'Sexual perversion' story hour
Who knew the four horsemen would be drag queens?
I’m feeling the love this week! Thanks to GLAAD for giving Fording The River Styx a shout-out this morning! That bumped the number of subscribers over the 400 line. Considering I started the email list from scratch — y’all are receiving this because you actually signed up for it— and it’s just an upstart project with no paid promotion, 400 ain’t too shabby. Thanks for welcoming me into your inboxes!
Here’s today’s LGBTQ news round-up:
Hate groups are thrilled with Trump
As the Log Cabin Republicans continue to spin a false narrative that Trump is great for LGBTQ people, our biggest opponents are singing a different tune. Liberty Counsel, the hate group known for defending bigoted county clerk Kim Davis, told AP this week that Trump has fulfilled 90% of its goals. Other conservative groups are similarly pleased. The scariest part is they’ll keep coming up with new goals.
How Dems would #TransformTheWhiteHouse
The National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund is featuring interviews with the Democratic presidential candidates about how they would stand up for trans rights. Watch the first round of videos, featuring Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) discussing how their lives have been touched by trans issues:
Today in ridiculous conservative outrage
Let’s check in with how opponents of LGBTQ equality are doing. Well, it looks like Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is absolutely melting down over Drag Queen Story Hour. If you wade through his screed, you’ll learn that this phenomenon is the result of a “catastrophe” — “the massive restructuring of the entire moral universe of modern America.” He just doesn’t understand why people aren’t more concerned that “sexual perversion is now being celebrated for young children.”
Evangelical Christian gender norms are so fragile, y’all. But don’t worry, the city of Leander, Texas has voted to ban any future Drag Queen Story Time at the public library — by banning any public rentals of the library room.
Meanwhile, The Federalist’s Joy Pullmann is complaining about just about every book in her kid’s Scholastic catalog. How dare there be books that tell realistic stories about issues kids might face in their own life or in their own families? “The end goal of all of this is also extremely clear,” she warns, “fomenting the rise of identity politics among increasingly younger children, to saturate everyone’s families, schools, and public squares with far-left and hugely divisive politics.”
I think One Day at a Time effectively captured what the end result of that looks like:
Anti-trans Target boycott still a thing
The American Family Association is still trying to make their boycott of Target a thing. It started years ago after Target implemented an inclusive bathroom policy for its transgender employees and customers. The latest excuse for the boycott is apparently one cisgender guy’s sex crime — which has nothing to do with either Target’s policies or transgender people.
Conversion therapy/torture camp
A couple that ran a religious gay conversion therapy camp for “troubled boys” in Texas has been arrested for human trafficking. This was the third such camp Gary and Meghan Wiggins have run, having previously had similar operations in Missouri and Alabama. Their methods reportedly include putting the boys in solitary confinement, forcing them to exercise, denying them food, and beating “the demon out” of them to make them straight.
Gay priest stole from church to pay boyfriends
Monsignor Joseph McLoone, formerly of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Downingtown, PA (outside Philly), has been arrested for stealing nearly $100,000 from his church. He spent it on a beach house and gave a ton of it away to guys he met on Grindr. On one hand, it’s yet another example of corruption in the Catholic Church, but considering the millions of dollars the Church has spent opposing LGBTQ equality, it’s also kind of nice to hear some of it was coming back our way.
Mexican state resists marriage equality
Marriage equality in Mexico is kind of a patchwork. Technically it’s legal and recognized across the country, but each state can still determine whether to perform same-sex marriages or not, so you can only get married in about half the states. This week, the state of Zacatecas voted against extending marriage equality, meaning same-sex couples there will still have to get a court’s approval.
No marriage equality for China anytime soon
According to a spokesperson for China’s parliament, the country will continue to limit marriage to a man and a woman. Earlier this year, neighboring Taiwan became the first Asian country to offer marriage equality.
Ballpark homophobic over PDA
The Colorado Rockies have apologized after two women of color who were celebrating their anniversary were kicked out of the stadium for sharing a kiss. The team even offered them free tickets! But they couldn’t explain what qualifies as “appropriate” according to their “House Rules,” nor did they acknowledge whether those rules were improperly enforced.
Until next time, stay platinum!
(Drag queen story hour photo credit: Flicker/WehoCity/Jon Viscott.)