Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the “Say Gay Anyway” rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. – Florida’s state senate on March 8 passed a controversial bill banning lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools, a step that critics complain will hurt the LGBTQ community. Opposition Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied against what they call the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which will affect kids in kindergarten through third grade, when they are eight or nine years old. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)CHANDAN KHANNA
Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill seems to have finally brought real attention to the years-long legislative crisis unfolding against LGBTQ+ (and especially trans) people. Signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis late last month, the bill bans discussion of gender and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classes, and could potentially bar such discussions at all age levels depending on what is determined to be “age appropriate.” Among its many egregious measures, it empowers parents to sue school districts for perceived violations, and also requires schools to notify parents of any changes related to a student’s “mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.”
Although the bill’s catchy “Don’t Say Gay” moniker has drawn international attention, this risks misleading people into believing that the law is uniquely evil. Unfortunately, it’s one of hundreds of bills filed over the past few years that seek to essentially eradicate queer people from public life. Whether framed as upholding “parental rights” or “protecting our children,” conservatives’ focus on public schools as a site of amoral contagion has been renewed with a fury perhaps not seen since the days of Anita Bryant. As of April 13, the ACLU counts 42 bills that have been filed this year alone pertaining to school and curriculum restrictions. Below, read about three other bills that also target schools as a place to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. Unlike Florida’s, these bills are still in progress — meaning there’s still time to campaign against them.
HB 1431, which would establish a “parental bill of rights” in education, actually predates Florida’s law by about a month. Introduced on December 1, 2021, the bill establishes parents’ right to “direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child.” It also mandates public schools to disclose “the nature and purpose of clubs and activities” to parents, and would give them the right to “object to instructional materials,” as well as the right to exempt their children from “a particular health or sex education instruction.” Violators would be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $1,200. Additionally, if a parent alleges a “violation” of one of these rights, they can bring a suit against the state or “any of its political subdivisions.”
Although the bill doesn’t specifically mention LGBTQ+ people, extracurriculars such as Gay/Queer-Straight Alliances have raised particular concern among the Fox News crowd, who claims that such clubs are evidence that teachers are “grooming” children into a sinister agenda. Similarly, conservatives have alleged that lessons concerning LGBTQ+ people and history are tantamount to “grooming,” which is likely why the right to object to “instructional materials” and certain sex education lessons are included in this bill.
HB 1431 was passed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives on March 15. A Senate vote is expected sometime over the next few weeks; if it passes and is signed into law, it will take effect on January 1, 2023.
HB 2161 is worded similarly to the New Hampshire bill. Unfortunately, it’s also much more comprehensive than the New Hampshire bill. In addition to establishing a “parents’ bill of rights,” Arizona’s version specifies that any attempt by any employee of the state (except for law enforcement) “to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the child’s parent” is grounds for discipline.
It also specifies that parents are allowed to object to instructional materials if it “questions [their] beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion.” Parents must also be notified in advance if a teacher plans to incorporate “sexuality” into instructional materials other than sex education, and will be given the option to opt their children out. The bill would also prohibit school districts from offering sex education to students unless their parents sign a permission slip allowing them to participate. But even if a parent allows their child to receive sex education, this bill specifically would give them the “right” to ban their child from learning about AIDS.
Last but certainly not least, the bill would give parents the right to access all written and electronic records pertaining to their child, including participation in extracurricular activities and clubs, counseling records, reports of behavioral patterns, and email and other online accounts.
HB 2161 passed the Arizona House on February 24, and awaits Senate approval; considering that both the Senate minority and majority caucuses voted in favor of the bill on March 22 though, it’s likely that it will pass there as well.
This bill would also establish a “Parent Bill of Rights.” Predictably, SB 2360 shares quite a few characteristics with the New Hampshire and Arizona bills. But Tennessee’s version would also give parents the right to review curriculum, teacher manuals, and textbooks without having to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as well as the right to review the materials available in a school library, and specifically, the materials that their child has borrowed from the library. The bill would also mandate schools to provide parents with a list of all school organizations available to students, and would require students to get written parental consent before participating in any extracurricular clubs.
While not all bills pertaining to public education refer to themselves as a “parental bill of rights,” there are plenty of bills out there that similarly seek to censor instruction and provide parents with a frankly terrifying amount of oversight. NPR recently reported on a few of them, including an Alabama bill that would prohibit discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in K-5th grade classrooms, as well as similarly situated bills in Louisiana and South Carolina.
