Gay Marriage / LGBTQ Rights / Equality Act

[raison de arizona]

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[raison de arizona]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... 234770846/

[raison de arizona]

Massholes, but it's really the parents that teach them these things.

Burlington community calls for action after middle school students disrupt Pride event

The Burlington community is calling on town leaders to take action in the wake of a recent middle school incident during which students disrupted a Pride event.

What happened at the school
According to a letter to parents from Marshall Simonds Middle School Principal Cari Purchase, the incident took place during a school-approved spirit day celebrating Pride month on Friday, June 2. The spirit day was requested and sponsored by Spectrum Club — a student group for LGBTQ+ students and allies.

As part of the event, the letter said, Spectrum Club decorated the school with handmade “Happy Pride Month” signs and educational posters with messages such as “Why it’s not ok to say ‘That’s so gay’.” The club members also put up rainbow streamers and Pride flag banners, handed out rainbow stickers, and invited students and faculty to wear rainbow clothing.

But throughout the day, some students showed their disdain for the event in a number of ways. The letter said students were seen “being inappropriate” with the stickers and tearing down the banners and signs.

Other students tried to intimidate faculty and students showing support for Pride through glares, chanted “U.S.A. are my pronouns” in the halls, and wore red, white, and blue clothes with face paint in protest of the event, the letter said.

boston.com via https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/burli ... r-AA1csP55

I'm offended at this whole concept that Pride is unAmerican. That's some BS. They can shove that.

[raison de arizona]

Grandparents attending a school track meet in Kelowna stopped the event and demanded a 9 year-old female student be examined to make sure they weren't a boy competing in a girls event.

castanet.net
Girl, 9, accused of being trans at Kelowna track meet - Kelowna News
Two Kelowna moms are speaking out after their 9-year-old daughter was verbally assaulted at a track and field event on...

[Resume18]

Grandparents attending a school track meet in Kelowna stopped the event and demanded a 9 year-old female student be examined to make sure they weren't a boy competing in a girls event.

castanet.net
Girl, 9, accused of being trans at Kelowna track meet - Kelowna News
Two Kelowna moms are speaking out after their 9-year-old daughter was verbally assaulted at a track and field event on...

This is when the phrase "go fuck yourself" seems appropriate.

[Foggy]

I'm offended at this whole concept that Pride is unAmerican. That's some BS. They can shove that.

I'm offended by it all too also, and I am going to increase my protest against the bigoted assholes by wearing the rainbow.

No, my new t-shirts don't say Ally. If'n I wear "Ally" it means "I'm not gay." But I want to be a little ... ambiguous about that. Mostly I'll be with ol' Wifehorn anyway. So I saw a thing that said "I am not wearing the rainbow to tell you who shares my bed. I am wearing it to let other people know that I have their back, and that I will try to keep them safe, if anyone tries to hassle them."

I like that, even if it secretly means "ally," and I find it worthy of two t-shirts:

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My new shirts arrive Friday.

[neonzx]

I'm still convinced that those who demand PROOF of a child's biological sex are doing it because they are pervs who want to look in a kid's underpants. Prove me wrong.

[Foggy]

I can't prove you wrong, but in this case I suspect it was a (thinly) veiled but bigoted attack on the "[t]wo Kelowna moms" in the story. In other words, the parents of the young lady are lesbians, and that may have made crazy grampa act out to "protect" his granddaughter whose butt was being kicked.

[Resume18]

I can't prove you wrong, but in this case I suspect it was a (thinly) veiled but bigoted attack on the "[t]wo Kelowna moms" in the story. In other words, the parents of the young lady are lesbians, and that may have made crazy grampa act out to "protect" his granddaughter whose butt was being kicked.

Yep.

[Slim Cognito]

I'm offended at this whole concept that Pride is unAmerican. That's some BS. They can shove that.

I'm offended by it all too also, and I am going to increase my protest against the bigoted assholes by wearing the rainbow.

No, my new t-shirts don't say Ally. If'n I wear "Ally" it means "I'm not gay." But I want to be a little ... ambiguous about that. Mostly I'll be with ol' Wifehorn anyway. So I saw a thing that said "I am not wearing the rainbow to tell you who shares my bed. I am wearing it to let other people know that I have their back, and that I will try to keep them safe, if anyone tries to hassle them."

