What is it with these religious bigots who think their god gives them the right to force everyone to believe / live as they claim to do. They are the first to demand their rights to worship / live as they wish. What gives them the idea the rest of us don’t want the same right. They were the first to attack the Taliban for forcing everyone in the country to worship / live by their version of Islam. Yet now they demand to be the US Christian Taliban. I do not understand their hate. They pick one or a few passages in the OT to clobber others while ignoring all the rest. They don’t stone their rebellious children, they don’t follow the other things in Leviticus and they do not follow anything Jesus said about caring for others. Hate, dominance, and vengeance is all they care about. The Old Testament god gives them that. And pleae notice the bill is titled Increasing Penalties for Child Pornography … it goes against all porn. Just like innocent drag queen story hours were attacked to protect the children from seeing people in costumes reading stories. Hugs
Alongside SB593, Deevers, who is also a pastor at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Elgin, Oklahoma, introduced legislation to abolish abortion, prohibit drag performances in front of minors, ban divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, and provide tax credits to couples who opt into “covenant marriages” or have multiple children within the bounds of marriage — just to name some highlights.
An Oklahoma state senator has introduced legislation that would ban all pornography, with criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison for the “production, distribution or possession” of any pornography, according to a press release from the Oklahoma Senate. SB 593, proposed by Senator Dusty Deevers on January 21, is part of a slate of eight bills by the legislator to “restore moral sanity” to the state of Oklahoma.
The bill, entitled “Increasing Penalties for Child Pornography and Prohibiting Pornography in Oklahoma,” goes far beyond the scope suggested in its title. While it does advocate for raising the penalty for the possession, distribution, or production of child pornography from 0-20 years up to 10-30 years, the bill has gone so far as to prohibit pornography entirely.
“Pornography is both degenerate material and a highly addictive drug,” Deevers said in the press release. “It ruins marriages, ruins lives, destroys innocence, warps young people’s perception of the opposite sex, turns women into objects, turns men into objects, degrades human dignity, and corrodes the moral fabric of society. Any decent society will stand against this plague with the full weight of the law.”
Deevers’ description of pornography as a “highly addictive drug” directly echoes the words of the authors of Project 2025,who, in the foreword to the over 900-page blueprint for a very different America, linked pornography to both child abuse and trans identity.
“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare,” the foreword to the document reads. “It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed.”
Alongside SB593, Deevers, who is also a pastor at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Elgin, Oklahoma, introduced legislation to abolish abortion, prohibit drag performances in front of minors, ban divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, and provide tax credits to couples who opt into “covenant marriages” or have multiple children within the bounds of marriage — just to name some highlights.
Mike Stabile, the director of public policy at the Free Speech Coalition, said the proposed bill was really an attempt to encroach on free speech in a statement to USA Today.
“Porn is the canary in the coal mine of free speech, and the trial balloon used by governments to pass laws that can censor speech more broadly,” he told the outlet. “No matter how people feel about adult content, we should all be concerned about the proposed government crackdown on speech.”
Deevers’ attack on pornography comes less than a month after age verification laws effectively made porn inaccessible in 16 U.S. states, mostly in the regional South.
At the time that many of these bans went into effect, Aylo, the parent company to PornHub, told Mashable that it has “publicly supported age verification of users for years” but that the kind required by these bills is “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous,” as well as a threat to users’ security.
A contributor to Project 2025 was recorded last year stating that age-verification laws are a “back door” to broader porn bans.
Legislators in several states have introduced similarly bizarre bills criminalizing sexual freedom in the short time since Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency for the second time. Last week, Mississippi state senator Bradford Blackmon introduced the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act,” which would make it illegal for a person to “discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.” The bill suggested a fine of $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second offense, and $10,000 thereafter. In a statement to local affiliate WLBT, Blackmon said the bill was meant to act as a counterpart to contraception and abortion bills.
“All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation,” he told WLBT. “This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me.”
Mathew Rodriguez is the former senior news editor at Them. In the past, he has been a senior culture editor at The Atlantic, as well as a staff writer at Out Magazine, INTO, and Mic. His writing has been featured in Slate, Teen Vogue, The Village Voice, MEL Magazine, and more. He … Read more
It is nice to know that despite the religious right hate media which includes Fox Entertainment, that people are not buying the current demonization of the LGBTQ+ community. But if we don’t get loud and vocal and our democratic leaders don’t develop a spine and support the LGBTQ+ community our acceptance levels will keep sinking. Hugs
It’s no secret that queer rights are on a backslide in the United States — and American citizens aren’t happy.
