Trump Campaigned for LGBT Now Reverses Protections

I can't say any of this really surprises me. He did anything and said everything just to get a vote. Period. I'd say that he was like any other politician in this regard, but I don't think anyone has ever been so blatant about it. He's just turning this country inside out and upside down and not really caring about any of it.

When a debate broke out over which bathrooms transgender individuals should be able to use, Trump told the Today show that Caitlyn Jenner could use any bathroom she wanted at Trump Tower. He later tweeted that he would be better for LGBT Americans than Hillary Clinton. And during his acceptance speech at the Republican national convention, he cited the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

“As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” he vowed.

But since becoming president, Trump and his administration have repeatedly rolled back existing protections, especially for transgender Americans.

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TX lawmaker says Chick-fil-A has a right to have a store in every airport

I read some bullshit story earlier, that I won't be sharing here, because frankly it made my blood boil. In a nutshell, though, it claimed that Christians do not hate LGBT folk. Yeah right. When you encourage violence against any group of people - LGBT or otherwise - that means you have "an intense or passionate dislike" of that group of people. I know that there are some Christians who don't hate the LGBT community. I have a very dear friend whom I'd trust with my life and she is a genuine Christian who attends church every Sunday. I know there are more like her, but they are in the minority. When I read stories like this about a Texas lawmaker who believes that Chick-fil-A has the "right" to open locations wherever they want, no matter how people feel about the anti-LGBT community and their clear hatred of it, I know they are the first kind of Christian. They do hate LGBT folk and you will never convince me otherwise.

Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach (R) said Tuesday that lawmakers had an obligation to ensure Chick-fil-A was able to have stores in every airport across the country.

His comments come one day after the Republican-controlled Texas state Senate revived a bill that would prevent local governments from impeding Chick-fil-A and other companies based on their religious beliefs, moral convictions, and anti-LGBTQ views.

“People love Chick-fil-A. You can’t argue with Chick-fil-A’s food and I don’t think you should be able to argue with the organizations that Chick-fil-A chooses to support either,” Leach said, speaking with Fox & Friends.

He continued, “It’s our obligation as policymakers, as lawmakers, is to protect that right of Chick-fil-A to do that and to protect their right to exist and to have an establishment in any airport, in any city, in any community across the country.”

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IN Republicans push anti-trans legislature

Revenge Politics. That's the game the ReTHUGlican party is playing today and every day. They are despicable, horrid human beings. I truly don't know how South Bend ended up with a gay mayor. They must be an island of sanity in a sea of idiocy in the rest of the state.

Indiana lawmakers are trying to make it harder for transgender and non-binary people to correct the gender on their ID cards and driver’s licenses only a few days after Indiana became the sixth state in the nation to provide non-binary people with a gender marker option.

A new amendment, introduced by a Republican state representative, would require people who want their correct gender marker on their ID card to first change their birth certificate — something that is often impossible for people born in a different state.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell Part 2

This is so absolutely convoluted. It's like the whole entire administration thus far: no one really knows what they're doing and this Idiot in Chief wants to please everyone. First, there's an absolute ban on anyone who is transgender. Second, it also prohibits discrimination on that basis AND also indicates that the US military is providing an Equal Opportunity atmosphere where no one will be harrassed or discriminated against. Oh, and then there's this:

According to the policy, military secretaries and the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant can issue waivers bypassing the ban, but it provides no explanation as to what warrants such waivers. Hypothetically, then, a secretary could choose to grant waivers to every single trans person who wishes to enlist and effectively not enforce the ban at all. The guidance clarifies that any individual granted such a waiver will then be treated exactly like the group of openly-serving transgender personnel who are grandfathered in, including having their medical needs met.

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Religious freedom overrides NE LGBT Bill

Two dozen states - that's half the country - don't feel the need to protect us and our jobs. All because someone else's religion is more important than our right to work and make money to feed and clothe ourselves and our families. Bullshit!! I say you SHOULD be punished for your beliefs if your god is instructing you to hate others.

Nebraska is one of more than two dozen states that have no LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections at the state level. That’s not changing anytime soon, as a bill to create employment protections came to an abrupt end this week.

State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks (D) introduced LB 627 in January this year. The legislation would have updated all relevant state statutes to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Pansing Brooks, whose son is gay, pleaded with fellow lawmakers Tuesday to consider the bill.

Pansing Brooks nearly secured the 25-vote majority she needed for passage, but could not find the 33 votes she needed to overcome a filibuster-ending cloture motion. Opponents of the bill claimed that it would be used to target religious business owners in the state and punish them for their beliefs.

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SD Lawmakers Erase Transgender Kids from School

This is the most cruel and inhumane thing lawmakers can do. I sincerely hope that any LGBT folk who live in that wasteland of a state decide to move. Likewise, parents of transgender children, though I'm guessing if they live in South Dakota already, they're pretty anti-gay, anti-LGBT and anti-everything else that is different. South Dakota is CLEARLY a state that does not care about children. Period.

The South Dakota House of Representatives voted to approve a bill Tuesday that would erase transgender kids from the state’s schools. Though several states still have “no promo homo” laws that prohibit any discussion of homosexuality in schools, this is the first “no promo trans” bill to actually have traction in the country.

House Bill 1108, which advanced by a vote of 39-30, adds only one line of text to the state’s books: “No instruction in gender dysphoria may be provided to any student in kindergarten through grade seven in any public school in the state.” This simple-sounding legislation could have massive consequences for transgender youth.

Many transgender kids come out at very young ages, and research has consistently shown that they are best served through affirmation, including respecting their names and pronouns. It’s unclear if the legislation would allow schools to accommodate trans kids whatsoever, but it would certainly come into play when a student transitions. Even telling other students what name and pronouns to use for the student might be prohibited, and certainly any education about trans issues to help protect that student from bullying would be a nonstarter.

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