I like that, even if it secretly means "ally," and I find it worthy of two t-shirts:

.

.........
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be_you.jpg


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My new shirts arrive Friday.

Great minds...

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[Foggy]

Love it, and you.

I want to say a bit more about why I didn't choose one of the Ally shirts, of which there are, to quote Krap'n Karl, a plethora. There are "Ally Cat" shirts, with rainbow (or psychedelic) kittehs, but pronounce that word. No, alley cats live in alleys. Ally is not alley. I think that's stupid.

There was one that said "I like my whiskey straight, but my friends can go either way." In addition to the obvious problems, I don't drink whiskey any more.

And I realized, I don't give a crap if anyone thinks I'm gay, or has a problem with it. On the other forums that John Thomas8 and I were on before 2008, I got called faggot every five minutes by the right-wing idiots. Didn't bother me none. Think whatever you want. I been called worse things by better people.

So getting an Ally shirt felt a little bit wimpy, like I have to say, "I support 'em, but I'm not gay myself doncha know, no sir, not me. But it's OK for my friends, y'know, wink wink. " It felt like a damn copout, as we used to say.

It made me ask myself, why do I need to identify as straight, if I'm supporting people who aren't? If I need to identify as straight, if I'm even slightly hesitant about people thinking I'm gay, then maybe I can understand why we need to tell the actual gays to have Pride.

Most important of all, if I can, on just one occasion between today and the day I leave this mortal coil, give courage to a young person who is struggling with their identity, then I'll be glad. And I think I'll have a better chance of that if I'm not walking around with a shirt that just says I'm an "ally". Whales don't give a shit if I wear a shirt that says "Save the whales" because whales aren't going to look at it. But young people might see me wearing the shirts I got.

We're talking about Earthlings, and I'm one of them.

I'm gonna wear rainbow, and if'n anybody don't like it,

[Volkonski]

NBC News
@nbcnews@newsie.social
A Montana man who fired an AK-style rifle at the home of a lesbian woman and said he wanted to “get rid of” gay people in his small town has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ma ... -rcna89408

[AndyinPA]

[Volkonski]

Hate Crime Charges For LI Man After Same-Sex Couple Attacked: Police

https://patch.com/new-york/northfork/s/ ... aign=alert

A Patchogue man has been charged with hate crimes in connection with an attack on a same-sex couple at the village's marina last month, Suffolk police said Wednesday.

Two 29-year-old women were watching the sunset at Mascot Dock on South Ocean Avenue on May 14 at around 7:45 p.m. when two men in a vehicle made anti-lesbian remarks, according to police.

One of the men punched one of the women while the other tried to push the second woman into the water and threw one of their cell phones into the water, police said, adding that the women were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.

Joseph Kess, 40, was charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief as hate crimes, a misdemeanor and felony, as well as second-degree aggravated harassment, a midemeanor, after an investigation by Suffolk's Hate Crimes Unit, police said.

Kess will be held overnight at the 3rd Precinct pending his arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday.

[raison de arizona]

How to Make a “Safe Folder”
Texas could have taken my trans child away. Here’s what I had to do to protect our family.

What exactly is a safe folder?

When Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate the parents of transgender children for child abuse in 2022, we suddenly discovered, as the parents of a trans child, that we needed one.

We wondered, though: Republicans had failed to ban gender-affirming medical care, so what grounds would DFPS have for taking trans kids away from their parents, for throwing their parents in jail?

Because the governor told them to, the lawyers we were talking to replied, and if CPS agents knock on your door, you’ll need documented proof that your child is transgender and that you are providing your child with a stable home environment. You must prove that you are a good parent.

In other words, you must make a safe folder. Here is how.

https://www.thenation.com/article/socie ... fe-folder/

[raison de arizona]

Four state bans have now been enjoined as likely unconstitutional. In two of the cases (including this one) the judges were appointed by Trump. No court has come out the other way.

BREAKING: Federal judge blocks enforcement of Indiana’s ban on gender-affirming medical care, aside from the provision addressing gender confirmation surgery. The injunction includes the new law’s ban on “aiding and abetting.” More to come at Law Dork: https://lawdork.com

[Volkonski]

Homophobic chants condemned the day after USA-Mexico match

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/so ... h-2795564/

There were supposed to be 12 minutes of stoppage time. That’s what Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton declared as the clock hit 90 minutes during the United States’ 3-0 win against Mexico.