Conservative activist Steven Hotze on Wednesday was indicted on two felony charges related to his alleged involvement in an air conditioning repairman being held at gunpoint in 2020 during a bizarre search for fraudulent mail ballots that did not exist, according to his attorney, Gary Polland.
Hotze, 71, was indicted by a Harris County grand jury and faces one count of unlawful restraint and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The charges stem from Hotze’s hiring of more than a dozen private investigators to look for voter fraud in Harris County ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Hotze last appeared on JMG when he left a voice mail for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, telling him to “shoot to kill” Black Lives Matter activists.
You may recall that Steven Hotze has compared gays to “communist termites” eating away at America’s moral fabric. He is also fond of declaring that it’s now a hate crime to denounce homosexuality.
It was Hotze who bankrolled the successful campaign to repeal Houston’s “wicked, evil, Satanic” LGBT rights ordinance, during which he compared gays to rapists and murderers.
According to Hotze, same-sex marriage will result in children “practicing sodomy” in kindergarten.
In 2017, he appeared here when he “prophesied” that God will deliver “just retribution” to lawmakers who vote for LGBT rights.
When he’s not calling on God to kill politicians or for the governor to kill Black Lives Matter activists, Hotze sells “miracle” supplements because high cholesterol doesn’t really cause heart disease.
Hotze regularly quotes QAnon slogans.
Breaking: GOP activist Steven Hotze was indicted Wednesday on two felony charges related to his alleged involvement in a repairman being held at gunpoint in 2020 during a search for fraudulent mail ballots that did not exist. https://t.co/8bKjB66Qt4
I have waited to post about this as I wanted to be sure what the real issues were. The violent family’s lawyer has tried hard to muddy the water with attacks on the character of the victim. This was a horrible attack that left the victim badly injured, afraid and from reports blinded all because the family found out that the adult younger son was having a secret sexual affair with the victim. From what I have read prior the family forced the adult son that was having sex with the victim to accompany them to the victim’s home and help them get the victim to let them into his home and then injure, rob, and restrain / detain him. All of this because the parents and older brother couldn’t stand the idea of the younger adult son have male with male sexual relations. This is the results that come from the right-wing hate preaching about gay people, this is the results of don’t say gay talk about the LGBTQ+ are pedophiles that want to rape and sexualize children. This shows clearly how dangerous this talk pushed on the right is.
Members of a Ukrainian refugee family appeared in a South Florida courtroom on Wednesday. That’s where they are facing hate crime and attempted murder charges for an alleged family ambush.
Police say Oleh Makarenko was in a nine-month homosexual relationship, which would end with his lover being beaten so badly by Makarenko’s family that the victim became blind. Authorities allege that Oleh Makarenko, who is also known as Alex, was being forced to marry a woman by his mother.
On Aug. 6, three members of the Makarenko family barged into the victims home, according to police. A police report stated that, “All four of the suspects continued holding him and began punching, kicking, and hitting him all over his face and body.”
According to the arrest documents, 19-year-old Oleh Makarenko and the victim had been romantically involved for about nine months, but the victim said Oleh told him his father was not accepting him as gay.
After a two-week break in the relationship, on Aug. 6, the victim said he remotely opened his community’s gate believing it was a friend when it was actually the Makarenko family. The victim went outside but quickly went back into his apartment.
“There’s no indication that anything was said or done to show that they had specific intent to kill,” said public defender Katherine Lopez. “It seems like, based on my reading, that their probable cause for beating him was because of a relationship with a family member of theirs.”
In the non-embeddable video at the first link, the female fiance of the gay son denies everything because she has an engagement ring.
HATE CRIME CHARGES – Members of a Ukrainian refugee family appeared in a South Florida courtroom on Wednesday to face hate crime and attempted murder charges for the alleged family ambush of a gay man. https://t.co/vSto06xwG7
New details and a possible motive have been released about a brutal beating that left a man blind and landed a family behind bars. https://t.co/pZc4HU9t6A
Evangelical groups in the U.S. have been, for at least a couple of decades, sponsoring immigration of a small subset of Ukraine’s population that is too extreme in its religious viewpoints to get along well with anyone else in Ukraine. They arrive as religious refugees and immediately join with their U.S. evangelical sponsors to try to impose their religious extremism on others. I don’t know if that is this family’s story, but their actions fit the profile. I have friends in Ukraine that I chat with every week, and I have no sense that the evangelical-sponsored religious refugees are at all typical of the Ukrainian population as a whole. In fact, that is why they leave Ukraine, because Ukraine isn’t oppressively religious enough for them.
