Sanders’ campaign requested that Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy and former Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) be removed from their respective positions on the Platform Committee and the Rules Committee. Both have endorsed Clinton. 

“Both Governor Malloy and Mr. Frank (the “Chairs”) have been harsh, vocal critics of Senator Sanders, and equally active supporters of his challenger, Hillary Clinton,” Brad Deutsch, a Sanders campaign lawyer, wrote to the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee in a letter obtained by Politico. “Governor Malloy and Mr. Frank have both been aggressive attack surrogates for the Clinton campaign. Their criticisms of Senator Sanders have gone beyond dispassionate ideological disagreement and have exposed a deeper professional, political and personal hostility toward the Senator and his Campaign.” 

“The Chairs therefore cannot be relied upon to perform their Convention duties fairly and capably while laboring under such deeply held bias,” the letter says.

Yes let's remove any Democrat who might support the Democratic candidate with the most votes going into the convention, because that might be unfair to the guy losing the nomination.

Of course the point of this is to preemptively cast doubt in the minds of Bernie Bros that the system is rigged so that when Sanders fails to win the nomination they can cry foul and then stream into the streets of Philadelphia angry and pissed off at the "establishment."

What a great idea THAT is.

You know when I first heard Sanders talking about a revolution I simply thought he wanted to alter the political landscape a little, but now it appears that he means a full on, turning over cop cars in the street, storm the Bastille, off with their heads, revolution.

And that is just fucked up.

Update: So now Bernie Sanders is warning Hillary who she can and can't name as her running mate.

.@BernieSanders tells @ChuckTodd that @HillaryClinton shouldn't look to Wall Street for her VP pick #MTPhttps://t.co/8KyDrhqroM

— Meet the Press (@meetthepress) May 28, 2016

Purity tests for Democrats, so now the Sanders' movement evolving into the liberal tea party movement is finally complete.

I guess Sanders did not pay attention to what the Teabaggers did to the Republican party.

Kansas Christian school retains the right to expel a student if ANY of their family members are gay.

Courtesy of the Independent:

A Christian school in Kansas is at the centre of mounting controversy after it emerged that it reserved the right to expel students if any of their family members were gay or transgender. 

A so-called Statement of Understanding sent to parents who wish to send their children to the private school located in Wichita, requires them to agree that a student who attends can he asked to leave if their home life promotes anything “counter to the school’s understanding of a biblical lifestyle”. All pupils and parents are required to sign the document. 

“Given the debate and confusion in our society about marriage and human sexuality it is vital that Trinity families agree with and support the school’s traditional, Christian understanding of those issues,” says the document.

“Therefore, when the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home is counter to the school’s understanding of a biblical lifestyle, including the practice or promotion of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) lifestyle or alternative gender identity, the school should have the right, in its sole discretion, to deny the admission of an applicant or discontinue enrollment of a current student.”

Man you really have to hand it to religious fundamentalists, when it comes to deep dark nasty discrimination they have no equal.

Now see to a freethinker like myself the very idea that some school would reject me because they held a prejudice opinion of some member of my family would get their name scratched off my educational wish list so fast I would probably snap my number two pencil in half doing it.

But then again I did not spend my formative years being indoctrinated into a primitive superstitious cult that would make me ignorant enough to even consider attending a school like Trinity Academy.

North Carolina sues the Federal government for interfering with their fear mongering over transgenders.

Courtesy of CNN: 

North Carolina casts its so-called bathroom bill as a "common sense bodily privacy law." The federal government calls it discrimination, pure and simple. 

The two will face off in federal court in North Carolina after two of the state's top officials Monday sued the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and one of her assistants. 

The lawsuit calls last week's demand that the state "remedy" its Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act by Monday or risk being in violation of federal law "a baseless and blatant overreach." 

The act bans individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond with their biological sex, as dictated by their birth certificates.

"Goddamn it Federal Government we don't care WHAT century it is we want to discriminate against people not like us as is our right according to a very loose translation our Bibles! Stop stopping us!"

You know first they made them let black people use their whites only restrooms and now they want these people to have human rights as well. When oh when will it ever stop?

Congressional Republicans quietly gut President Obama's executive order protecting LGBT workers employed by federal contractors from discrimination.

