Gay music teacher was blackmailed. Instead of helping him, his school forced him to resign.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/05/gay-music-teacher-blackmailed-instead-helping-school-forced-resign/

This is the world the right wing wants to turn the country back to. A time when LGBTQ+ could not only be blackmailed but lose everything just because they are gay. Yes this was a school connected to a church but they knew he was gay, yet when he was the victim of a crime they turned on him. This is what Alito wants, a world where Christain white cis males are undisputedly in charge, women are subservient to them doing whatever pleases men, blacks know their place and stay there, and the LGBTQ+ are not seen or heard because they are terrified someone will find out who they are. I hate it. Hugs

His school already knew that he was gay. They just didn’t want students to find out.

By Karis RogersonThursday, May 26, 2022

Photo: Shutterstock

A gay music teacher in Iowa was forced to resign from his high school after a blackmailer threatened him.

Matthew Gerhold began working at Valley Lutheran High School in Cedar Valley, Iowa last year. Although he told school officials that he was gay before he was hired, they later compelled him to resign or face termination after he was blackmailed.

Gerhold’s phone was hacked in January 2022 and the hacker blackmailed him by threatening to share private information about his sexuality publicly. Gerhold alerted the school about the hack and the blackmail, then resigned from his position at the high school after being told he would be fired following a school board meeting anyway, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Just after he reported the attempted blackmail, photos from his phone were posted to the school’s Facebook page. He was called to an administrator’s office and put on leave.

Gerhold had initially been told he could not disclose his sexuality or even date while employed by the school.

He said that he believes the school and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod view homosexuality as a problem and a choice, not an “involuntary attraction to one sex or another.”

“My sexual identity has absolutely nothing to do with my career in music and my love for music,” he said. “If the church as a whole doesn’t want to use me for whatever they are striving to achieve, then I shall go somewhere else that would love to have me to live out my vocation for others.”

After his resignation, he applied for and was granted unemployment benefits.

The school appealed that decision and a hearing was held on May 2 in front of Administrative Law Judge Blair Bennett, who ruled that Gerhold had a right to unemployment benefits as he had not violated in any way the conditions of his employment, nor had he been accused of workplace misconduct.

The “argument breaks down to [Gerhold] being told he would no longer have a job because of the actions of a third party, not controlled by [Gerhold], completely outside of work,” Bennett ruled.

Trans Woman Falsely Blamed By Right Wing Trolls for Uvalde Shooting Speaks Out

https://www.intomore.com/breaking/trans-woman-falsely-blamed-uvalde-shooting-speaks/

An alt-right conspiracy theory is baselessly positing that the Uvalde Elementary school mass murderer was a trans woman. One of the main targets of the conspiracy has now spoken out about the effect this has had on her life.

The conspiracy seems to have originated on 4Chan, where users shared photos of various trans women, claiming that these were images of the shooter. One screenshot of a 4Chan discord server suggested this was intentional, with some users apparently plotting to “psyop” people into believing the shooter was trans.

The conspiracy gained further traction when it was spread by high-profile right-wing figures. Arizona Representative Paul Gosar claimed the shooter was “a transsexual leftist illegal alien” in a now-deleted tweet, resulting in calls for his resignation. Candace Owens, in a tweet that has not been deleted at the time of this writing, also repeated the claim to her 3.1 million followers.

Alex Jones’s show Infowars also reportedly alleged the shooter was trans. Although they appear to have ceased spreading the claim, they still found a way to blame the shooting on the general dissolution of the traditional family.

In the wake of the conspiracy surrounding the Uvalde shooting, user Apprehensive_Ad_995 took to reddit to combat the misinformation. She shared a current photo of herself (very much alive whereas the real shooter is dead), saying, “It’s not me, I don’t even live in Texas.”

Apprehensive_Ad_995 has since identified herself as Sam, an artist, in a new interview with inews. Speaking on the sudden stress the conspiracy has caused her, Sam said, “I am being harassed and accused of murder with no evidence. And all I’ve done was live my life.”

At the same time, she acknowledged that her struggle pales in comparison to what the victims of the tragedy are going through. “I’m more worried about the victims and hope they get the support they deserve,” she said.

While the conspiracy is currently being downplayed, with some right-wing figures like Andy Ngo denouncing the misinformation, it is a symptom of something that has become all too common in the conservative movement. Sam acknowledged this, saying of figures like Gosar, “I’m ashamed that people like that are voted into office. People so concerned about their personal beliefs that they ignore the truth just to hurt innocent people.”

Montana legally erases trans people with sinister birth certificate ban

Montana legally erases trans people with sinister birth certificate ban

Montana has legally erased trans people by banning birth certificate changes in the latest attack against the community.

