A Month After The Pulse Shootings Congress Debates An Anti-LGBT Bill

Today marks a month since the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando; a month since the deadliest mass shooing in our nation’s history and the worst attack on LGBT Americans; and how is our Congress honoring those killed?

Well, today  a House committee will hold a hearing on the homophobic so-called First Amendment Defense Act [FADA].

The bill would create a national "religious discrimination" law to allow businesses and government workers to refuse goods and services to customers who offend their religious sensibilities … like The Gays. This bill specifically allows people with a "religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage" to turn away same-sex couples hoping to wed. In addition, because Hate tries to cover all the bases, the bill would make it impossible for those persecuted LGBT Americans to petition the federal government when they experience “religious” discrimination.

Jim Obergefell, whose lawsuit for recognition of his marriage to the late John Arthur resulted in the legalization of marriage equality, will testify against the bill, said this:

“The Orlando tragedy on June 12 was a time of heartbreak for millions around the world and the worst attack on the LGBT community in our nation’s history. Today, exactly one month after this horrifying event, this hearing is deeply hurtful to a still-grieving LGBT community. It is difficult for me to imagine why anyone would think such discrimination should be permitted in the year 2016. I believe that the United States Congress must be better than this and it is my sincere hope that Congress will move away from elevating proposals that only serve to harm vulnerable communities.”

The bill’s authors — anti-LGBT Republicans because … of course — Idaho Congressman Raúl Labrador of Idaho and Utah Senator Mike Lee of Utah — refer to the bill as a "defense" of the First Amendment.

Yeah, um, that’s a lie because, and let me make this perfectly queer, the First Amendment does not allow religious people to arbitrarily discriminate against those they don't like, or so says the Supreme Court. Fifty years ago when right-wing Christians tried to refuse services to interracial couples, the Supreme Court ruled that religious beliefs don't trump the rights of others.

So, those in Congress who think their religious beliefs supersede the religious beliefs, or non-religious beliefs of anyone else in this country are wrong. But whether or not FADA passes out of this committee or not, the fact that the GOP chose today to hold these hearings, when many of us are still grieving those killed and those wounded in Orlando, is an affront to the LGBT community.

And further proof, as if we needed any, that the GOP will do nothing for us.

The Advocate

Mitch McConnell Screwed America on Gun Control ... All In The Name Of The NRA

So, what did Mitch McConnell, who worships ate the altar of the NRA and keeps his permanently pursed lips pressed tightly to Wayne LaPierre’s sphincter, do in the days following the mass shooting in Orlando, in the days after that fifteen-hour filibuster to demand action on gun control, following that epic 26-hour Democratic sit-in, in regards to the news that ninety-percent of Americans, including Republicans, want some form of gun control?

Well, he covered his ass because it’s an election year and dead Americans don’t matter to Mitch McConnell as much as staying in office and cashing those Blood Checks from the NRA.

Yup, mere minutes after House Democrats ended their historic sit-in to demand that Speaker Paul Ryan allow a vote on gun control, Mitch McConnell let it be known that he was going to allow the Senate to vote on two gun control bills making it look like he was coming down on the side of humanity, of stopping this gun crazed lunacy in the country, of finally doing the right thing for We The People.

Except he didn’t; both bill failed, as McConnell had planned. Now he can shrug and say, “I tried,” and then go back to snogging LaPierre’s bunghole.

McConnell allowed the Senate to vote on Senator Susan Collins’ bipartisan version of the "no fly, no buy" terrorism watch list bill — which the NRA opposes — and he would allow a vote on Senator Ron Johnson’s NRA-endorsed bill; or, at least a bill the NRA didn’t “officially” endorse.

The Collins Bill would also mandate FBI notification if anyone who has been on the terror watch list within the past five years tried to purchase a firearm; the NRA calls that unconstitutional.

The Johnson Bill would mandate that the Department of Justice have a mere three days to find a reason to deny a gun purchase to someone who is or had been on the no fly or terror watch lists; after the wait, and considering no name on the list, the weapons could be purchased.

But since Mitch McConnell serves only Satan, er, Wayne LaPierre, he used a procedural tactic to assure the failure of both bills.

When Collins Bill survived an initial "test" vote — something it was not expected to do — McConnell swung into action and suddenly put both bill up together, thereby splitting the number of votes that the Collins bill could have gotten. And then to make it even more difficult, the Collins Bill vote was not to pass it, but to fail it; in effect, if you voted ‘Yes’ on the Collins Bill it was a vote to fail it.

Yes = Bad.

No = More NRA checks for Mitch McConnell.

The Collins bill got 52 votes, but not the 60 needed to pass, so the Senate, and Mitch McConnell, can say they tried, but the votes just aren't there.

