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Gay is the New Black
Author: BobR
Date: 02/26/2014 12:39:52
The history of humanity is certainly a mixed bag. For every hero of human rights, there is a villain. Every time there is a significant advancement in law securing those rights, there is a lawmaker looking for and exploiting loopholes. Slavery required the 15th Amendment. Jim Crow laws required the 24th - and then the Civil Rights Act. Even those have been circumvented via voter ID laws and limiting the number of voting machines in minority districts.
The latest battlefield in the fight for equality is in the LBGT arena. The overturn of DOMA and Don't Ask / Don't Tell, and the victories in the courts against state-instituted measures have turned the haters into creators of anti-LGBT legislation and other initiatives. It's the final frontier in hate.
The most well-known among these is the legalized discrimination bill in Arizona which Gov. Brewer is still mulling over. That she didn't veto it right away tells you all you need to know about her. One of the authors of the bill stated that "the legislation was not anti-gay if it could also be use to turn away straight people who support same-sex marriage". No, of course it isn't.
Georgia - no stranger to denying rights to certain groups of humans - is jumping on the bandwagon with its own legalized discrimination bill:
The linked Mother Jones article states:
It's even spilling over into private enterprise. A Republican lobbyist is requesting legislation banning gay players in the NFL. as if that's any business of Congress. What's scary is that he said:
Besides being abhorrent to us as human beings, all of this hate is unhealthy. A study has concluded that LGBT people who live in communities where they are hated have a shorter life expectancy due to stress. That makes sense - stress of any type can be a killer. But stress induced by legislative fiat against those who were born the way they were born seems particularly offensive, especially considering the consequences.
At least they aren't being lynched... officially.
The latest battlefield in the fight for equality is in the LBGT arena. The overturn of DOMA and Don't Ask / Don't Tell, and the victories in the courts against state-instituted measures have turned the haters into creators of anti-LGBT legislation and other initiatives. It's the final frontier in hate.
The most well-known among these is the legalized discrimination bill in Arizona which Gov. Brewer is still mulling over. That she didn't veto it right away tells you all you need to know about her. One of the authors of the bill stated that "the legislation was not anti-gay if it could also be use to turn away straight people who support same-sex marriage". No, of course it isn't.
Georgia - no stranger to denying rights to certain groups of humans - is jumping on the bandwagon with its own legalized discrimination bill:
According to Mother Jones, hotels and restaurants could refuse to serve LGBT people, potentially returning Georgia to its segregated, Jim Crow roots.
Legislators introduced the “Preservation of Religious Freedom Act” last week, and moved it to committee discussion on Monday. If enacted, the law would allow business owners in the state to deny services to LGBT people with impunity if the businesses allege that they are doing so on the basis of a “sincerely held religious belief.”
The linked Mother Jones article states:
Unlike similar bills introduced in Kansas, Tennessee, and South Dakota, the Georgia and Arizona bills do not explicitly target same-sex couples. But that difference could make the impact of the Georgia and Arizona bills even broader. Legal experts, including Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel for the ACLU, warn that Georgia and Arizona's religious-freedom bills are so sweeping that they open the door for discrimination against not only gay people, but other groups as well.
It's even spilling over into private enterprise. A Republican lobbyist is requesting legislation banning gay players in the NFL. as if that's any business of Congress. What's scary is that he said:
...he had five members in the House and one senator who would put their weight behind the bill. He predicted up to 36 House members and up to five senators would join the effort in the next three weeks.
Besides being abhorrent to us as human beings, all of this hate is unhealthy. A study has concluded that LGBT people who live in communities where they are hated have a shorter life expectancy due to stress. That makes sense - stress of any type can be a killer. But stress induced by legislative fiat against those who were born the way they were born seems particularly offensive, especially considering the consequences.
At least they aren't being lynched... officially.
Comments:
Order comments Newest to Oldest Refresh Comments
Comment by 
wickedpam on 02/26/2014 14:28:51
wickedpam on 02/26/2014 14:28:51
MOrning 
Comment by 
Raine on 02/26/2014 14:30:20
Good morning!
Raine on 02/26/2014 14:30:20
Good morning!