In an annual survey by Gallup conducted just before Donald Trump took office, Americans were asked about their satisfaction with various aspects of the country’s culture and politics. That included “the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the nation,” which only 51% of respondents said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with. That’s the lowest satisfaction rating in that area since 2013, and an 8 percentage point drop from 2017 at the start of Trump’s first term.
Respondents were also asked about their satisfaction with “the acceptance of transgender people in the nation.” To that, only 38% of respondents said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied.”
Notably, the satisfaction varied by political party. Republicans reported that they were largely satisfied with the country’s treatment of gays and lesbians (55%) while Democrats reported dissatisfaction (44%). Both parties expressed dissatisfaction with America’s treatment of transgender people (though potentially for different reasons), with only 42% of Republicans and 31% of Democrats satisfied.
Beyond queer issues, Americans’ overall satisfaction is sitting at 38%, a record low that’s been maintained since 2022.
Ah no love like Christian love! Every time these loving Christian gang thugs break the laws to stop legal expression they don’t agree with because they demand everyone follow their church doctrine. The complete arrogance of these gang thugs who believe their religious views give them the right to disregard any laws they want while threatening families and terrorizing little kids. Sure a good way to make Christian recruits and spread the love of god screaming at little kids who want a story from a person in a costume. This is not protecting children nor evangelizing, their is terrorism and out of control hate. If anyone has an update to theis story please share it with us. Best wishes or Hugs
The event, which was taking place as part of Auckland’s annual Pride festival, was cancelled after 50 protestors pushed their way through the library and refused to leave.
Around 30 toddlers, young children and adults were forced to barricade themselves inside the library as the protestors continued, according to local outlets.
During the commotion, a 16-year-old girl attending a sports event alleges she was assaulted by Destiny Church members, suffering a concussion.
Police are investigating allegations of assault after anti-drag protestors stormed a family-friend drag event in Auckland, New Zealand.
Protestors linked to Christian fundamentalist group Destiny Church stormed the Te Atatū in Auckland on Saturday (15 February), where a storytime event for children hosted by a drag king was taking place.
The event, which was taking place as part of Auckland’s annual Pride festival, was cancelled after 50 protestors pushed their way through the library and refused to leave.
Around 30 toddlers, young children and adults were forced to barricade themselves inside the library as the protestors continued, according to local outlets.
During the commotion, a 16-year-old girl attending a sports event alleges she was assaulted by Destiny Church members, suffering a concussion.
Destiny Church members storming the library in Auckland. (YouTube)
Auckland Police said it is investigating allegations of assault over the protest, which it said “crossed a line.”
“The group’s actions caused considerable distress and concern among tamariki [children], library staff and visitors,” Inspector Simon Walker, acting Waitematā district commander, said. “nobody, especially children, should ever be made to feel unsafe.”
Walker encouraged anyone subjected to violent behaviour during the protest to make a report at their nearest Police station, or contact officials online at 105.police.govt.nz.
“Police and Auckland Council have worked closely around the pride celebrations, and this work will continue. We live in a diverse city in a diverse country, and that is worth celebrating.”
No arrests have been made at the time of reporting, though Walker added that enquiries are “in the early stages.”
The goal is to erase gay people because super Christian Rubio agrees with the hateful that LGBTQ+ need to die or go away. They are not human people like good straight cis people are. So lets protect the straight people and hope the icky gays get the aids virus. That is their view, not mine, yours, or real Christians who follow Jesus’s command to love and care for people. Hugs
But Rubio’s waiver itself stated that “gender or DEI ideology programs” and “transgender surgeries” — e.g., any overseas programs or organizations that support trans people — should not receive aid during the “pause,” and that any programs not specifically named in the waiver “may not be resumed without express approval.”
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The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is still barred from providing PrEP to LGBTQ+ people around the world, according to recent State Department documents, placing millions of people at elevated risk of HIV exposure.
Shortly after President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid in January, Rubio issued an additional “emergency humanitarian waiver” on February 6 which appeared to allow HIV medications to be distributed abroad during that time. That waiver ostensibly meant that pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — the antiretroviral drug that prevents the transmission of HIV — would be distributed through PEPFAR. But Rubio’s waiver itself stated that “gender or DEI ideology programs” and “transgender surgeries” — e.g., any overseas programs or organizations that support trans people — should not receive aid during the “pause,” and that any programs not specifically named in the waiver “may not be resumed without express approval.”
