LGBT issues thread (was Supreme Court to hear same-sex marriage cases)

[Skinypupy]

I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby or eat at Chic fil a because I find their politics to be gross.

Know what I don’t do? Yell at their employees, walk in and trash their stores, or call in bomb threats.

Not that hard.

[LawBeefaroni]

They're doing it because (1) it's working and (2) they're not experiencing any type of consequences for their gross behavior - legal or social.

If they use social.media, text, or email it's a federal offense. Threatening interstate communications. It may also be interfering with interstate commerce.

Don't like it, contact your elected officials and tell them to make it a priority for the FBI.

[LordMortis]

Know what I don’t do? Yell at their employees, walk in and trash their stores, or call in bomb threats.

You don't but these United States are escalating and "ANTIFA" will eventually see that there are no consequences for these threats and that will get the GOP in charge again. This is the sort of timeline we live in.

Edit: Quoted wrong thing

[Unagi]

The price of this comfort is that some other people actually literally live their lives in fear.

[Smoove_B]

Texas is taking a stand:

Texas passes a total public drag ban.

The law bans "sexual gesticulations using accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics."

It will target all public drag by calling all drag "sexual."

Wonder if it will be used against cheerleaders too.

[ImLawBoy]

Do they have to inspect the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to see if they have prosthetically enhanced their chests?

[Smoove_B]

Do they have to inspect the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to see if they have prosthetically enhanced their chests?

Underwire bras are Satan's playground.

[malchior]

In other news, the right is both disgusting...and just plain old stupid. Both brands are owned by...you already know the answer. They'll point out Modelo is distributed/manufactured by Constellation Brands in the US. However, AB takes a 50% split with Constellation on Modelo in the US. And on top ...they have a DEI policy that mirrors AB.

[Smoove_B]

I have a feeling the next 30 days are going to be...interesting.

[malchior]

Apparently Republican policy preferences are the only valid policy preferences.

[Smoove_B]

Figure I should slap this over here as it fits better:

As Pride Month began, Elon Musk stated his intention to lobby for the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors - a move that is unequivocally harmful and contradicts all major medical organizations in the United States and standards of care.

...

In addition to advocating against the life-saving care transgender youth need, Musk supported the exclusion of the transgender community from LGBTQ+ Pride events. He relied on dubious suicide statistics for transgender youth, neglecting the wealth of research that contradicts his assertions. Furthermore, Musk took issue with Twitter's decision to limit the reach of Walsh's documentary and overruled his company’s decision, proceeding to retweet the video himself.

...

Elon Musk proceeded to share and reply to anti-trans memes and responded in agreement with some of the people who are most responsible for the 530 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills around the United States. He appeared to express support of the Target boycott due to Target displaying LGBTQ+ merchandise during Pride month in its stores. He also appeared to claim that the Trust & Safety Director Ella Irwin was fired for throttling the video. He proceeded to share a meme from a fringe anti-trans LGB group stating that trans and queer people should be excluded from LGBTQ+ Pride:

What he's done to the platform is beyond gross. I can only imagine how bad it's going to get as we head into the 2024 election season, which I think should be starting any minute now.

[malchior]

I still don't get how he "gets away with this behavior" when he is head of a company with major US government contracts and a major car company amongst his businesses. His behaviors are actively much worse than other people who've been demonized and shunned.

Also -

I have a feeling the next 30 days are going to be...interesting.

Indeed. This eventually turned into a street brawl outside the school. We're a very serious nation.

Edit: Editorial note but I heavily suspect this is funded by someone. They had t-shirts, printed signs (though many are handwritten as well), a trailer with a huge placard on it, etc. It smells like far-right dark money Astroturf.

[Blackhawk]

I still don't get how he "gets away with this behavior" when he is head of a company with major US government contracts and a major car company amongst his businesses.

Every time this comes up:

"There's just no alternative for Twitter..."

or

"...but I really like Tesla, and they're helping the environment!"

In other words, he gets away with it because providing him with consequences is inconvenient.

[Unagi]

It would be uncomfortable.
We strive for comfort.
So, if it’s uncomfortable - it’s to be avoided.
This is how one lives comfortably.

[Isgrimnur]

How does one live deliciously?

[Isgrimnur]

At some point, I decided that one of the key measures of maturity is the ability to make or support a decision that disadvantages one's self but serves a greater good.

I was playing a wargame at one point, and pointed out a rule that, if let go, would have given me an advantage. One of my group mentioned it. My response was that I'd rather lose the right way than win the wrong way.

[Blackhawk]

At some point, I decided that one of the key measures of maturity is the ability to make or support a decision that disadvantages one's self but serves a greater good.

It's a shame that so few adults have learned this one.

[Unagi]

How does one live deliciously?

I very much hope you understand I was speaking facetiously.

[Unagi]

At some point, I decided that one of the key measures of maturity is the ability to make or support a decision that disadvantages one's self but serves a greater good.