Comment by 
BobR on 02/26/2014 14:38:20
BobR on 02/26/2014 14:38:20
BLOG IS POSTED
Comment by 
Scoopster on 02/26/2014 14:42:49
Scoopster on 02/26/2014 14:42:49
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 15:00:50
this along with the blog is awfully distressing.
Raine on 02/26/2014 15:00:50
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all..
It was mentioned on the Great Orange Satan that these legalized discrimination bills go FAR BEYOND just hatred of LGBT.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 15:11:56
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 15:11:56
I fear what we will see coming from this legislation, as well as the new law in Uganda which creates further discrimination. My hope is that we are seeing the last efforts of the hate mongers, as time and generational change cause them to fall down onto the dung heap of history. Meanwhile, we will have to fight such laws and hatred every step of the way.
Comment by BobR on 02/26/2014 16:14:50
BobR on 02/26/2014 16:14:50
Comment by wickedpam on 02/26/2014 16:15:13
wickedpam on 02/26/2014 16:15:13
Carlos does do a good Gene Wilder 
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 16:33:12
Raine on 02/26/2014 16:33:12
Holy Cow!
The U.S. Army disqualified 588 members of the military from serving as sexual assault counselors, recruiters or drill sergeants due to previous infractions, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The soldiers were removed due to criminal or unethical behavior ranging from sexual assault to drunk driving, according to USA Today.
The number removed from these "positions of trust" is 10 times higher than the number initially disqualified last summer after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the initial review.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 16:50:08
I am stunned. I think that this is good news in a way, but it makes me wonder what review standards were in place before this.
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 16:50:08
Quote by Raine:
Holy Cow!The U.S. Army disqualified 588 members of the military from serving as sexual assault counselors, recruiters or drill sergeants due to previous infractions, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The soldiers were removed due to criminal or unethical behavior ranging from sexual assault to drunk driving, according to USA Today.
The number removed from these "positions of trust" is 10 times higher than the number initially disqualified last summer after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the initial review.
I am stunned. I think that this is good news in a way, but it makes me wonder what review standards were in place before this.
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 17:03:19
Raine on 02/26/2014 17:03:19
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:09:14
Fascinating.
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:09:14
Fascinating.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:21:19
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:21:19
I am listening to Arizona at Work with Roman Ulman hosting today. They are talking about the bill in Arizona. (Click this link to get the streaming video.)
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:24:56
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 17:24:56
Comment by 
livingonli on 02/26/2014 18:44:21
livingonli on 02/26/2014 18:44:21
Another week of working 6-2 or 7-2 shifts and why I continue to not have a life. And I'm nervous about this next winter event forecast for Sunday and Monday.
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 18:58:51
you guys expecting more snow? Blech.
Raine on 02/26/2014 18:58:51
Quote by livingonli:
Another week of working 6-2 or 7-2 shifts and why I continue to not have a life. And I'm nervous about this next winter event forecast for Sunday and Monday.
you guys expecting more snow? Blech.
Comment by livingonli on 02/26/2014 18:59:53
I am beyond done with it. We got another inch today but that's manageable.
livingonli on 02/26/2014 18:59:53
Quote by Raine:Quote by livingonli:
Another week of working 6-2 or 7-2 shifts and why I continue to not have a life. And I'm nervous about this next winter event forecast for Sunday and Monday.
you guys expecting more snow? Blech.
I am beyond done with it. We got another inch today but that's manageable.
Comment by 
Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 19:15:30
That is all.
Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 19:15:30
That is all.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 19:33:32
We are worried about the same system, Liv.
As we need a laugh, here is something great via the Daily Kos:
MUST-SEE: Jon Stewart and Larry Wilmore destroy Andrew Napolitano's warped view of slavery
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 19:33:32
Quote by livingonli:
Another week of working 6-2 or 7-2 shifts and why I continue to not have a life. And I'm nervous about this next winter event forecast for Sunday and Monday.
We are worried about the same system, Liv.
As we need a laugh, here is something great via the Daily Kos:
MUST-SEE: Jon Stewart and Larry Wilmore destroy Andrew Napolitano's warped view of slavery
Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 19:36:46
Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 19:36:46
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 19:43:35
Raine on 02/26/2014 19:43:35
Karl Frisch â€@KarlFrisch 5m
BREAKING: Federal judge strikes down Texas ban on #MarriageEquality, postpones same-sex weddings pending appeal.
