Gay Marriage / LGBTQ Rights / Equality Act

[Rolodex]

Aww thank y'all! I'm so glad to be here! You can blame Orly! He invited me after we hooked up on twitter on the Eastman hearing. Love this forum!

[raison de arizona]

This would never be upheld in court.

Florida has introduced HB 599, a "Don't Say Gay" bill that applies to all non-profits. It would effectively ban all LGBTQ nonprofits in the state. They would not be able to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity at all.

This is horrifying.

https://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Doc ... ssion=2024

[RTH10260]

‘Archaic’: the Tennessee town that made homosexuality illegal
Republican lawmakers in the US are leaning into outdated definitions of obscenity to outlaw drag and ban books too

Ava Sasani
Sun 26 Nov 2023 13.00 CET

For five months this year, homosexuality was prohibited in a Tennessee college town.

In June, the city council of Murfreesboro enacted an ordinance outlawing “indecent exposure, public indecency, lewd behavior, nudity or sexual conduct”. The rule did not explicitly mention homosexuality, but LGBTQ+ people in the town quickly realized that the ordinance references 21-72 of the city code, which categorizes homosexuality as an act of indecent sexual conduct.

The ordinance was essentially a covert ban on LGBTQ+ existence.

Erin Reed, one of the first and only national journalists to cover the ordinance earlier this year, noted that Murfreesboro isn’t “the only community that has these old archaic bits of code that target homosexuality”.

Earlier this month, following a legal challenge from the ACLU of Tennessee, the government of Murfreesboro removed “homosexuality” from the list of acts defined as “public indecency” by the city code. The small victory came after officials repeatedly refused to issue permits for the BoroPride Festival, citing the new ordinance.

Despite the ACLU’s recent win, advocates warn that the story of Murfreesboro represents a new frontier in anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaking. Republican state and local leaders across the US south are reviving vague, sometimes decades-old rules on “indecency” and “obscenity” as a bludgeon against queer life.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ns-florida

[shannon]

Where freedom goes to die...

Florida judge allows restrictions on adult transgender care to take effect

Those who can leave Florida, are.

Those who can't, may very well die. (Death before Detransition is a often heard statement)

The irony being is that Florida had the third largest transgender population of all the other states (California is #1, Texas was #2), and there was a thriving transgender medical community in Tampa.

Now, well, in civilized countries, the exodus would be seen as a human rights issue. Transgender people are being told to not even fly OVER Florida, out of concerns that the plane may have to land in that state in event of an emergency.

[Volkonski]

New York-

Hochul Signs Law Protecting Rights Of LGBTQ+ Seniors
The law prohibits long-term care facilities from discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or HIV status.

https://patch.com/new-york/northfork/s/ ... 7487825f05

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation Thursday — S1783 and A372A — that prohibits long-term care facilities and their staff from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

She said New York’s seniors should be able to live their lives with the dignity and respect they deserve.

“LGBTQIA+ and HIV-positive seniors are among our most vulnerable populations, and today we are taking steps to ensure that all New Yorkers — regardless of who they are, who they love or their HIV status — find safety and support in places where they need it the most,” Hochul said. “Hate will never have a place in New York.”

Judy Troilo, CEO of The Loft: LGBTQ+ Center in White Plains, told Patch the legislation was “crucial to our community because it establishes protections against discrimination and ensures they receive fair and equal treatment in long-term care facilities.”

[shannon]

[Ben-Prime]

Given your avatar, I'd suggest that using the Anakin/Padme meme panel for this all-too-sickeningly-plausible conversation would also have been suitable.

[RTH10260]

[Volkonski]

Seattle Hospital sues after Texas Attorney General asks for handover of patient records

https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/seattle ... t-records/

The Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court on Dec. 7 against the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG), after that agency requested documents related to gender transition policies and any such care provided to Texas children.

However, hospital claims that the OAG lacks jurisdiction to demand such records from the hospital, and that Washington’s “Shield Law” protects it from requests made by states that “restrict or criminalize reproductive and gender-affirming care.