They tried; the GOP tried. But, in effect, what they did was to make it look like they wanted some form of gun control, especially the part about allowing people on a terror watch list buy guns, but what they did was to make sure that fellow Republicans, and NRA goose-stepping, ass-kissing lapdogs, like Senators Ron Johnson, John McCain, Rob Portman, Richard Burr, Roy Blunt and Marco Rubio—who said he was done with the Senate when he was running for president but that was apparently a lie—are up for challenging reelection races this fall.

So, Mitch McConnell never wanted gin control; he wanted to make it look like he wanted gun control, and then he worked to make the NRA-opposed bill, the Collins Bill, fail, so he could save himself and the rest of his GOP cronies and their cushy jobs at the expense of dead Americans.

How you like the GOP now?

Well, then, Vote Them Out.

NCRM

The Funny Papers

John Cole, Darrin Bell, Jim Morin, Joe Heller, Bill Day, Tom Stiglich, Steve Sack

Asshat of the Week: Congressman Rick Allen

Last month, in the days preceding the Orlando shooting where 49 gay men and women were slaughtered and fifty others injured, Georgia’s freshman Congressman — a Republican of course — Rick Allen offered a prayer condemning homosexuality which included a passage saying The Gays are “worthy of death.”

And then Orlando.

Allen’s prayers for dead gay people occurred when House Republicans were busy blocking efforts to insert nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people into federal spending bills.

Yes, Rick Allen prayed that gay people should die, but, failing that, he also voted to make sure we are treated as less than.

JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior vice president of policy and political affairs, demanded that House Speaker Paul Ryan, and other members of the House Republican Leadership, immediately condemn Allen’s remarks and ask that Allen apologize or be censured.

No apology because … gay; no censure because … gay.

But are we surprised? I mean, it’s the GOP and if one of their members starts a meeting by praying that gays are worthy of death, why would the Republicans condemn him?

In the wake of the Orlando shooting, Rick Allen opened his yap again:

“I just simply shared that, in what’s supposed to be a private setting with fellow members of my conference, just like I would in a Bible study. I consider that we are all imperfect and we all fall short of the glory of God, which is why we need a savior, by the way. My wife and I, our prayers are with those family and friends. The members of Congress who represent that district are just devastated.”

Let that sink in:

Rick Allen prayed that gays are worth of death.

When gay men and women are murdered, he offered a prayer.

But his most heartfelt thoughts were for the members of Congress who represent Orlando.

Rick Allen, and pardon my French, y’all, can go fuck himself. He is an Asshat of epic proportions, and so is his lapdog, his spokeswoman Madison Fox who says that even though Rick Allen said gays are "worthy of death," he didn't mean it like that:

"The passage in Romans discusses sin, in all its shapes and sizes. The congressman will be the first to admit that he is a sinner, as we all sin -- but he never condemned anyone or would condemn anyone, especially not to death."

Except that he said exactly that you tool. But Madison Fox continued to spew the bile and then turned to talk of Orlando, and completely ignored the fact that the shooter seemed to target The Gays:

"The attack in Orlando was a terrorist attack on all humanity and the freedoms we have as Americans. It was the act of a radical Islamic terrorist who was hell bent on murdering innocent people."

The Gays; he murdered The Gays.

But in Rick Allen’s book, he murdered all the ‘right’ people.

Rick Allen: ISBL Asshat of the Week.

Think Progress

Hillsborough County Christians Say Rainbow Flag Memorials To The Dead Are "Unbearable"

As I have said here before, I am not a religious man; I do qualify that by saying I am not an organized religion man. I have a certain spirituality that is mine and I believe in creation things: I believe in reincarnation, and I believe that when our loved ones die they never really leave us. And I don’t need a man, or woman, in a pulpit, or my Sunday best seated in a pew, or a history book to explain all that to me. It’s my personal belief, and that’s good enough for me.

What I cannot believe is how people who call themselves Christians act toward the LGBT, especially in the days following last week’s mass murder where 49 of us were gunned down, and fifty of us were injured, just for being gay.

Shortly after the bloodshed, an LGBT pride flag was raised — as they were in many places around the country and the world — outside the Hillsborough County center as a sign of respect and remembrance for the victims.

And yet a day later, less than 24 hours, Hillsborough County  Commissioner Stacy White worried that the flag may be offending Christian employees and questioned whether it should be taken down.

Yes, a simple flag to remind us of, and to remember and honor, the victims of the worst mass murder in this country is offensive to Christians because, yes, gay.

But Stacy White said he received an anonymous complaint — of course it’s anonymous because bigots and haters refuse to sign their names — from a county employee that the presence of the flag was “nearly unbearable” for her to pass on her way to work and created a "hostile work environment."