However, as American goalkeeper Matt Turner lined up a goal kick in the eighth minute, a murmur began to rumble throughout Allegiant Stadium. Once Turner launched the ball down the field, a familiar cry echoed throughout the arena as the Mexican fans screamed a derogatory anti-gay Spanish slur.

It was far from the first time the chant had been heard during the match. So Barton blew his whistle, convened the players and called the game four minutes early.

“It has no place in the game,” United States men’s national team interim coach B.J. Callaghan said. “That’s something we’ve stood against before and will continue to stand against.”

The early ending to Thursday night’s rivalry matchup between the USA and Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals at Allegiant Stadium prompted an immediate statement from the continental soccer governing body, which condemned the chants in a statement Friday.

“These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high quality football in our region,” CONCACAF’s statement said.

CONCACAF also announced several fans were ejected from the stadium by security staff for derogatory chants during the game.

[RTH10260]

‘A sense of betrayal’: liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags
Many liberals celebrated when Hamtramck, Michigan, elected a Muslim-majority council in 2015 but a vote to exclude LGBTQ+ flags from city property has soured relations

Tom Perkins in Hamtramck, Michigan
Sat 17 Jun 2023 11.00 BST

In 2015, many liberal residents in Hamtramck, Michigan, celebrated as their city attracted international attention for becoming the first in the United States to elect a Muslim-majority city council.

They viewed the power shift and diversity as a symbolic-but-meaningful rebuke of the Islamophobic rhetoric that was a central theme of then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign.

This week many of those same residents watched in dismay as a now fully Muslim and socially conservative city council passed legislation banning Pride flags from being flown on city property that had – like many others being flown around the country – been intended to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

Muslim residents packing city hall erupted in cheers after the council’s unanimous vote, and on Hamtramck’s social media pages, the taunting has been relentless: “Fagless City”, read one post, emphasized with emojis of a bicep flexing.

In a tense monologue before the vote, Councilmember Mohammed Hassan shouted his justification at LGBTQ+ supporters: “I’m working for the people, what the majority of the people like.”

While Hamtramck is still viewed as a bastion of multiculturalism, the difficulties of local governance and living among neighbors with different cultural values quickly set in following the 2015 election. Some leaders and residents are now bitter political enemies engaged in a series of often vicious battles over the city’s direction, and the Pride flag controversy represents a crescendo in tension.

“There’s a sense of betrayal,” said the former Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski, who is Polish American. “We supported you when you were threatened, and now our rights are threatened, and you’re the one doing the threatening.”

For about a century, Polish and Ukrainian Catholics dominated politics in Hamtramck, a city of 28,000 surrounded by Detroit. By 2013, largely Muslim Bangladeshi and Yemeni immigrants supplanted the white eastern Europeans, though the city remains home to significant populations of those groups, as well as African Americans, whites and Bosnian and Albanian Americans. According to the 2020 census some 30% to 38% of Hamtramck’s residents are of Yemeni descent, and 24% are of Asian descent, largely Bangladeshi.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ags-banned

[RTH10260]

Well-funded Christian group behind US effort to roll back LGBTQ+ rights
Advocacy groups condemn Alliance Defending Freedom as ‘a danger to every American who values their freedoms’

Adam Gabbatt in New York
Mon 19 Jun 2023 11.00 BST

With the US besieged by a rightwing culture war campaign that aims to strip away rights from LGBTQ+ people and others, blame tends to be focused on Republican politicians and conservative media figures.

But lurking behind efforts to roll back abortion rights, to demonize trans people, and to peel back the protections afforded to gay and queer Americans is a shadowy, well-funded rightwing legal organization, experts say.

Since it was formed in 1994, Alliance Defending Freedom has been at the center of a nationwide effort to limit the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people, all in the name of Christianity. The Southern Poverty Law Center has termed it an “anti-LGBTQ hate group” that has extended its tentacles into nearly every area of the culture wars.

In the process, it has won the ear of some of the most influential people in the US, and become “a danger to every American who values their freedoms”, according to Glaad, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.

Through “model legislation” and lawsuits filed across the country, ADF aims to overturn same-sex marriage, enact a total ban on abortion, and strip away the already minimal rights that trans people are afforded in the US.

