Office by Alex Penny
(Source: hatefulatheist, via trulybadtiming)
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation over the weekend making California the first state to ban mental health professionals from providing therapy that attempts to change a child’s sexual orientation.
“This bill bans nonscientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine, and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery,” Brown said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2013. It bans mental health providers from using therapy to change sexual orientation or to repress homosexual feelings and desires.
I could be wrong but I feel like Ian of gaychristian had something to do with this (I seem to recall him saying he suggested it to the lawmaker who introduced the bill?). Either way: amazing news!
I found this over at Joe.My.God.
This morning the ACLU sent out a blistering denouncement of Rep. Paul Ryan’s track record on LGBT rights and civil liberties. Via press release:
In response to Mitt Romney’s announcement of his vice presidential pick of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the American Civil Liberties Union Liberty Watch 2012 campaign this morning released a brief report that reveals an appalling civil liberties record for Ryan.
The report finds that Ryan, the congressman representing Wisconsin’s 1st District, holds almost uniformly harmful views on five key civil liberties issues including a humane immigration policy, LGBT equality, reproductive rights, torture and indefinite detention and fair voting access.
The report is based on the white paper released by ACLU Liberty Watch 2012. “Paul Ryan may end up a heartbeat away from the presidency but he’ll be light years from civil liberties,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “Paired with Romney’s already-abysmal record on civil liberties, Ryan’s positions only take this ticket further from the vision of our founding fathers.”
Ryan’s record is appalling. Read it.
For the last week or so, it’s been them standing up to show their support of Chick-Fil-A. However we all know that is not the first nor the last time an elected official has or will do something like this. During the GOP debates last year it seemed as if each candidate was trying to out hate the other. To prove just how much better they were at showing those “gays” just where they belong. I remember blogging about it back then and what always got me was the enthusiastic applause they’d each receive.
There are Conservative Republican Christian members of the LGBTQ community. GOProud is proof of that, despite having the vile Ann Coulter on their advisory council. So I wonder how they silently sit there and allow politicians they support and vote for to publicly announce that they are unworthy of all the rights that every other citizen of this country is entitled to? We hear all these hate-mongers shouting about liberals and their support of the “gay agenda” as if homosexuality was something that did not exist in their world. It makes no sense to me at all.
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Conor Gaughan - “We Are Not Arguing Over Chicken” (Huffington Post)
The answer to the question “why do you have to take this so seriously?” in this case, is “because this shit is fucking serious.”
(via oddwritesstuff)
(Source: thecellofellow, via caitylove)
“‘You don’t belong here.’ That’s what Boston’s mayor, Thomas Menino, has told Dan Cathy and Chick-fil-A: ‘You don’t belong in Boston.’ The mayor’s reasoning? Because Boston is ‘an open city… a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion.’ The hypocrisy is ludicrous. Menino, of course, is an outspoken promoter of same-sex marriage, just another out-of-touch politician ignorant of the fact that the American people have consistently rejected same-sex marriage at the ballot box.
”Luckily for Mr. Menino, the people of Massachusetts haven’t been allowed to vote on marriage; but they will be allowed to vote on him—and if he isn’t nervous, he probably should be. What kind of mayor denies a large and flourishing company from settling in his city, just because that company’s president disagrees with the mayor’s own radical same-sex marriage agenda? A mayor who cares neither for his constituents or the Constitution!” - Brian Brown, launching an ever-so-angry letter writing campaign to Mayor Menino.I mentioned the National Organization for Marriage and these groups bizarre double speak when it comes to “their side” vs. “unfair meddling” of other corporations. Its so entirely unfair in their minds that the “will of the people” weren’t allowed to be enacted on this social issue, and that the people of Massachusetts entrusted their elected officials to do what they were voted into office for. To draft policy. If the fine people of Mass. had a problem with this, I’d think it would have come up well before the 10 year anniversary of same sex marriages in the state though.
Its interesting how much the arguments NOM and the FRC expect differential treatment. Its persecution against religion for people opting against eating at Chick Fil A, because “punishing” them for donating to groups that are vested in overturning gay rights in cities like Boston is somehow apolitical, while Google, Oreo , Disney, Facebook, Starbucks et al are “meddling” and should “remain neutral”.