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

Republicans quietly voted Thursday to gut President Barack Obama’s executive order barring workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees of federal contractors. 

The House Armed Services Committee voted 33 to 29 to tuck language into the 2017 defense authorization bill — must-pass legislation — that blocks the president’s 2014 executive action that makes it illegal to fire or harass employees of government contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, the amendment applies a broad exemption that would allow contractors to openly discriminate against LGBT people based on the contractors’ religious beliefs. 

More than 2,000 federal contracts are awarded every year to religious organizations. In all, the executive order affects 24,000 companies employing roughly 28 million workers, or about one-fifth of the nation’s workforce.

Here I have a solution.

Why don't we simply stop awarding federal contracts to religious organizations? 

What, too radical?

Oh yeah I forgot, we all have to respect everybody's superstitious nonsense.

And isn't that so much more important than respecting their human rights?

Footage surfaces of police demanding that a lesbian leave a public restroom for not presenting ID. (NSFW due to language.)

Courtesy of Complex:  

Footage has surfaced alleging to show police officers forcing an unidentified woman to leave a women's restroom facility, once again proving the dire impact of the recent swath of anti-LGBT laws across the country. The woman, reportedly a lesbian, is called "sir" by the officers as she's unfairly tasked with attempting to convince them she's a woman. The footage, uploaded to Facebook by Tamara McDaniel, has quickly garnered millions of views since first being shared last week. 

The officers are heard demanding ID from the woman, who reveals she doesn't have one on her. A male officer is then seen screaming in the woman's face as friends plead for the officers to properly deescalate the situation. These pleas, however, are instead met with hostility and repeated requests for an ID. Of course, this loudly begs the question: Why the hell should anyone have to show an ID just to use the restroom? The exact location of the footage, which made it to the Daily Star after surfacing on Facebook, is unknown.

Like the article says there is no indication yet as to where this took place though clearly it is somewhere in America.

I have to say that this really angers me since that could easily happen to my daughter who dresses in gender neutral clothes all of the time.

Seriously male police officers should have no right to enter a woman's bathroom and force that purpose out for no other reason than that they do not believe them to be female.

And if these anti-trans laws start to spread this will be happening with increased frequency and I guarantee that it will not simply be the LGBT community who is negatively impacted.

New game pits "Avenger Jesus" against Donald Trump, the Teabaggers, and Sarah Palin.

Courtesy of OC Weekly:

Defeating Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and the Westboro Baptist Church God Hates Fags crew on screen is not enough for the creators of Avenger Jesus: The Social Justice Mobile Game. 

The Avenger Jesus Game Series company is also taking aim at teabaggers and assorted Christian conservatives with sale proceeds and advertising revenues, the founders claim. 

"We are using right-wing tactics, pushing the bounds of free speech to further the cause for equality before it's too late" is how co-creator Joey DeLoach puts it in a company press release.

Money from the app will go to LGBT and women's groups among others.

This is of course a little silly, but in the past I have enjoyed playing some silly politically inspired video games, so maybe this one will catch on as well.

Besides who doesn't think that if there were a real Jesus, and he came back today, he would not be going after these assholes who drag his name through the mud with a vengeance?   

Adult site blocks North Carolina's access in response to anti-gay legislation. Okay now things just got real.

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This is why they call him "The Boss."

Courtesy of Bruce Springsteen's website:

As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards. 

This is usually where I would say something like, "Well I guess I better go buy a little Springsteen music for my I-Pod."

That does not work this time because my I-Pod is already bursting with Springsteen music.

I wonder now North Carolina feels about their discriminatory policies now?

Well at least one North Carolina Congressman is fine with Springsteen cancelling, after all they still have Justin Bieber: 

"It's disappointing he's not following through on his commitments," said Rep. Mark Walker, a Republican freshman congressman. 

"We've got other artists coming soon — Def Leppard, Justin Bieber," the congressman told The Hollywood Reporter. 

"I've never been a Bieber fan, but I might have to go. Maybe artists who weren't 'born to run' deserve a little bit more support," he said, referencing one Springsteen's most famous song titles.

Oh yeah, people who are coming expecting to see Bruce Springsteen will be just fine listening to Justin Bieber. 

That may be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard in my life.

And I've covered Sarah Palin for the last ten years.