Under the Trump administration, the group found its way into the highest echelons of power, advising Jeff Sessions, the then attorney general, before he announced sweeping guidance to protect “religious liberty” which chipped away at LGBTQ+ protections.

The organization counts among its sometime associates Amy Coney Barrett, the supreme court justice who the Washington Post reported spoke five times at an ADF training program established to push a “distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law”.




https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... ts-america

[Volkonski]

newz
World News Feeds
@newz
Estonia becomes first central European country to allow same-sex marriage https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/es ... 023-06-20/

Reuters

Estonia's parliament approved a law to legalize same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. The law will come into effect in 2024

[Foggy]

Estonia is northern European, not central. It's almost Finland, that's how far north it is.

[jemcanada2]

So getting an Ally shirt felt a little bit wimpy, like I have to say, "I support 'em, but I'm not gay myself doncha know, no sir, not me. But it's OK for my friends, y'know, wink wink. " It felt like a damn copout, as we used to say.

It made me ask myself, why do I need to identify as straight, if I'm supporting people who aren't? If I need to identify as straight, if I'm even slightly hesitant about people thinking I'm gay, then maybe I can understand why we need to tell the actual gays to have Pride.

People used to say to me that I was more tolerant than they were about gay people. That always bothered me, because I didn’t just tolerate people who were gay. I supported them.

Thankfully, much of that attitude has changed here over my life.

[Ben-Prime]

And I realized, I don't give a crap if anyone thinks I'm gay, or has a problem with it. On the other forums that John Thomas8 and I were on before 2008, I got called faggot every five minutes by the right-wing idiots. Didn't bother me none. Think whatever you want. I been called worse things by better people.

So getting an Ally shirt felt a little bit wimpy, like I have to say, "I support 'em, but I'm not gay myself doncha know, no sir, not me. But it's OK for my friends, y'know, wink wink. " It felt like a damn copout, as we used to say.

It made me ask myself, why do I need to identify as straight, if I'm supporting people who aren't? If I need to identify as straight, if I'm even slightly hesitant about people thinking I'm gay, then maybe I can understand why we need to tell the actual gays to have Pride.

I used to wear a button that said "Don't presume I'm straight", whenever hanging out with my best friend, who was very gay (he is now passed away, dammit, cancer), and one day, when he started a new job, he asked to borrow it to wear for his first casual Friday at that office.

I never got that button back. But that's okay. It's purpose had been served and I like the fact that it did so for both of us because the message applied either way.

[Estiveo]

There was a huge foofaraw last week on local social media urging all concerned citizens to attend the school board meeting & protest their heinous decision to fly the pride flag at every school this month OMG WTF BBQ wilL noBoDy ThiNk of tHe CHILdRen?

The only problem was, the pride flag wasn't actually flown at any school. The district did recognize Pride Month in a proclamation, but they issue proclamations recognizing upcoming history/heritage/pride months/weeks/days all the time.

Now, the city flies a pride flag at City Hall for June, and hosts a small pride celebration & flag raising on June 1st, so apparently this got conflated with the school district's proclamation, sprinkle in a little Reich-wing hysteria, a dash of homophobia, and —BOOM!— indoctrination & grooming!

Bottom line, no massive protests occurred, several bigots got banned from one group, and I quit another group because of their tacit support of the 'phobes, & they kept deleting my posts on suicide rates in the teen LGTBQ+ demographic & links to the Trevor Project. Assholes.

Also, I've flown the Pride flag in June for the last 10 years or so (American flag the rest of the year except the Jolly Roger on Halloween) and other than a decrease in door-to-door god botherers, I've never had anyone take issue with it.

This year I upgraded to the Progress Pride flag, and here's a pic from this morning. I think it's time to trim the sycamore up a bit.

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[Foggy]

Oh, nice. I like. Where's the like button? Oh, wait.



In addition to everything else, I hope there are children wondering why God put an LGBTQ+ flag up as the symbol of His promise never to flood the world and kill everybody again.

I mean, they're kids, amirite? Trying to make everything fit.

Rainbow means gay/lesbian/so forth, everyone knows that.

And then they hear the Flood story in the Bible. Origin of the rainbow. How do you reconcile the two?