“The Shield Law prohibits Washington-based entities such as Seattle Children’s from ‘[c]omply[ing] with subpoena, warrant, court order, or other civil or criminal legal process for records, information, facilities, or assistance related to protected health care services that are lawful in the state of Washington,'” the lawsuit stated.

KXAN reached out to the OAG multiple times prior to publication; however, the agency never replied to our requests.

According to copies of the OAG’s requests (included in the hospital’s lawsuit), the OAG sent two demands — a civil investigative demand and a notice of demand for sworn written statement.

The first demand, which has an issue date of Nov. 17, told the hospital that the OAG was investigating “misrepresentations regarding Gender Transitioning and Reassignment Treatments and Procedures and Texas law” that allegedly violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

That demand gave the hospital until Dec. 7 to produce documents to the OAG for the agency to identify the following:

All medications prescribed by the hospital to Texas children
The number of Texas children treated by the hospital
Diagnosis for every medication provided by the hospital to Texas children
Texas laboratories that performed lab tests for the hospital prior to prescribing medications
Protocol/guidance for treating Texas children diagnosed with gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria or endocrine disorders
Protocol/guidance on how to “wean” a Texas child off gender transitioning care

The other demand gave the same deadline date for the hospital to answer questions about the above points under oath.

[Slim Cognito]

Fuck Paxton. Assuming karma is a thing, he can't suffer enough to satisfy me.

Sorry, not sorry.

[sugar magnolia]

Fuck Paxton. Assuming karma is a thing, he can't suffer enough to satisfy me.

Sorry, not sorry.

If he was sitting on my couch suffering mightily while I watched, it might be enough to satisfy me. At least for a few minutes.

[Resume18]

Seattle Hospital sues after Texas Attorney General asks for handover of patient records

https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/seattle ... t-records/

The Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court on Dec. 7 against the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG), after that agency requested documents related to gender transition policies and any such care provided to Texas children.

However, hospital claims that the OAG lacks jurisdiction to demand such records from the hospital, and that Washington’s “Shield Law” protects it from requests made by states that “restrict or criminalize reproductive and gender-affirming care.

“The Shield Law prohibits Washington-based entities such as Seattle Children’s from ‘[c]omply[ing] with subpoena, warrant, court order, or other civil or criminal legal process for records, information, facilities, or assistance related to protected health care services that are lawful in the state of Washington,'” the lawsuit stated.

KXAN reached out to the OAG multiple times prior to publication; however, the agency never replied to our requests.

According to copies of the OAG’s requests (included in the hospital’s lawsuit), the OAG sent two demands — a civil investigative demand and a notice of demand for sworn written statement.

The first demand, which has an issue date of Nov. 17, told the hospital that the OAG was investigating “misrepresentations regarding Gender Transitioning and Reassignment Treatments and Procedures and Texas law” that allegedly violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.

That demand gave the hospital until Dec. 7 to produce documents to the OAG for the agency to identify the following:

All medications prescribed by the hospital to Texas children
The number of Texas children treated by the hospital
Diagnosis for every medication provided by the hospital to Texas children
Texas laboratories that performed lab tests for the hospital prior to prescribing medications
Protocol/guidance for treating Texas children diagnosed with gender identity disorder, gender dysphoria or endocrine disorders
Protocol/guidance on how to “wean” a Texas child off gender transitioning care

The other demand gave the same deadline date for the hospital to answer questions about the above points under oath.

Seattle Hospital is telling Ken Paxton to GFYF.

[shannon]

Came here to post this. We know that Paxton is a corrupt asshole prone to performative lawsuits, but he seems to think Seattle is part of Texas. Or he's trying to establish that, if you live in or have parents in Texas, Texas law trumps state and federal laws. Or that if you moved FROM Texas, you're still subject to said laws.