A rainbow flag.

And so Stacy White, right, ignoring anyone and everyone who might have known a victim, or might know an LGBT person, or even :::gasp::: be an LGBT person told his supervisor that the flag was a “divisive, politically-charged symbol” and might become a human resources problem for the county. White wondered if they might take the flag down.

You know, because let’s not offend the Christians who cannot walk by a rainbow flag without feeling threatened.

Luckily, the commissioners voted 5-1  to keep the flag up through the month of June, which is Pride month; Stacy White, a Republican, who saw that coming, was not present for the meeting., after which the flag went right back up.

But Stacy White is still whining — perhaps he’s the “anonymous” letter writer and bigot — criticiaing County Administrator Mike Merrill for allowing commissioners to vote to raise the flag without telling them that some employees may have issue with it:

“It is still – in my view – unconscionable that the county administrator didn’t express to the board that this divisive symbol might create an uncomfortable workplace environment for many of his employees.”

Mike Merrill, left, in a memo to commissioners, defended the raising of the flag, saying he was “not aware of any employee complaint or concern having been expressed prior to the Board’s action” and adding that the decision to raise the flag followed commission protocols.

In addition to raising the pride flag, the Hillsborough County commission voted to recognize June as LGBT pride month every year from now on and to hold a candlelight vigil each year on June 12 to remember the victims of the Orlando shooting.

Stacy White will no doubt take the month of June off every year so he won’t have to endure the hostility of remembering the dead since it seems he believes the all the right people were murdered that night.

This ... is for Stacy ...hopefully he can "bear" it.

TampaBay.com

The Not-So-Funny Papers

Michael Kountouris, Mike Luckovich, John Cole, Milt Priggee, Bill Day, Walt Handelsman, RJ Matson, Nate Beeler, Joe Heller, Clay Bennett

I Normally Don't Like People, But I'm Making An Exception Today

The funerals are beginning for the victims of last week’s mass murders at Pulse nightclub in Orlando and one sweet thing that resulted was that JetBlue offered free airline travel to family members so they could get to their loved one’s memorials.

That’s sweet; it’s nice. This story, however, kinda restores my faith in people a little bit.

The grandmother of one of the victims — Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo — took JetBlue up on their offer and boarded a flight bound for Orlando. One of the flight attendants posted to Facebook about what happened:

“Today my dear friend Melinda and I had the sad privilege of attending to his grandmother on our flight as she made her journey to Orlando to join her family during this unspeakable time.

Knowing she was making this hard journey alone, JetBlue employees made sure to be at her side every step of the way. Melinda stood quietly by her wheelchair while we waited until it was time to board. Kellie, the gate agent, boarded with her and helped get her settled. Melinda and I gave her a blanket, a pillow, a box of tissues and water so she could be as comfortable as possible. She was understandably distraught, but met us with kindness and gentleness. And gratitude.

But here’s where our flight got truly inspiring. I had the idea to pass around a piece of paper to everyone on board and invite them to sign it for this grieving grandmother. I talked it over with Melinda and she started the process from the back of the plane. As we took beverage orders, we whispered a heads up about the plan as we went.

Halfway through, Melinda called me, “Kel, I think you should start another paper from the front. Folks are writing PARAGRAPHS.” So I did. Then we started one in the middle. Lastly, running out of time on our hour and fifteen minute flight, we handed out pieces of paper to everyone still waiting.

When we gathered them together to present them to her, we didn’t have just a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned. Instead, we had page after page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support. There were even a couple of cash donations, and more than a few tears.

When we landed, I made an announcement that the company had emailed to us earlier in the morning to use as an optional addition to our normal landing announcement, which states “JetBlue stands with Orlando.” Then with her permission and at the request of a couple of passengers, we offered a moment of silence in Omar’s memory.

As we deplaned, EVERY SINGLE PERSON STOPPED TO OFFER HER THEIR CONDOLENCES. Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her. But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process.

I am moved to tears yet again as I struggle to put our experience into words. In spite of a few hateful, broken human beings in this world who can all too easily legally get their hands on mass assault weapons – people ARE kind. People DO care. And through our customers’ humanity today, and through the generosity of this wonderful company I am so grateful to work for, I am hopeful that someday soon we can rally together to make the world a safer place for all.

I will never forget today. ‪#‎Orlandoproud”

I can only hope that this feeling of standing together, and working together, and understanding of togetherness, might continue on in the days, weeks and months ahead.

We are all in this together, whatever happens, anywhere; it affects all of us because it could happen to any of us.

Like I said in the post title, I am not much for people — except for a handful — but this might change my mind a little.

