Pot.Kettle.MarcoRubio

Oh, Florida, how dumb can you be? I mean, you elected Marco Rubio as your Senator once and he, to be fair, did a terrible job. Then he up and told you he wasn’t even going to finish the job to which you elected him, and the job where you pay his salary, because he wanted to be president and he would never, ever go back to the Senate again.

So he stopped working for you, and ran for president and failed miserably at that job, too. And then he came crawling back home and suddenly realized he might become an unemployed has-been so he asked you to re-elect him to the Senate—the job he stopped doing, the job he said he no longer wanted, the job he stopped showing up for—and you voted him in again.

How.Dumb.Are.You? Don’t bother, it’s a rhetorical question and, actually, not at all the subject of this blog post. Nope, this is about the death of Fidel Castro, tyrant, dictator, human rights violator, and despot. And, yes, to be clear, a family man; father, brother, cousin, uncle ...

When Castro passed away over the weekend at the age of 90, President Barack Obama said:

“At this time of Fidel Castro’s passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. We know that this moment fills Cubans – in Cuba and in the United States – with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him…”

There was no praise for Castro, just condolences to the family who lost someone they loved. But that wasn’t enough for Rubio, who then took to the media to call the President’s comments “pathetic”:

“Barack Obama is the president of the most powerful country in the world. And what I called pathetic is not mentioning whatsoever in that statement the reality that there are thousands upon thousands of people who suffered brutally under the Castro regime. He executed people. He jailed people for 20 to 30 years. The Florida Straits, there are thousands of people who lost their lives fleeing his dictatorship. And not to acknowledge any of that in the statement, I felt was pathetic, absolutely.”

But should we have expected more for lying, pandering, can’t get elected, can’t do his job, Marco Rubio? See, because after Castro’s death Marco Rubio ran to the media to talk about Fidel Castro’s history of oppressing gays.

Huh; oppressing gays? Who else has done that? Oh, wait ...Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio who voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA] which would have protected LGBT Americans from being fired from their jobs based solely on their sexual orientation.

Marco Rubio supported the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] and was steadfastly against marriage equality even after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of it.

Marco Rubio has raised money for the Arizona Center For Public Policy, which advocates for "ex-gay" torture among other anti-gay positions.

Marco Rubio allowed his voice to be used in robocalls for the National Organization for Marriage [NOM].

Marco Rubio has vowed to do whatever he can to undo the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling which made marriage legal in the United States for same-sex couples.

Marco Rubio was a sponsor of the First Amendment Defense Act [FADA], which would legalize anti-LGBT discrimination nationwide.

Marco Rubio threatened to withdraw his own immigration reform bill if it were be applied to same-sex couples.

Marco Rubio declared that gay adoption is a “social experiment” that “shouldn’t be forced on children.”

So when Marco Rubio stands up and denounced Fidel Castro for being anti-LGBT—and to be clear, in 2010, Fidel Castro told the press that he took the blame for the “great injustices” suffered by his nation’s gay community—when he himself has been at the forefront in this country of many of the same vile ideas, he is nothing but a pandering lying asshat of epic proportions.

And please, let us not forget how Marco Rubio blatantly lied about his own family’s history with Fidel Castro, claiming that they fled Cuba after the revolution when in fact they were living comfortably in Miami years before Castro seized power.

Florida. This is what you elected to office ... again. A pandering asshat who knocks down Castro when, apparently, he and Castro share many of the same ideas—even if there is evidence that Castro had evolved on LGBT issues. A lying pandering asshat who can’t even tell the truth about how, and when, he arrived in America.

Marco Rubio. F**k off.

Issue Hawk

Jessi Dye Was Fired After Her Boss Asked, "What are you?"

Jessi Dye was pretty thrilled when she got the job at Summerford Nursing Home in Alabama. She filled out all her paperwork, she attended the training workshops required of her, and was vaccinated as per company policy, and most of all, she was excited that Summerford was going to pay for her training to become a certified nurse’s assistant [CNA].