I can just imagine the family’s defense to this awful crime: “[the victim] was grooming our child.” That should at least earn them pardons from De Santis.
Those are already close to the claims being made by their friends. They would have us believe that the family are falsely accused Christians who pray a lot.
“They are a Christian family, believers in God, members of the church and get together on the weekends to pray in their family circle and community.”
Interestingly, the arguments that their friends use for why they must be innocent, make me more likely to believe they are guilty.
Unfortunately way to many societies around the world are so brainwashed by The CHURCH this shit is far to common. They move to a new country to start a new life and because of their blatant ignorance taught by the CHURCH it all goes up it smoke Wake up Frankie Graham and all you other NUTZ quit spreading the hate
The Christian Right has been importing Christian Righties and their thuggery from Eastern Europe for some time, taking advantage of these programs, then of course projecting that onto Democrats and brown people.
Presumably his parents and his church succeeded in creating such an astounding level of shame and self-loathing about being gay, that he was willing to participate with his family in the attempted murder of his boyfriend. The seething hate that is required to do something like this is so disturbing.
Wow, a women / gay hater who doesn’t understand history or science. I am so stunned at how open these people are about restricting voting to only the people they like or that are like them. They do not seem to understand the term democracy. I worry about the people attracted to this stuff.
“I have to double down on this. They care so much about everybody voting and democracy. And it’s like, if you went back to the founding and the founding fathers would have probably said something like, ‘Women and probably feminine men shouldn’t be allowed to vote because then their chaotic nature would just manifest throughout society.’
“And you would say, ‘No, that’s not right. That’s mean. You’re probably an incel.’ And then the founding father would just say, ‘Oh, well, do you have any evidence from your time to contradict this?’ And you’d just be like, ‘No, not exactly.’ So it would seem that they were actually right.” – Podcaster John Doyle, speaking at an American Populist Union event.
Far right YouTuber John Doyle said the founding fathers “were actually right” to restrict women from voting citing their “chaotic nature.”
Doyle was speaking at an American Populist Union event, a group that has endorsed Kari Lake. pic.twitter.com/ajIhMFC2ZD
At an event for the American Populist Union, far right YouTuber John Doyle said masks are “gay” and being worn by people hiding their lipstick they want to use to kiss men.
If you go to their website APU is only 6 individuals – all of them complete unknowns and all early 20s I would guess. I predict they will bitch flame out in about 1 month
I just have no idea what goes on in the head space of these people? Really the idea that gays are hunting killing preachers in the pulpit is more than nuts, it is trying to claim the very harm hate preachers do from the pulpit to / against gay and LGBTQ+ people.
“They call it ‘Don’t Say Gay’ and it’s not true. It’s not even in there. I’m asking the woman of wisdom here what to do. Because I get fought on every hand if I mention anything. And it’s going to be preachers – we’re not going to be able to preach much longer. Because they’re going to shoot us in the pulpit. They will kill us in our pulpits. You don’t believe me? They’re already doing it.” – Scamvangelist Jim Bakker, on today’s show.
Jim Bakker claims Christian pastors are being murdered for preaching on controversial social issues: "We're not going to be able to preach much longer because they'll shoot us in the pulpits. They will kill us in our pulpits. You don't believe me? They're already doing it." pic.twitter.com/SYF1qeU15w
If you look at the numbers, you will notice that traffic deaths among African-Americans in the year 2020 surged in the month of June. Fatalities among Black drivers in June 2020 were fully 55 percent higher than they were in June of 2019. You never see increases like that. What could have happened?
Well, let’s see. It was in the last week of May of 2020 that a convicted felon called George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis and after that, you’ll recall, everything changed.
What changed most of all was how we regard the rule of law. As Russ Martin of the Governors Highway Safety Association put it, Floyd’s death, quote, “accelerated national discussion about equity in transportation.” And that discussion would include, quote, “questions about enforcement.” Oh, there it is, right there. That’s the answer.
Cops across the country were told to stop enforcing traffic laws against Black drivers. No one wanted to be accused of arresting somebody for the crime of, quote, “driving while Black.” So, in the name of equity, the law no longer applied to huge numbers of people. Result? Thousands of Americans died.