For Every Mom

Random Musings

Last Sunday, after learning of the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, I was, needless to say, at a loss. I kinda stumbled through the day, doing this and that without really thinking.

After dinner, Carlos and I settled in to watch TV and, my Gaydar pinged to remind me that the Tony Awards we’re on … I am a huge show queen.

And I needed that show that night; not just because of the things said about Orlando by host James Cordon, or by winners like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frank Langella, but because the show is about differences. Most of the acting awards went to people of color; a lot of the nominees are openly gay; it was the anti-Oscars and seeing that kind of diversity and love and acceptance and applause really made a difference at the end of that day.

Speaking of the Tonys …

As the show began I was calling out the names of actors I recognized from the audience.

Megan Hilty, who was in Wicked. Neil Patrick Harris … bald, for a role. Oprah? WTF? Audra McDonald!

Bob: Angela Lansbury!

Carlos: Isn’t she dead.

Bob: Yes, but they wheel her corpse in for every show because she’s freaking Angela Lansbury!

Bless his heart.

Another upside — and yes, something positive can come from it — from the Orlando shooting came out of Utah this week when the state’s Republican Lt. Governor, Spencer Cox, addressed the shooting … and apologized:

“I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.”

You can say ‘It’s about time,’ or ‘Why did it take a mass murder for you to apologize.’

I say, Thank you, for coming to your senses.

The Democrats are not playing … this week, in Congress, Republican Goose-stepping Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for a moment of silence for victims of the Orlando massacre something happened …

House Democrats weren’t having it, and began shouting at Ryan, "Where's the bill?" and "No leadership." Democrats were angry that Ryan had not let the body consider bills intended to curb gun violence because Paul Ryan is in the pocket of the NRA.

South Carolina Congressman, and Democrat, Jim Clyburn expressed to Speaker Ryan that he was concerned that several bills drafted after the Charleston Church shooting were not being considered, but before Clyburn could finish, Paul Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote because … NRA … big check … goose-stepping Republican. 

And that’s why the Democrats, lead by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, hijacked Congress with their filibuster. After fifteen hours, the Blue Party succeeded in forcing a vote from the GOP.

I see Paul Ryan losing his post in November and I for one will cheer.

UPDATE

Apparently this wasn’t his first time being lenient with rapists.

Remember Judge Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner to six months for raping an unconscious girl? Well, that’s nothing new for Persky; he’s has made questionable rulings that favored a group of athletes accused of rape in the past.

The rulings came during a civil case from 2011 when a group of baseball players were accused of gang raping an unconscious woman at a party; they were caught in the act by other young men at the party.

Sound familiar? One of Persky's allowed the defendants’ lawyers to show the victim dressed in revealing clothing in Facebook pictures taken six months after the assault because, well, victim shaming is Persky’s “thang.”

And because of this second, or first, questionable ruling, calls for Persky to resign are growing louder; even members of the US took to the House floor to call for his removal. But the current Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, does not want the judge removed despite disagreeing with his sentencing ruling.

“While I strongly disagree with the sentence that Judge Persky issued in the Brock Turner case, I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship.”

Really? How many more rape victims were be put on trial in a Persky courtroom? And how many more rapists will get a slap on the wrist from him? 

Back to the Tonys and a trio of hot winners, all from Hamilton:

Daveed Diggs, top left, won for the dual roles as both the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, right, won Tony awards for Best original Score and Best Book of a Musical; he was also nominated for playing Alexander Hamilton in the show but lost to …

Leslie Odom Hr.; bottom left, who won for the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton.

Hamil-hotties, I say.

So, convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail last February, and begged the judge to let her out so she could film a Public Service announcement about, what, the evils of gay bashing?

The judge said ‘No;’ so now convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott is pleading with Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her request for early parole because she’s been good for a couple of months.

I’m not a judge — which is lucky for convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott — because if I were the judge in this case this is what I’d say:

“If you ask me one more time to get out of jail early, I’m’a double your sentence. Get back to the rock pile, bitch.”

Knott’s minimum release date based is July 8th but I hope the judge makes her stay longer.

I don’t shop at Walmart; I loathe Walmart for a number of reasons.

But …Walmart has just fired a Marietta, Georgia store employee who, using the account @IWillTryLater, Tweeted out that the shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub that left 50 dead was “someone doing community service”:

The Tweet went viral, as did requests from other Twitterers demanding Walmart do something.

And they did; they fired the man, who has since deleted his original tweets and replaced his cover photo with one showing himself in a Walmart vest making an obscene gesture.

Some asshats never learn.

Just a few things I've seen around the interwebz in the wake of Orlando ... some make me feel better, some make me angry, and the last one was one of the first laughs I've had this week ...