However, when she showed up on the job, Robert Summerford, the manager, called her into his office at lunch to discuss her paperwork, and the minute Jessi walked in, before even having the chance to sit down he asked:

“What are you?”

Jessi was caught off guard, to be sure, but she was used to awkward — though I call them stupid — questions when a new employer noticed the identity on her driver’s license doesn’t match the one she presents in person.

Jessi is a trans woman. And so she answered Summerford’s question by explaining her situation — that she was born male and is transitioning to female — and he asked:

“What am I supposed to do with you?”

Then he fired her on the spot because, well, trans.

So, with the help of the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] Jessi filed a workplace discrimination suit and, rather than see the case taken all the way to federal court, Summerford settled with Jessi. Part of the settlement requires Summerford to institute a new  official policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and to conduct sensitivity training seminars regarding LGBTQ people.

This is one of those rare, lucky cases, when a company, and their lawyers, realized that the times are changing and that there need to be new understanding about trans people, or people of any sexual orientation or gender identity, in the workplace.

But what Summerford didn't do, however, was actually break the law. Alabama, and federal law, is still vague on the issue, and with the failure of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA] to be passed, there are no clear-cut workplace protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Jessi was also awarded a cash settlement from Summerford but says:

"It was never about money. It was always about the education, letting other trans people know that they have a right, that they are protected under the law."

And so maybe now she can go to school and become a CNA after all, and we can hope that when she does, and when she finds a job, the times have changed enough so that no one will question Jessi’s identity ever again.

And maybe, one day, and one day soon, when Jessi Dye, and others like her, apply for jobs, are accepted to the position, go through training, and show up for work, they won’t be fired immediately because a driver’s licenses identity doesn’t match the face in front of the boss.

And that means we also need to work for our trans brothers and sisters to make sure that they can have their licenses and identification papers changed to their correct gender as they transition so that they can be seen as who they truly are, and not as anything else.

The march goes on …

LGBTQ Nation

Can I Get An Amen! Workplace Discrimination Gets a Beat-Down

In a rather interesting, and gay-friendly, surprise, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC] has ruled that existing civil rights law — from the 1964 Civil Rights Act — bars sexual orientation-based employment discrimination.

Yes, it’s been illegal since 1964 to fire someone based on their sexual-orientation … so cue rightwingnut heads exploding.

The ruling — approved by a 3-2 vote of the five-person commission — applies to federal employees’ claims directly, but it also applies to the entire EEOC, which includes its offices across the nation that take and investigate claims of discrimination in private employment.

It’s yet another step forward on the path toward equality, y’all, and appears that the EEOC ruling could … could … mean a win in the battle for Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA].

The march goes on ….

Random Musings

We’ve been watching Black-ish on TV and finding it very funny, and very timely.

In light of the recent deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police, and the increased need for a discussion on race in America, the show has been talking race, making it funny, while making it thoughtful.

One particular joke this week was that Black people cannot be racist because, well, Black. And I’ve heard the same thing about The Gays.

Something to do with being discriminated against makes you unable to discriminate.

It ain’t true. Some of the biggest racist and homophobes are racists and gay folks.

Just sayin’.

Now during the episode of Black-ish, ABC ran a promo for a new show about an Asian family, with the all too funny jokes about how hard it is to say Asian names. It’s high-larious … not.

The show, sadly is called, Fresh Off The Boat; seriously.

Am I the only one who finds that title offensive? Howsabout a show about a Mexican family called Hopped The Fence or Swam The Rio Grande?

Nope, not funny either.

There has been talk about what might be the new LGBT battle now that marriage equality is sweeping the country, and most seem to think it will be ENDA; that it will be to protect LGBT Americans in all fifty states from being hired, evicted, denied housing or employment simply for being gay.

And, on the other side of that argument, comes the religious not-right, who want to be able to discriminate against The Gays because God. And so this week, a local ordinance making LGBT discrimination illegal in Fayetteville, Arkansas was repealed just months after it was enacted, thanks primarily to political activity by conservative religious leaders and the Duggar family—you know the TLC family that spits out a new child every year so they can have a TV show and spew their familial hate.