Bear in mind that, until the GOP's resent jihad on transgender people, Texas had the third largest transgender population in the US. And that, as a result of the Texas GOP and assholes like Paxton, Texas has been suffering a brain drain as women, transgender adults, and parents seeking gender-affirmative care for their underage children, get the fucking hell out of the right wing hellscape that is modern-day Texas. If this had worked, Paxton could have very well gone after former residents of Texas receiving medical care that is legal in their new states, but illegal or criminalized in Texas. Which isn't just gender-affirmative care, since the same logic could be applied to reproductive care as well.

Think I'm kidding? Look at Exhibit B. Notice the "reside(d)". Basically if the patient HAD resided in Texas, the Texas AG's office is saying that Texas law STILL applies.



Anyway, Erin in the Morning has more on this, and points out how this could very well be used to target reproductive care:

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-ag-threatens-seattle-hospital

"Seattle responded to the request by filing a lawsuit in Travis County, stating they cannot comply because Texas has no jurisdiction in Washington State, and no care was provided by the hospital in Texas. They also point out that the Dormant Commerce Clause, protected by the United States Constitution, “protects the right to interstate travel, including to obtain healthcare services.” By targeting out-of-state hospitals for enforcement of laws that only apply within the jurisdiction of Texas, they “discriminate against healthcare based on an interstate element,” violating constitutional protections, according to the legal filing. Lastly, Seattle Children’s Hospital cannot comply due to a shield law passed by Washington State. This law bars the hospital from providing any patient data and from responding to subpoenas pursuant to “protected healthcare services” obtained within the jurisdiction of Washington. Protected healthcare services include abortion, reproductive care, and gender-affirming care."

One problem is that the Texas Supreme Court favors the AG:

"Regardless of what the local court decides, the claims are likely to go to the Texas Supreme Court. Given that the claims also have a time limit on them and that appeals in Texas automatically favor the attorney general due to an automatic lifting of stays in the state, Seattle Children’s Hospital workers and providers for trans patients from Texas could be under legal jeopardy."

[raison de arizona]

It’s a mess for sure, but the hospital in WA can safely ignore anything the SCOTX says, yes?

[shannon]

Gay African-American conservative attends a "Turning Point USA" conference, gets upset when white nationalists call him names.
Face, leopards eating face, etc....

Black Gay Conservative Targeted With Homophobic Slurs at Right-Wing Conference

"A Black gay conservative influencer was showered with chants of “f*gg*t” by a group of white supremacists at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Sunday evening.

Rob Smith posted a video to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday showing him being accosted by a group of young white men wearing dark suits with white shirts at the annual conservative conference. The event draws a broad spectrum of conservative notables including TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, actress Roseanne Barr, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, conservative commentator, and sportswriter Jason Whitlock among others.

“Last night in Phoenix, I was confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don’t like gays or blacks in the Republican Party,” Smith posted to X."

Dude, you know who REALLY doesn't like gays or blacks in the Republican Party?

The Republican Party. that's who.

[shannon]

Pretty much sums up the right wingers trying to "separate the TQ from LGB"

[shannon]

I've been seeing three constant themes when it comes to the various arguments against transgender people. Annoyingly enough, from some that claim to be on the left as well.

The first deals with the fact that a rather large chunk of the LGBTQ+ community is neurodiverse. (What I tend to call "neurospicy"). This includes people with ADHD has well as people on the autism spectrum.

Basically the myth is that people with autism are being "targeted" and manipulated into transitioning. Never mind that autism self-advocacy groups tend to support LGBTQ+ rights. This combines a mix of concern trolling, ableism, and many of the tropes against people with autism. It takes away agency from people with autism to be allowed to determine their own sexuality and/or gender identity, and tells them "oh, you poor things. The "trans industry" is victimizing you! Don't worry, we'll protect you from yourselves...."

Don't be surprised when this starts being applied to people with autism who are LGB as well.