Carlson had a point he wanted to make (Black Lives Matter is bad), so he threw some shit together. It doesn’t have to be true or make sense or have any facts behind it. His audience doesn’t care about any of that, only that he tells them what they want to hear (BLM is bad). Remember, Fox New is an entertainment network, not a news network.
Tucker makes shit up again. Actually *general* traffic fatalities went up during the pandemic by a lot because there was a lot more room on the road for people not used to driving very fast to drive too fast. Pointing out this applies to black people too doesn’t mean it somehow has to do with a lack of traffic stops, cause those went *up,* too.
Again the hate is what drives them. They are fundraising off hate. Of course it is lies, and their cult base believes it all. They really do, the more outrages the more they believe it. How do you even talk to these people?
WinRed appeal claims Dems are ‘HELLBENT’ on ‘pushing transgender ideology on young children’
Another Michigan Republican is fundraising off attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and supporters.
A fundraising message sent by state Sen. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who is seeking the Republican nomination for the newly drawn 7th Congressional District, claims, “President Biden is forcing 5-year-olds to learn about gender reassignment surgeries, gender identities, and other radical ideas,”adding that “Every American needs to step up TODAY and stop this sick and twisted ideology from poisoning our children.”
According to a screenshot obtained by the Michigan Advance, Barrett’s original fundraising appeal came via text and appeared to be an appointment confirmation for “Your Child” to receive “Gender Reassignment Surgery Tomorrow at 9 AM.” It then asks, “If you would like to CANCEL this appointment because you do not believe in teaching young children about dangerous transgender ideologies, please sign your name NOW.”
That message has since been replaced with Barrett’s current appeal in which he also claims, “Democrats are HELLBENT on destroying our faith, removing God from the center of our nation, and pushing transgender ideology on young children. Without your immediate support, Pelosi will have all the ammunition she needs to destroy Christian Republicans like Tom Barrett & completely eviscerate our traditional values.”
Barrett has not returned a request for comment.
The message follows a fundraising email earlier this week from Barrett’s colleague, Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton), accusing three Democratic senators, including Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), of being “groomers” that “sexualize” children after they walked out of an invocation she gave in which she claimed children are “under attack” from “forces that desire things for them other than what their parents would have them see and hear and know.”
Theis appeared to be referencing Republicans’ national crackdown on teachings that reference LGBTQ+ issues and America’s history of racism.
In a floor speech response Tuesday, McMorrow said she wondered why Theis had accused her by name of grooming and sexualizing children.
“Then I realized,” said McMorrow. “I’m the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme. Because you can’t claim that you’re targeting marginalized kids in the name of ‘parental rights’ if another parent is standing up and saying no.”
She concluded by saying, “hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen,” and that Theis could call her whatever she wanted, but “I know who I am. I know what faith and service means, and what it calls for in this moment. We will not let hate win.”
On Wednesday, McMorrow said that she is acutely aware that rhetoric like that of Theis’ fundraising email can lead to very real consequences, noting the “pizzagate” conspiracy that led to a shooter barging into a pizza shop in Washington, D.C., and preceded the far-reaching QAnon conspiracy.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), April 20, 2022 | Laina G. Stebbins
Theis is facing a primary challenge this year from Mike Detmer of Howell, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Detmer has criticized Theis for accepting the results of a Senate Oversight report that found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost. In February, Detmer told supporters they should “be prepared to lock and load” at the polls.
While Barrett is considered to be the likely winner of the GOP nomination for the 7th District, he is trailing U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) in fundraising.
Recent figures show Slotkin with a major fundraising advantage over Barrett, raising more than $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2022, with $5.5 million on hand. Barrett reported raising $465,735 with $395,910 on hand during the same period.
Slotkin, meanwhile, has since sent out an email (absent fundraising links) to supporters referencing Barrett’s fundraising pitch.
“Using scare tactics about our children’s well-being to raise money for a political campaign should be off-limits,” said Slotkin. “This is what people hate about politics: the politicians that only want to use fear to further divide us in a time where we should be coming together.”
More performative bullshit. When will anyone start tweeting about religious leaders screwing children? Because that shit is going to happen today, tomorrow and the next day. Random gender reassignment surgery, not a fucking chance.
I never want to hear the argument that ‘we can’t do or say X because the republicans will weaponize it in the media.” The republicans are perfectly happy to make up all the nonsense like this forced gender reassignment idea.
Scottie's Playtime 