Now the HRC is going after TLC because of the Duggar's support, both financially, and vocally, to the repeal. But who cares about that? If the HRC convinces TLC to drop the Duggar’s they’ll still be supporting anti-LGBT causes.

I’d suggest we simply ask The Gays and The Gay friendlies to avoid TLC if they choose to air hate-mongers, and then turn our efforts towards enlightening those people in Fayetteville who bought into the hate.

Just sayin’. Don’t get angry, get to work.

I saw this earlier in the week and, well, it made me look at our pets in a whole new, less enthusiastic , light.

Tabatha Bundsesen, the woman who owns Grumpy Cat—AKA Tartar Sauce—may have made as much as $100 million in the past two years off that Frowning Feline. 

The Grumpy Cat empire has grown into books, merchandise, appearances, and even a holiday movie.

I looked at our dog Ozzo, and asked why why why he wasn’t out there making money for the family? Why did they get lucky with Grumpy Cat and we got stuck with Dumpy Dog?

The next day Carlos informed me that the story wasn’t true, that grumpy hasn’t made 50 million a year for the past two, he’s made just 10 million.

Oh … my bad. Now excuse me while I get to making our pets look a little pissed off.

Well well well, it appears that the International Olympic Committee [IOC] has voted in a new Principle 6 clause stating the Olympics must be free of discrimination "of any kind, including race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

This new rule is a direct result of the Sochi Games and Russia’s very anti-LGBT laws and policies.

That’s good to hear.

Speaking of Carlos, I have been driving him crazy … crazier … every day by, out of the blue, busting out into my high-pitched, off-key rendition of Tomorrow from Annie.

All Carlos can do is shake his head and look away.

♫♪ The sun’ll come out ….. ♪♫

We’ve been watching The Leftovers on the DVR. I mentioned last week about the hot-itude that is Justin Theroux, but the show also includes, clockwise from the top left:

Chris Zylka, Paterson Joseph and Max and Charlie Carver.

It’s like Beefcake-apalooza over there.

Speaking of Hot Men on the tube, how much do I like Finn Wittrock who plays the bloodthirsty, murderous Dandy Mott on American Horror Story?

The answer is “A lot!” He’s a hot little killer, with a killer booty, and a way to play crazy that reminds me of that other AHS star Jessica Lange.

I hope that however AHS returns next year that Finn is part of the show.

Carlos plays in a community band here in Smallville, and this week they gave their Christmas Concert, after which the band had a Christmas party at a member’s home.

Good food, good conversation, some drama …

Like when Carlos introduced me to his conductor as his, ahem, “significant other.”

I know; we had a long talk about hat and about how, if he thinks someone might be offended by him calling me his “husband” — because that’s what I am — then that unease is on the part of the other person.

That said, we chatted up Fiona, a lovely Brit who now lives in Smallville, and as we chatted the talk turned to food and cooking. Carlos said he as the MasterBaker while I said I was the cook, and she smiled and told us that we were the perfect pair; one of us is Art — that’d be me — and the other is Science — that’s be Carlos.

I reminded him that Fiona had no qualms about chatting up the homos.

And so this week's Song in My Head is for Carlos ..... though Idina Menzel AKA Adele Dazeem, sings it far better than I.

South Carolina Mayor Fires Police Chief Because She's Gay

You know, it’s funny about South Carolina. Some things happen here that make me think the tide will change and the state will come barreling into the 21st century, like last weekend’s Peace Lilies for Guns event, where South Carolinians turned in their weapons for flowers; it was quite a success and made me proud of my tiny state.

Until ... the nastiness and bigotry and homophobia of the South reared its ugly head.