The second is one you see from some TERFs, and groups like "gays against groomers" and "LGB patriots" (basically the "LGB, no TQ" crowd). That being "gay genocide". It's based on the trope that transgender women are "failed gay men" or "gay men so attracted to heterosexual men that they transition in order to fool those men". And transgender men are "frustrated lesbians". There's a certain amount of fear they're going to seduce heterosexual women as well. The claim is that transgender youth should be treated as LGB youth and encouraged to be gay or lesbian rather than transgender. And if you're transgender and attracted to the same gender you identify with, you're heterosexual with a fetish. This completely ignores the fact that sexual orientation and gender identity are two entirely separate things. One thing they like to claim is that being gay/lesbian (or bisexual if they're feeling charitable) is an orientation, whereas being transgender is a "mental illness". Never mind that the only groups that make that claim are the conversion "therapy" types who make the same claim about being gay/lesbian/bisexual.

(You will see an AWFUL LOT of posts along the line of "I'm gay/lesbian, and nobody I know thinks that transgender people should be part of the community", or "my son/daughter is gay/lesbian, and everybody they know says that transgender people should be / have been kicked out of the LGB community". They're all alike enough that you realize it's a talking point or troll factory.)

The third is more self fulfilling. Much like many people know they're gay, lesbian, or bisexual from an early age, most people who are transgender knew early on they identified more with the opposite gender than the one they were born with. The argument here is that nobody under the age of 18-25 should be allowed to socially transition, as they're "too young" to know what they really are. And once you're over 25, the argument changes to "well if you're really transgender, why didn't you transition sooner??"" Basically setting no age that allows someone to "legitimately" transition.

Much of what they spew are recycled talking points and claims made about gays and lesbians 20-40 years ago, to be honest. But, since those talking points don't work as well anymore against gays and lesbians, it's transgender people who are now the target. With the added benefit that, if it works, they've divided and weakened the rest of the LGBTQ community, making it easier to go against them when the time is right. The "LGB only" types seem to think if they lick right-wing boots, then they won't feel those boots on their necks.

[John Thomas8]

Guess who gets to pay $100,000 to the gay couple she denied a marriage license?
.
F5-ubPJWIAAbQwm.jpeg
.
https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-kim ... 98db0de72c

Naw, not $100k. Let's throw $260k in legal fees on that pile?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... e-kentucky

Kim Davis, the former county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses in Kentucky to same-sex couples, must pay a total of $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one couple, according to a federal judge’s ruling.

That is in addition to $100,000 in damages a jury said the former Rowan county clerk should pay the couple who sued.

[neonzx]

Maybe Hucksterbee will help pay ??

[Resume18]

I want to give God the glory.

Better ask him to pay your judgements.

More likely though, the RWNJs will pony up.

[shannon]

I want to give God the glory.

Better ask him to pay your judgements.

More likely though, the RWNJs will pony up.

Eh, she's not useful to them anymore, so I suspect they won't. She's in the "find out" stage of FAFO

[raison de arizona]

Alabama can enforce ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors, appeals court rules
Lawyers representing parents of transgender adolescents who challenged the ban said the decision will “hurt parents and children in the state.”

Alabama can begin immediately enforcing a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender people under 19, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, granting the state’s request to stay a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of the 2022 law.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that the injunction should be vacated, but the decision had been effectively on hold while families with transgender children asked the full appellate court to reconsider the decision. The Thursday order will allow the ban to take effect while the full court decides whether it will revisit the decision.

The state Attorney General Steve Marshall called the order a “significant victory for our country, for children and for common sense.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-new ... rcna133572

[RTH10260]

I wonder how the US will look like in a decade and further into the future, when the population adjusts to the gender laws and the abortion laws, when the people and businesses get fluid and adjust by moving to other states.