Note that Brown’s crotchety letter in a way proves the Mayor of Boston’s point. If people got to vote on this (as they have done because NOM has put fort legislation in many states requiring it) they’d eagerly try to strip Bostonians of their rights to same sex marriage too. Kindly keep your chicken sandwiches, your vitriol is making it pretty clear the Mayor’s point wasn’t invalid.
Thanks for the submission T.K. I’ve posted this before, but it will be relevant as a long as people keep saying “gay agenda.”
This is pretty damn awesome, lbr.
I remember the debates before the election when she addressed the buggery laws that still exist from colonial days. The outcry against her was huge and I thought she was definitely going to lose. She’s not my favorite politician, but in a country like Jamaica, what she did/said was HUGE. What she had to say about homosexuals serving on her cabinet was this:
“Our administration believes in protecting the human rights of all Jamaicans. No one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Government should provide the protection, and I think that we should have a look at the buggery law….but for me, I do not support the position of the former Prime Minister because people should be appointed to positions based on their ability to manage. “
Her sign cracks me up. Fire! Cave! Rock! Lizard! LOL. ~JJ
Comic book fans Scott and Jason got married today at NYC’s Midtown Comics.
Behind them were issues of “The wedding of Jean-Paul Beaubier and Kyle Jinadu in Astonishing X-Men#51” - (Northstar Gets Married)
As someone who fully intends to walk down the aisle to The Imperial March, this brings joy to my geeky heart. ~ Kim
[source]
![nonplussedbyreligion:
What makes this sad is that even presented like this, there are some whose intolerance won’t allow them to realize how absolutely ridiculous this idea really is.
[source]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5b207KTmy1qm4zvuo1_500.png)
What makes this sad is that even presented like this, there are some whose intolerance won’t allow them to realize how absolutely ridiculous this idea really is.
[source]
Emboldened by a recently enacted constitutional amendment prohibiting civil unions and same-sex marriage, North Carolina’s Republican party adopted a platform yesterday that condones discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation.” The platform’s Article Ill: Individual Liberty states:
Government should treat all citizens impartially, without regard to wealth, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sex, political affiliation or national origin. We oppose all forms of invidious discrimination. Sexual orientation is not an appropriate category.
The document also argues that “The ideal environment for raising children is a two-parent family with a mother and father who are married and committed to that life-long relationship” and opposes “adoption by same sex couples.”
Currently, the state does not have a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Really? They really want this to be a thing? Ok, so when are they going to stop collecting taxes from homosexuals? Clearly they’re not entitled to the same representation and rights as other taxpaying citizens, so their money should also be of no use. Right? Un-freaking-believable.
(Source: hatefulatheist, via trulybadtiming)
Anti-Bullying Is Gay Indoctrination
Forgive me, I must have missed the memo where it was decided that anti-bullying translated to gay indoctrination.
These groups are so afraid that a gay child may be helped they’re willing to allow other kids to suffers. It’s been a while since I was in school, but I do remember that kids were bullied for many other things. Bullying needs to be addressed; PERIOD. Anti-bullying measures should be taught with no exceptions. I will never understand these people.
Oh, look, they’re trying to make it okay to be a bully as long as you’re bullying people your religion says are wrong. I wonder what kind of opinions those kids will grow up with. Oh, is it the Crusades again already?
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Harvey Milk, notes for his speech at the Gay Freedom Day Parade, June 25, 1978 (published in The Mayor of Castro Streetby Randy Shilts, 2008).
On this date (May 22) in 1930, Harvey Milk was born in Woodmere, N.Y. In 1951, he graduated from New York State College for Teachers in Albany with a degree in mathematics. Milk joined the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and was discharged in 1955. He held various jobs, including teaching, but he is most famous for becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. A strong gay rights activist who owned a camera store on Castro Street in San Francisco, Milk was known as “the Mayor of Castro Street” for his activism. He became city supervisor for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978, where he continued his work for gay rights, supporting legislation that made discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal and opposing an initiative that required all LGBT public school teachers to be fired. Milk was assassinated by his former supervisor on Nov. 27, 1978.
Milk was very critical of organized religion and did not attend religious services. Randy Shilts wrote in The Mayor of Castro Street (2008) that “Harvey never had any use for organized religion.” In one of his recorded wills, Milk said of his funeral: “I hope there are no religious services. I would hope that there are no services of any kind, but I know some people are into that and you can’t prevent it from happening, but my god, nothing religious … I would turn over in my grave.” D. 1978
(via nonplussedbyreligion)