The new mayor of Latta, South Carolina, population 1,410, Earl Bullard, has just fired Police Chief Crystal Moore, a twenty-year of the tiny town’s police department. Moore was terminated after Bullard gave her a list of seven reprimands—the first Moore has ever received in her two decades on the job—ranging from:

• Running background checks without properly signed authorization
• Failure to report to supervisor about problems in other departments
• Using office/position to seek revenge against another for personal affront
• Questioning authority of supervisor
• Questioning authority of mayor to look at job applications for potential employees
• Failure to maintain order, contributing to disorder at council meetings
• Contacting news media to help bring about disorder and disruption to the town of Latta

But most folks in the town don’t believe it was these seven infractions that lead to Moore’s dismissal, they believe she was fired because she is openly gay, and members of the city council have come out, so to speak, and offered support for Moore while condemning Bullard’s decision to fire Moore as an act of retribution.

See, earlier this year, Chief Moore opened an investigation into whether city vehicles were being used improperly by another city official, and then discovered that the mayor had failed to conduct a proper background check on the employee, Parks and Recreations Director Vontray Sellers. It appears that, with the approval of the mayor, Vontray Sellers was allowed to drive a Latta town vehicle even though his license had been suspended in February; two things that would not have been allowed to happen had Mayor Bullard conducted a background check on Sellers.

And that was when Bullard issued his seven reprimands and subsequently fired Moore.

Now, I half expected the townspeople to go along with Bullard; I mean, the Police Chief, the town’s first female police chief, is gay, and, you know, South Carolina and all, but the townspeople weren’t having it.

One city Councilman, Jared Taylor, stepped forward with an audio recording of a phone call between himself and Bullard in which the mayor clearly says he wants Moore off the job because she’s a lesbian:

“I would much rather have someone who drank and drank too much taking care of my child than I had somebody whose lifestyle is questionable around children, because that ain’t the damn way that they’re supposed to be. I don’t agree with some of the lifestyles that I see portrayed and I don’t say anything because that’s the way they want to live. But I’m not going to let my child be around. I’m not going to let two women stand up there and hold hands and let my child be aware of it, and I’m not going to see them do it with two men neither. I’m not going to do it, because that ain’t the way the world works.”

And once the news of that phone call came out, hundreds of citizens of Latta rallied around Police Chief Moore, demanding that the mayor reinstate her immediately. Councilwoman Lutherine Williams led the push for answers, appearing before that crowd of supporters, but at the town council meeting that same night, Bullard refused to discuss the matter at all.

"We have codes, but this Mayor refuses to obey anything in that book he don't [sic] want to ... If an employee does something, you don't wait three or four days or two or three weeks to do something about it."—Lutherine Williams

Williams says Mayor Bullard should have first given Chief Moore a verbal warning, then a written one; and then he should have discussed the issue with the town council before firing Moore. He did none of that.

Moore says that she is overwhelmed at the support, but the sad thing is South Carolina is one of those states where you can be fired for being gay, even if the person who fired you did so because you questioned his ethics.

But maybe, just maybe, the next time Earl Bullard is up for election in Latta the people of the town will give him the boot for being a bigot and a homophobe and a crooked politician.

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Think We Don't Need ENDA? Think Again ....

Yesterday the Senate voted 61-30 to allow for debate on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA], a bill that would make it illegal nationwide for employers to discriminate against LGBT people. ENDA, naturally, has the support of all Senate Democrats but only a handful of Republican Senators, like cosponsors Susan Collins of Maine, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Dean Heller of Nevada, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

But that handful of GOPers isn’t enough because, even f the Senate votes to pass ENDA — making it the first time the Senate has approved it in the 20 years it has been under consideration — the House, under Speaker, Republican and Perpetual Weeper, John Boehner isn’t keen on ENDA. In fact, Boehner says the House will not consider it after it passes the Senate which means ENDA would head into a third decade as a ‘pending’ bill.

A Boehner spokestool offered a couple of reasons why Boehner and his Party of No would not support ENDA; first, Boehner believes preventing employers from firing employees for being LGBT would “increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs” but then he also added that ENDA would actually do nothing because “existing law” already prohibits employers from firing LGBT workers.

Existing law is already in place where it’s illegal to fire a person for being gay? Well, then shut it down, y’all, it’s all good. The Gays are safe in the workplace.