Now, a new State Department document, dated February 6 and published online by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) confirms that PrEP “should be offered only to pregnant and breastfeeding women,” whereas anyone else “who may be at high risk of HIV infection or were previously initiated on a PrEP option can not be offered PEPFAR-funded PrEP” (emphases in original) during the aid freeze.
Among the “high risk” populations currently blocked from receiving PrEP through PEPFAR is LGBTQ+ people — particularly men who have sex with men (MSM) and trans people, two demographics with an increasedrisk of exposure to HIV. UNAIDS estimated this week that more than 3,000 new HIV infections have occurred worldwide as a result of the Trump administration’s aid freeze.
Founded in 2003 to combat the international spread of HIV, PEPFAR reported distributing antiretroviral treatments to over 20 million people worldwide in 2024, including 2.5 million new PrEP users. In 2022, PEPFAR spent 8.9% of its budget, or approximately $20.1 million, on services for MSM and trans people, according to an analysis by the health policy research organization KFF. A further $28 million went to provide HIV prevention and treatment services for sex workers.
Trump and Rubio’s aid freeze has also already resulted in PEPFAR-assisted programs shutting their doors. The Kenyan “Fahari ya Jamii” initiative, a five-year HIV prevention project founded in 2022, shut down more than 150 clinics and placed more than 700 workers on unpaid leave following the freeze last month, as the Washington Blade reported February 5.
The freeze is part of Trump’s larger war against the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, the federal agency which distributes civilian foreign aid and partially funds PEPFAR. Amid the administration’s purge of “woke” terminology — including the terms “gender” and “LGBTQ” — from government websites, the USAID site was still entirely offline at time of writing. The agency was also the subject of a House committee hearing on February 5, during which Rep. Nancy Mace repeatedly used a transphobic slur to denigrate U.S. support for LGBTQ+ programs abroad.
Global health organizations have condemned the Trump aid freeze particularly as it relates to HIV prevention, warning of dire consequences already taking place. The international watchdog group Human Rights Watch wrote this week that even a temporary pause on PEPFAR programs “could be devastating” for countless people around the world. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and Journalism Development Network, Inc. filed a joint lawsuit against Trump, Rubio, and Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought on February 10, alleging the administration’s aid freeze is illegal and unconstitutional. On February 11, a group of USAID contractors and non-governmental organizations filed another such lawsuit, alleging that the freeze had already caused “irreparable damage.” The administration is already fighting a third lawsuit brought by a group of USAID employees last week, which led a federal judge to issue an injunction against the furloughing of USAID workers on February 7.
“[W]ith this new guidance, the Trump Administration is choosing politics over science, discrimination over compassion, and ultimately, death over life,” AVAC representatives wrote in a statement last week. “The February 6th guidance […] is not only a dangerous deviation from sound public health policy — it is a death sentence for thousands of people at risk of HIV globally,” the organization wrote, adding, “This decision appears to be less about public health and more about an ideological agenda that seeks to police morality rather than protect lives.”
It came in an email with action alerts, linked. I made a religious statement earlier, and I don’t want to overdo religion here. Anyone can participate without fear, though, and they don’t check to see if you’re Christian; they just appreciate the help. Mainly I really like the toon above; it belongs here. Good Afternoon!
This has been a bad week. Here it is Thursday and this has been cues for days. Sorry I have a few of these to catch up on and post. Even though this was done back in 2014, it is also relevant and something we need to understand for today. Don’t shrink back, push forward. The few times I have corrected someone after telling them my spouse was a he when they assumed she, I received wonderful reactions of inclusion and acceptance. Hugs
Shh! Silence Helps Homophobia asks people to stand up and speak out against homophobia! This campaign ran during 2014-15.
We are Scotland’s national charity for LGBTI young people, working with 13–25 year olds across the country. We also deliver the LGBT Charter programme to schools, organizations and businesses. Our goal is to make Scotland the best place to grow up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people.
We play a leading role in the provision of quality youth work to LGBTI young people that promotes their health and wellbeing, and are a valued and influential partner in LGBTI equality and human rights.
Scottie's Playtime 