I was playing a wargame at one point, and pointed out a rule that, if let go, would have given me an advantage. One of my group mentioned it. My response was that I'd rather lose the right way than win the wrong way.

Yes... My comment was actually to that exact point.

[waitingtoconnect]

This is weird apparently daily wire paid Twitter to host this documentary about the evils of transgenderism, Twitter then “banned” this movie (likely a bot), then someone tried to take it down from inside Twitter then Elon rode in to save the day.

Of course in reality this was all planned about as well as a rudi Gulliani or Russian defence ministry press conference and there was likely some technical issue that’s being spun as “drag Queen seditiousness to stop the truth getting out”.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-dail ... or-weekend

[malchior]

More evidence America is a tinder box waiting to burst into outright violence. I'm glad it was "just" fist fights.

[YellowKing]

These are the same people that didn't give a shit about Pride month in 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019...... until their cult leaders told them to get angry.

[Daehawk]

Some people need a brain transplant. Actually I dont think they got one to begin with.

[Smoove_B]

One of NJ's metro towns is having a "Banned Book" read-a-thon this weekend in support of Pride month. Of course the usual suspects have already targeted the event on social media, so here's hoping it doesn't turn into a nightmare:

The library will kick off the event with a Drag Queen Story Hour that will feature Harmonica Sunbeam. They say Harmonica will read stories and sing several songs.

Hoboken Public Library board of trustees member Jerome Abernathy says, "certainly there are places in the country, there are other states who feel differently than our community. But this programming on Saturday reflects the values of our community."

The event garnered attention when conservative leaning Twitter page Libs of TikTok tweeted out about it. The tweet reached more than 800,000 people.

In a Twitter thread, the post goes on to include images from some of the books depicting gay sex scenes. In turn, people started spamming Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the library regarding the event.

[Isgrimnur]

Supreme Court declines appeal from Christian school fighting transgender housing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from a Christian college in Missouri that sued the Biden administration over its decision to shield transgender people from housing discrimination.

At issue was a 2021 memo from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that interpreted a federal anti-discrimination law as protecting transgender individuals. The College of the Ozarks claimed that the guidance conflicted with its ability to make housing assignments for students on the basis of sex assigned at birth.
...
Lower courts, including the St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, sided with the Biden administration on a procedural point last year, finding that the college did not have standing to sue, in part, because the government never attempted to enforce an anti-discrimination complaint against the school.

[Apollo]

Just a quick question: I have seen articles from time to time about a dispute between the LGB community and the TQ community. I understand Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, but I always thought "Queer" referred to Gays and Lesbians. Is there a new definition of the word that I am unaware of?

[Isgrimnur]

Them

Today, the word “queer” is a way for us to create space for those who have been othered by the LGBTQ+ rights movement, by social norms and customs, and by outdated notions of gender. Depending on whom you ask, there are a million conflicting meanings for the word. Many still see it as a degrading slur. Many others embrace it with pride.
...
The definition of “queer” has shifted over the years, and today, rather than being a term that excludes, many see “queer” as an inclusive way to refer to the broad spectrum of folks under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Some people find it rightfully difficult to shake the term’s derogatory history, even if its colloquial meaning has shifted, but many others are reclaiming “queer” as a way to self-identify.

To come closer to understanding what “queer” means today, we sought nine perspectives from those who use it on what the term means to them.

[Unagi]

Just a quick question: I have seen articles from time to time about a dispute between the LGB community and the TQ community. I understand Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, but I always thought "Queer" referred to Gays and Lesbians. Is there a new definition of the word that I am unaware of?

Queer: The entire group of people that are not simply gay or lesbian, perhaps not even remotely gay or lesbian... they may still dress in ways that are not traditional or they may not want to be identified as any of our labels... but that is what they are.
It's anyone on this spectrum of sexuality that is not deemed 'standard', whereas Gay/Lesbian are standards.


That's about it. The entire 'meltdown' over this is just so unneeded, unwelcome, unhelpful, and so fucking stupid. While there are "a lot" of them, there is just really nothing to fucking be worried about or even stress about. These people are nothing, just like YOU and just like ME... they are just people living their lives - and they should only be judged and labeled in ways that reflect that contribution. I'm sure that some of them seriously suck donkey balls, yet most of them are on par with all of us == they just kinda suck.

I will say this: Their 'community' seems like it could be under pressure here. Those that are not just "gay"/"lesbian" have an entirely different path to blaze and there are a lot of people in the gay/lesbian community that have little tolerance for them. This reminds me of the intolerance the gay community had for the lesbian community when the days were young. Ultimately - we all (lesbians/gays/queer/straight) need to fucking drop it... our gender/sexualy visions are our own and they do not reflect the value people can bring to a community.

[Isgrimnur]

Judge rules Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors violates US Constitution

A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.

U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.