Sadly, Boehner’s wrong … again … and he is in huge company. A recent poll found that 69% of Americans incorrectly believe that a law like ENDA is already in place. In 29 of these good old United States, there is is no law protecting gay, lesbian and bisexual workers from being fired; and in 33 states there is no law protecting our transgender brothers and sisters.

Yup, in most of America you can be fired for your sexual orientation, like …..

• Tippi McCullough, a Catholic high school English teacher and coach in Arkansas was fired on her wedding day.  McCullough and her wife, Barb Mariani, say they believe McCullough was singled out by Mount St. Mary’s Academy for being gay, though the school says McCullough violated the terms of her contract, which has a clause allowing for dismissal if a staff member violates Roman Catholic teaching.
• Ken Bencomo had taught English at St. Lucy's Priory High School in Glendora, California for 17 years until he was fired for marrying his longtime partner. The Catholic school discovered his husband when they were photographed in a local newspaper article about marriage equality. Students have protested and appealed to the school board without any success in getting their teacher reinstated.
• Bev Kearney, a University of Texas track coach was fired when news spread that she was in a relationship with one of her adult female students. Think it’s wrong for a teacher to be in a relationship with a student? Okay, then please to explain how a white, male UT football coach kept his job after it was revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with a student trainer. Oh, yeah, that was a heterosexual relationship.
• Carla Hale's firing was nasty and mean-spirited. She was fired after an anonymous source told her employers at Bishop Watterson High School that she was gay. The source learned that Haler was gay in the obituary for Hale's mother, who recently passed, that mentioned Hale's partner. After 19 years of service, the Catholic school fired Hale for “immorality” a few weeks after she returned to work following her mother's death.
• Tom Klansic, a school principal, was fired by the Gresham, Oregon school district because he divorced his wife and came out as gay, according to Klansic. Though the district says otherwise, after ten years of exemplary service Klansic’s contract was not renewed after he announced he was gay.
• Mark Krolikowski, a well-respected teacher at St. Francis Prepatory School in Queens, had taught school for 32 years but his gender nonconformity likely led to his dismissal. Krolikowski had recently begun dressing in women's clothing, though he prefers to use his birth name and male pronouns. His principal took aim at his appearance, calling him "worse than gay" in 2011. After agreeing to "tone down" his appearance, and receiving excellent marks for his teaching, Krolikowski was ultimately fired in 2012.
• Nikki Williams, a history teacher and basketball coach, was fired from the Life School in Waxahachie, Texas because she's gay, according to some parents. A petition was circulated to get Williams's job back, but school officials dug in, even refusing to expunge the firing from her records.
• Reverend James St. George, an adjunct professor of world religion at Philadelphia’s Catholic Chestnut Hill College, was fired after he made statements about gays that apparently went against Vatican teachings. School officials say the story was sensationalized, while the college's president tried to voice concern for gay students and staff of the school: "We ache for the negative impact this story is having on them." 
• Lisa Howe, the women’s soccer coach at Nashville's Belmont University was ALLEGEDLY fired from the Christian university after she announced her partner was pregnant. Her dismissal led to protests, new protections for gay employees and students at Belmont, a campus LGBT group recognized by the university, and a citywide ordinance requiring companies contracted by the city protect their gay employees from workplace discrimination; the latter was later overturned by Tennessee state legislators.
• Seth Stambaugh, a young teacher in Oregon, was fired when his fourth-grade student asked him why he wasn't married and he responded that he was gay. He was later reinstated at Sexton Mountain Elementary School and awarded $75,000 for his troubles; he donated some of the money to a charity to youth-oriented nonprofits.
• Marty Edwards, an assistant vice president at First National Bank of Granbury, asked the bank's executive vice president and the human resources director why he had been passed over for promotions in the past, despite a strong 11-year track record. They replied that the other workers who had received promotions were "a better fit for the image we are looking for." Edwards was hired right out of college and was groomed to move up the ladder at the bank until he came out five years ago; he also says he experienced a hostile work environment after coming out. When Edwards asked whether his sexual orientation was the main reason he had been denied chances to move up, executive vice president James G. Hodges demanded his resignation, and when Edwards refused, Hodges fired him.
• Tim Griffin, a gay former Eagle Scout, was fired as an employee at Camp Winton because he's gay, and in solidarity with Griffin, Camp Winton program director Alex Hayes quit in protest. The pair gathered 70,000 signatures and delivered them to the Golden Empire Boy Scouts Council in Sacramento.
•  Bradley Kindrick was assaulted while working the graveyard shift at a 7-Eleven in Virginia Beach, and was subsequently fired because he is openly gay. 7-Eleven corporate officials told WAVY News that Kindrick was fired because he was drunk on the job — a claim Kindrick denies.
• Anastacia St. Claire-Hannah, a housekeeper, says the couple whose house she cleaned found out she is transgender via a background check. They allegedly called her "disgusting" and "a freak," barred her from preparing their meals, and told her that she needed a psychologist. Three days later, St. Claire-Hannah was fired. She says the couple claimed her working at their home would look bad for the husband's image and business.
• Cori McCreery was fired from her job as a grocery store clerk shortly after she announced plans to transition from male to female. She had moved up the ranks from clerk to supervisor at Don's Valley Market in Rapid City over five years, but after the announcement, the owner told McCreery she was "making other employees uncomfortable," and because the owner had a "seven million dollar investment in the project," McCreery was abruptly fired.
• Bill Stein, music director at Rockford's largest Catholic church, was fired after some parishioners objected to his desire to adopt a child with his partner of 10 years. The church offered to let him keep his job if he took a vow of chastity, which he refused, and so he was fired. 
• Peter TerVeer was fired in 2012 from his job as a management analyst at the Library of Congress, for ALLEGEDLY being “AWOL” from work. But he says he had to take medical leave because, since being hired in 2008, he’s been subjected to antigay harassment from his boss, John Mech. TerVeer says that after Mech found out he was gay, he began quoting Bible passages to him and giving him poor performance reviews.
• Milton Stroder was fired from his job at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services for referring to other gay men as "queen" and "princess" in personal emails to his partner. However, coworker Shannon Duncan was not fired for sending her own personal emails, including a chain email to co-workers titled, "Pampered Chef," showing naked men with pots and pans placed over private areas of their bodies. A federal judge ruled that Kentucky was guilty of anti-LGBT discrimination in that case.
• Vic Gardner says the Texas attorney general's office began mistreating him after he dressed as a geisha for an office Halloween party. His former supervisor is accused of admitting he had a "religious objection" to Gardner being gay, and reportedly said to him, "You know who you are, but try not to be so out." 