The western US state ignored a court order that blocked the GOP-controlled legislature from restricting even further the rights of trans people.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said in an emergency order Monday (23 May) that birth certificates will now solely list “sex” and no longer record a person’s “gender”.

Even if a trans Montanan has undergone gender-affirming surgery, they will legally be unable to change the sex marker on their birth certificate. This is, the order says, because sex is “immutable” while gender is a “social concept”.

“Sex is different from gender and is an immutable genetic fact, which is not changeable, even by surgery,” the order by department director Adam Meier says.

“Accordingly, this emergency rule does not authorize the amendment of the sex-identified/cited on a birth certificate based on gender transition, gender identity or change of gender.”

The only instance in which a sex marker can be changed on a birth certificate is if it was incorrectly listed when issued or if a person’s sex was “misidentified” at birth, Meier adds. The order went into effect immediately.

Montana ‘makes it even harder for trans people to live’ with birth certificate ban

The directive means that trans Montanans may struggle to access certain services, such as social security, or apply for other identification documents, such as passports or driver’s licenses, because of their inaccurate birth certificates.

The agency’s move goes in the face of a Billings district court judge who in April blocked Senate Bill 280, a 2021 law requiring a “surgical procedure” and a court order to change the sex listed on a birth certificate.

It was swiftly signed into law by Republican governor Greg Gianforte. He has previously signed laws banning trans athletes and allowing religion to be used to “attack” LGBTQ+ people.

Two trans Montanans sued the state in response last year, arguing the bill violated their state constitutional rights to privacy and equal protection. Not all trans folk undergo surgery either, they added.

Judge Michael Moses ruled that the bill does interfere with a person’s right to privacy by making trans people disclose private details.

Montana Republican governor Greg Gianforte signed the anti-trans bill in 2021. (William Campbell-Corbis via Getty Images)

“Only transgender individuals are subjected to these procedures and burdens in order to have a birth certificate that accurately reflects their gender,” he wrote in his decision.

But Moses’ order left the department without a “regulatory mechanism” to process birth certificate changes, the order claimed. A 2017 policy that allowed trans applicants to update their birth certificates without surgery or through the courts had been binned because of the bill.

Emergency orders can only be issued when a situation poses “an existing imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare that cannot be averted or remedied by any other administrative act”, the Montana Administrative Procedure Act says.

Democratic lawmakers, health experts and LGBTQ+ campaigners, unconvinced that the order was at all needed, condemned the department.

“While this rule is intended to make the lives of our transgender neighbors harder, it impacts all of us by eroding the rights that let us live our lives free from government overreach,” House minority leader Kim Abbott and Senate minority leader Jill Cohenour said in a Tuesday statement.

“As someone who cares for transgender patients, I don’t understand why our state government is spending so much time, energy and money trying to prevent them from having accurate documentation,” Lauren Wilson, vice president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Montana Press.

“This rule is unfairly singling them out and making it even harder for them to live a public life in Montana.”

ACLU of Montana decried the health department for so openly rebelling against the court.

“The State is willfully refusing to comply, and in doing so is showing their true colours – these laws and regulations are about harming transgender Montanans,” a Tuesday statement said.

“We intend to take this up in court.”

North Carolina GOP Introduces “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

North Carolina GOP Introduces “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

Raleigh’s ABC News affiliate reports:

North Carolina Senate Republicans took a step that could have been expected: They are filing a bill that dictates what teachers can say to young children about sexuality and requires them to disclose confidential conversations they have with students about gender identity and sexuality.

State Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-Watauga), chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced the bill, joined by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover).

If Republicans do pass this bill or something like it, there’s a strong possibility it would be vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper, and Republicans don’t have votes by themselves to override. However, this does create a political debate leading up to elections in November.

Raleigh’s NBC News affiliate reports:

The new bill’s parental notice section generated concerns among opponents Tuesday that LGBTQ students, afraid of how their parents would react if they find out about their sexual identity, could no longer turn to trusted teachers for guidance.

What if a parent is abusive, state Rep. Allison Dahle, one of the legislature’s few openly LGBTQ members, said after the bill was announced.

“Is the teacher going to be responsible for the child’s beating,” said Dahle, D-Wake. “North Carolina needs to be a safe place for everybody, and this is going to remove that safety net for children.”

https://twitter.com/TheMattComer/status/1529131863784271874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1529131863784271874%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joemygod.com%2F2022%2F05%2Fnorth-carolina-gop-introduces-dont-say-gay-bill%2F

Today @DeannaBallardNC will host a press conference to unveil a Parents' Bill of Rights!