[RTH10260]

‘You will not replace us’: a deadly attack on a Slovakian gay bar – and its link to a fast-spreading racist ideology
Fifteen months after two men were shot in Bratislava, evidence suggests the killer may have been helped by an unidentified US-based extremist

Jason Burke
Sun 21 Jan 2024 07.00 CET

The October evening was warm and sunny. At about 7pm, two young men stepped out of the Tepláreň bar on Zámocká Street in the centre of Bratislava, to sit on a concrete bench and drink lemonade. Matúš, 23, had just arrived in the Slovakian capital to study Chinese. His 26-year-old friend worked in a local clothes shop and enjoyed anime, K-pop and dance.

Standing in an alcove a few metres away was Juraj Krajčík. The 19-year-old had been loitering for about half an hour, witnesses later said. Shortly after the two patrons of the Tepláreň sat down, Krajčík stepped forward, raised a .45-calibre handgun and fired several shots at them. Then he turned and ran, gun in hand.


Within half an hour of the fatal shootings, Krajčík was on his phone. At 7.35pm, he sent a tweet: “#bratislava #hatecrime #gaybar #bratislava”. Then, 25 minutes later, another: “#bratislava feeling no regrets, isn’t that funny?”

Through the night, Krajčík moved across the city, always one step ahead of police and continually active on social media. On Twitter and message boards routinely used by rightwing extremists, he expressed disappointment that he had not carried out his plans to attack a synagogue and the residence of Slovakia’s prime minister. Then he posted an image of himself with the words “have a last selfie”.

The teenager ended up on a grassy hill in a park not far from his family home where, probably in the early morning, he shot himself. His body was found some hours later.

In Slovakia, the attack on the Tepláreň, a prominent if rare LGBTQ+ hangout, prompted shock and statements of concern. The president, Zuzana Čaputová, called on politicians to stop spreading hate.

“I’m sorry that [we were] not able to protect your loved ones,” she told a crowd of thousands at a vigil. “You belong here; you are valuable for our society.”

The Tepláreň was “a place of acceptance, of love, of happiness”, said Michaela Dénešová, the deputy head of the Inakosť initiative, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights in Slovakia. “They were young people. They did nothing wrong. They were just enjoying the evening with friends in a bar. That’s all. Because of their gender identity, because of their sexual orientation … Should we kill people because of that? Not at all.”

Elsewhere, the attack attracted little attention, perhaps because the death toll was comparatively low for such shootings, or because it appeared to be motivated by local factors with limited wider significance, or perhaps because it seemed to be the act of single deranged individual.

In fact, there was no evidence that Krajčík had a psychological illness or was a lone actor. Instead, it has become clear that he was a link in a chain of mutually inspired young men living thousands of miles apart, all fervent believers in a violent ideology that first gathered momentum in the US and is now spreading in Europe.

Evidence seen by the Guardian suggests Krajčík may have been helped – possibly even piloted – by an older extremist based in the US who has yet to be identified and could even now be working with a new potential attacker.

Fifteen months after the Bratislava murders, levels of rightwing extremist violence directed at minorities in Europe continue to concern authorities everywhere.

In November, police launched an international operation against rightwing terrorism in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Italy. Five were arrested, suspected of recruitment, online propaganda and sharing manuals of 3D-printed weapons.

In the EU, there were 45 arrests and four attacks in 2022, according to a recent Europol report. Three more were foiled, two in France and one in Germany.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... t-ideology

[realist]

This is an event which is held annually in a small "railroad" town, Brunswick, just a few miles from where I and the Princess lived for years. It is a very popular and well-attended event for charity.

This ad was placed on our former neighborhood FB page to advertise the event. This year, however, this is the first comment, and the majority which follow it are in agreement.

Well I guess I will be considered a prude and negative Nellie, but given what is going on these days with this stuff in the schools and teaching kids they can choose their genders, I think many of us would prefer you find a new theme.

And I know all the people making the comments, and this was not typical just a couple years ago. Really sad. And our little town was a blue pocket surrounded by red. Sad how things have apparently changed. This event is a real blast.

Drag Queen Bingo Brunswick MD.jpg (69.6 KiB) Viewed 8972 times