Thursday, March 31, 2016
Mississippi Redefining Hatred, Pass Worse Anti-Gay/Religious Rights Bill Ever!
The bill, known as the ‘Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,’ passed by a vote of 31-17 after just over two hours.
The bill was presented by Senator Jenifer Branning who called it ‘a solution to the crossroads we find ourselves in today’ as a result of the US Supreme Court ruling last June which made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
‘Ministers, florists, photographers, people along those lines – this bill would allow them to refuse to provide marriage-related business services without fear of government discrimination.’
Officially known as HB 1523, is considered by LGBT activists to be the worst of the anti-gay bills currently under consideration by state legislatures in the US.
If signed into law by Governor Phil Bryant, religious institutions would be legally protected should they decide to not recognize the legality of same-sex marriages or refuse to place children with qualified, deserving LGBT families.
They could also deny housing and public services to anyone even if the institution receives grants and subsidies from the government.
The bill also sanctions the use of ‘conversion therapy’ to ‘cure’ LGBT people.
‘The government of Mississippi has foolishly decided that hatred and discrimination is more valuable than the protection and dignity of its citizens,’ said National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson.
‘This law isn’t a protection from “government discrimination” as its name implies; it’s government sanctioned discrimination that will have lasting effects on the economic well-being of the state.
‘Religion is being used for the most immoral purpose possible: the denigration of entire populations to second-class citizens based entirely on fear and propaganda. This is the most broadly discriminatory bill we’ve seen introduced.’
The Human Rights Campaign called on Bryant to veto the bill.
‘Following the shameful actions of Lt. Governor Reeves and the Mississippi Senate, Governor Bryant is left with a very clear choice on how to lead his state forward when H.B. 1523 comes to his desk,’ HRC president Chad Griffin said in a statement.
‘Will he follow the example of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard, who understood that discrimination in any form is unacceptable? Or will he align himself with North Carolina’s Governor McCrory, who, in sanctioning discrimination, has harmed both his constituents and the economy of North Carolina?’
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Using Their Own Logic, Republicans Should Be Banned From Public Bathrooms
So far, statistics show no trans person arrested for sexual misconduct in a public bathroom, BUT surprise, surprise (or not?), three Republican lawmakers had been arrested for doing very naughty things in there.
Who are they?
Well the guys at Newnownext didn’t have to dig too far into recent history to find these bathroom-seeking politicians:
Back in 1981, Mississippi congressman Jon Hinson was arrested for engaging in oral sex with a male staffer in the House of Representatives bathroom.
In 2007, Idaho Republican Larry Craig was arrested in the restroom of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer.
Also in 2007, Florida state Representative Bob Allen was arrested after he agreed to give an undercover police officer $20 for oral sex in the men’s room of a public park.
The fear-mongering tactics used by U.S. Republican legislators to single out and punish transgender people for using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity appear to be working in states like Kansas, North Carolina and South Dakota, as covered by Gay Star News this month.
Last year, other states such as Arizona, Florida, Texas and Kentucky were also looking at enacting so-called ‘bathroom bills,’ targeted at transgender people, reports Mic.
In an interview with BuzzFeed in February 2015, Republican State Representative Frank Artiles who sponsored the Single Sex Public Facilities bill (HB 583) in Florida, commented:
‘While I understand there are transgender people who want to use bathrooms however they want to feel, that is irrelevant to me.’
When asked to name a case where a trans person had threatened public bathroom safety, neither Artiles nor his staff could give evidence.
And when asked if he believes a transgender woman is a woman, Artiles replied:
‘I am not going to get into that. I have not spent much time thinking about that.’
Evidently, some U.S. legislators have a whole lot of homework to do before they can make better decisions with regards to what rights should be given to the people, and what rights should be controlled.
Well, since we are on the topic of hypocrisy, here’s an extensive list of the biggest sex offenders coming from the U.S. Republican Party.
Oh, and one more person to add to the list: Alabama Governor Robert Bentley.
1. Jimmy Swaggart
2. Laura Schlessinger
3. Newt Gingrich
4. David Vitter
5. Rush Limbaugh
6. Larry Craig
7. Ted Haggard
8. Henry Hyde
9. Jim Bakker
10. James West
11. John Ensign
12. Michael D. Duvall
13. Bob Allen
14. Tony Alamo
15. Bob Livingston
16. Mark Sanford
17. Lou Beres
18. Mark Foley
19. Roy Ashburn
20. Rev. Michael Hintz
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)