It will "enumerate the rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health of their children."#parentalrights #SchoolChoice #ncleg #ncpol
— I don’t coparent with NEA (@ReopenWcpss) May 24, 2022

Join us at our next Bold & Courageous Event in Banner Elk on Thursday, May 12th with @DeannaBallardNC

Kindly RSVP at https://t.co/SAmSeB066f #event #community #ncpol #WataugaCounty pic.twitter.com/H2D0R1uvpv
— NC Faith and Freedom Coalition (@NCFaithFreedom) May 6, 2022

Max_1 • 2 days ago

Children are pawns to be used, abused, and shot in a classroom… apparently.

Tietokone Opettaja • 2 days ago

Republicans want to hide the fact that sexual orientation is fixed, immutable.
If a gay child is not informed that there are others, that can lead to suicide.
That has happened.
It is documented by news media.
I know this because I was on a suicide prevention hotline in D.C. when a young gay teen killed himself because he couldn’t face being gay with parents who hated gays.
That is what happens when you hide the fact that being gay is not a choice but is immutable and there are others who are well-adjusted adults and successful.
After local Citizens on Patrol public seminars, I picked up a young hitch-hiker years ago and took him to a shelter for homeless teens since he was trying to hire himself out as a rent boy to make a living after his God-fearing parents threw him out of their home and he was on his own. They were “Christians”. Right.
Don’t hide the facts. Don’t belittle gays. They are not sick. They are different.
Accept that.

rcdcr • 2 days ago

christians prefer indoctrination to education.

always have, always will.

it’s the only way christianity can survive, you see.

(((heleninedinburgh))) • 2 days ago

Wow, so ‘bold and courageous’ to have started a moral panic which will lead to kids being abused, subjected to conversion torture, and disowned by their families.

Makoto • 2 days ago

Does the “Parent’s Bill of Rights” include anything about a reasonable expectation that the kids won’t have to face down gunmen with military-level hardware designed to mow down hordes of humans in short order? Or is it only to protect them from the horror of hearing about same-sex couples?

safari • 2 days ago

How dare queer kids grow up without shame.

Gregory In Seattle • 2 days ago

“Removing the safety net” has been a key GOP platform plank for decades. Republicans want corpses, and they aren’t picky as to how they get them: children beaten to death by their parents for not being straight and cis is just one way to reach that goal.

Uncle Mark’s ugly face returns • 2 days ago

They’re far more afraid of kids catching ‘the gay’ than they are of kids catching a lethal bullet.

Family values my ass!!

Benham Brothers: Only Jesus Can Stop Mass Shootings

Benham Brothers: Only Jesus Can Stop Mass Shootings

The Benham brothers write on Facebook:

There’s not enough “gun laws” on earth to turn a young man from a predator to a protector. But there is a King, whose name is Jesus, that can step into the heart of a man and change him from the inside out. Unfortunately, we don’t want this King.

Our nation glorifies everything that stands against King Jesus and His Kingdom fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. As a result, we’re losing our young men and have lost the soul of our nation.

The radical Left says it’s all about the guns – but it’s the heart that holds the gun! A gun in the hand of a good man brings peace and protection, but a gun in the hand of a bad man brings pain and destruction. Our nation has a heart problem – not a gun problem.

Exalt Jesus once again. Teach our young men to deny themselves, become men of God, and fight against evil instead of perpetrate it. Our boys need to be called up to something much higher than video games, binge shows, and porn! There’s so much more…in Christ.

Let’s do our part as we grieve with the families in TX today. Let’s look at our own kids, our sphere of influence, our churches and schools…and let’s call these young men to lay down their lives, bow to Jesus, and pick up His cross and follow Him. Until then, this path of destruction will never stop.

Longtime JMG readers will recall that the Benham brothers were once regulars here, starting in 2014 when they lost their planned HGTV show after activists informed the network about their history of anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ activism, which included annual attempts to force the cancellation of Charlotte Pride.

The pair last appeared here in 2017 when they declared that God murders people with hurricanes in order to force America to repent for “satanic” same-sex marriage (and homosexuality in general).

Their father is notorious anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ activist Flip Benham, who has been convicted multiple times for stalking and threats.

When his sons lost their HGTV show, he declared that the network’s acronym stands for “Homosexual Garbage Television” and that gays are the “most violent community” in the nation and that they want all Christians dead.

Jonathan Smith • 2 days ago

“Only Jesus Can Stop Mass Shootings”
Well, hes doing a pretty shit job at it, isn’t he?

U.S. Gun Culture Wasn’t Always Like This | The Mehdi Hasan Show

In today’s America, everyone carrying guns everywhere is seen as a hallmark of our exceptional liberty. But it wasn’t always like this, even for conservatives. Author and law professor Adam Winkler joins Mehdi to discuss how we fight this hardline, far-right gun culture that’s left generations of schoolchildren in America traumatized and unsafe.