Arkansas’ law, which Moody temporarily blocked in 2021, also would have prohibited doctors from referring patients elsewhere for such care.
...
In his order, Moody ruled that the prohibition violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and families. He said the law also violated the First Amendment rights of medical providers.

“Rather than protecting children or safeguarding medical ethics, the evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing,” Moody wrote in his ruling.

Moody’s ruling echoed remarks that judges have made in other decisions temporarily blocking similar bans in Alabama and Indiana.

[Isgrimnur]

Judge strikes down Florida Medicaid policy excluding gender-affirming care

A Florida rule excluding gender-affirming health care from Medicaid coverage is unlawful and unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, adding that the policy, enacted last year under the administration of Republican Gov. and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, is based on politics rather than medicine.

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which controls most of the state’s Medicaid program, in August adopted a rule barring transgender residents from using Medicaid to help cover the cost of puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, surgeries or “any other procedures that alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics” when those procedures are used to treat gender dysphoria.

The rule was immediately criticized by LGBTQ civil rights groups and health care professionals, who characterized it as “medically and scientifically unsound” and politically motivated. Two transgender adults and a minor then sued AHCA officials in federal court, claiming in a September lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Florida that the rule discriminates based on sex and transgender status.

[Kurth]

Not to bring Video Games into R&P, but I’m going back and playing through Zelda: BotW. I just got to the part where Link has to dress in drag to get into a city that only allows women to enter. It’s cute and light hearted.

Where were the “grooming” allegations and calls to boycott Nintendo over this six years ago when this game came out?

This shit is all fabricated and just so incredibly stupid.

[Smoove_B]

I am firmly in the camp that "groomer" is taking a page from the 1970s strategy of stopping the use of overt racist language and instead giving garbage people the ability to say out loud a word that (in their minds) is equal to whatever LGBT slur they'd normally want to say.

[GreenGoo]

This shit is all fabricated and just so incredibly stupid.

Fabricated and harming real people by turning them into a target.

The republicans are the baddies at this point. It has nothing to do with policy differences.

[YellowKing]

and instead giving garbage people the ability to say out loud a word that (in their minds) is equal to whatever LGBT slur they'd normally want to say.

I think the worst part of it is that it sucks non-garbage people into behaving like garbage people by exploiting fears and paranoia. My dad's never had a problem with gay marriage, LGBTQ rights, etc. Yet he's freaking furious about transgender athletes. It's not transgenderism itself that's the problem, he's mad because he's a competitive person. He was a competitive bodybuilder and he saw the guys who used steroids taking advantage of those who didn't.

All this disguising bigotry under other issues like fairness, grooming, etc. is designed to hit people in the knee-jerk reaction zone. Turn them against a group of people not because of who they are, but because of some other nebulous concept that they've associated with that group.

[Pyperkub]

I am firmly in the camp that "groomer" is taking a page from the 1970s strategy of stopping the use of overt racist language and instead giving garbage people the ability to say out loud a word that (in their minds) is equal to whatever LGBT slur they'd normally want to say.

And also with a MASSIVE blindspot. The ones pushing the "groomer" pejorative for fear of children being groomed as sex toys are *completely * fine with the Primary Group *proven * to have engaged in systematic child sex abuse for decades upon decades - Churches.

[Isgrimnur]

reddit.com/r/NotADragQueen

[GreenGoo]

I think the worst part of it is that it sucks non-garbage people into behaving like garbage people by exploiting fears and paranoia. My dad's never had a problem with gay marriage, LGBTQ rights, etc. Yet he's freaking furious about transgender athletes. It's not transgenderism itself that's the problem, he's mad because he's a competitive person. He was a competitive bodybuilder and he saw the guys who used steroids taking advantage of those who didn't.

I feel like furious isn't a rational response to what he sees as unfair competitive advantage. What about this is so anger inducing that he would rage?

I mean, there is a lot of science involved here and the answers aren't clear. It just doesn't make sense to freak out over sports that he has no personal interest in and doesn't follow, and has no idea what it means to be transgender.

I understand he's influenced by the conservative propaganda machine, but I feel people in general need to be a little more critical of their information sources and understanding of the issues they care so much about that they get upset by them.

I'm not saying his opinion isn't valid and we are all allowed to have our pet issues that we feel more strongly about that others, but man, at least be fully informed before flying off the handle.

edit: For the record I am also pissed at left leaning articles that obfuscate or mislead in an attempt to elicit an emotional response. Fuck you, manipulators.

[YellowKing]

Oh yeah, preaching to the choir. I think his anger about who wins a collegiate swimming competition is completely irrational. But then again, very little of the propaganda machine is designed to stir *rational* anger.

[Jaymann]

Just wait until a trans woman wins an Olympic medal, the right will lose their minds.

[Blackhawk]

Just wait until a trans woman wins an Olympic medal, the right will lose their minds.

The Olympics is next year. They're going to have to hurry if they want to find minds to lose by then.