Comment by Raine on 02/26/2014 19:46:50
Raine on 02/26/2014 19:46:50
Quote by Mondobubba:
That is all.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 20:00:31
Here is the story on Huffington Post. Somehow, I think that Ted Cruz is reaching for the TUMS;
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 20:00:31
Quote by Raine:Karl Frisch â€@KarlFrisch 5m
BREAKING: Federal judge strikes down Texas ban on #MarriageEquality, postpones same-sex weddings pending appeal.
Here is the story on Huffington Post. Somehow, I think that Ted Cruz is reaching for the TUMS;
Texas Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Judge
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled Wednesday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Garcia issued a preliminary injunction on the state's ban, citing Supreme Court precedent. However, Garcia issued a stay on his order, meaning the ban will remain in effect pending appeal.
“Today’s court decision is not made in defiance of the great people of Texas or the Texas Legislature, but in compliance with the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent,†Garcia wrote in the order. “Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our U.S. Constitution.â€
Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 20:38:20
Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 20:38:20
it was so nice that the company spared no expense on the cupcakes from the fancy cupcake boutique as A Thing for our CEO's 60th birthday.
They were actually from Costco I think.
They were actually from Costco I think.
Comment by Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 20:52:06
Mondobubba on 02/26/2014 20:52:06
Comment by Scoopster on 02/26/2014 21:05:59
Scoopster on 02/26/2014 21:05:59
So yeah.. 20 years ago today we lost William Melvin Hicks to cancer. 
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 22:21:30
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 22:21:30
Stephanie Miller is on Thom's show, NOW!!!
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 22:33:53
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 22:33:53
On this day, February 26, 1932, Johnny Cash was born. In honor of an American original,here are some videos.
Comment by 
TriSec on 02/26/2014 23:31:35
TriSec on 02/26/2014 23:31:35
So, my sister in law was diagnosed with Big C today. I will call brother Trisec in a bit and see what the heck is going on.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 23:46:00
TriSec, I am sorry to hear this. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers and wish her a full recovery.
Will in Chicago on 02/26/2014 23:46:00
Quote by TriSec:
So, my sister in law was diagnosed with Big C today. I will call brother Trisec in a bit and see what the heck is going on.
TriSec, I am sorry to hear this. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers and wish her a full recovery.
Comment by 
clintster on 02/27/2014 01:08:24
I'm watching Erin Burnett interviewing Ted Haggard and Peter LaBarbera on CNN. Sounds like the Rev Haggard has come around on the side of compassion. Good for him.
clintster on 02/27/2014 01:08:24
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062!
I'm watching Erin Burnett interviewing Ted Haggard and Peter LaBarbera on CNN. Sounds like the Rev Haggard has come around on the side of compassion. Good for him.
Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/27/2014 01:15:06
I am glad to hear it. All jokes aside, it is good to see that Reverend Haggard has his life together and is treating others with compassion.
Will in Chicago on 02/27/2014 01:15:06
Quote by clintster:Quote by Will in Chicago:
Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062!
I'm watching Erin Burnett interviewing Ted Haggard and Peter LaBarbera on CNN. Sounds like the Rev Haggard has come around on the side of compassion. Good for him.
I am glad to hear it. All jokes aside, it is good to see that Reverend Haggard has his life together and is treating others with compassion.
Comment by Raine on 02/27/2014 01:25:45
Jeebus. Sending prayers.
Raine on 02/27/2014 01:25:45
Quote by TriSec:
So, my sister in law was diagnosed with Big C today. I will call brother Trisec in a bit and see what the heck is going on.
Comment by clintster on 02/27/2014 01:35:08
Sorry to hear about it, Tri. Prayers for her to have the strength to overcome this.
clintster on 02/27/2014 01:35:08
Quote by TriSec:
So, my sister in law was diagnosed with Big C today. I will call brother Trisec in a bit and see what the heck is going on.
Sorry to hear about it, Tri. Prayers for her to have the strength to overcome this.