And that's just a drop in the bucket; thousands of LGBT workers have been fired ion this country simply for being LGBT. 

So, do you still think we don’t need ENDA? Still think we have laws in place already to protect LGBT workers?

Think again.

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Why We Need ENDA .....

Mia Macy, a veteran and a police officer, was recently hired by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in California; and she was thrilled. That elation, however, lasted just a few days because the bureau then informed her that her position had been eliminated.

Then they quietly hired someone else.

See, Mia Macy is transgender, and during her interview she’d told the bureau that she was transitioning to become a woman; and she feels that’s why she was told there was no longer a job for her.

And she has no legal recourse to sue for discrimination.

Macy is person spotlighted in a new series by the Center for American Progress as part of its campaign for Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA]—a federal bill that would ban discrimination against LGBT Americans.

Without passage of the bill, it remains legal in 29 states to fire someone for being LGBT. And while California does ban transgender discrimination, federal law does not, yet, and Macy was seeking a federal job. 

The good news, and yes there is some, at least in this one instance, is that Mia Macy’s job was reinstated after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission unanimously decided that discriminating against transgender Americans was illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sex.

It was a landmark decision, but it doesn’t do anything regarding federal law. For that we need passage of ENDA, and maybe we’ll be hearing fewer cases of anti-LGBT workplace discrimination.

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And Yet Another Christmas Gift: Another Republican Signs On To Repeal DOMA

There was a lot of chatter as to what happened to the GOP this past November and why they didn't take back the White House and sweep all the elections. There was chatter that the GOP is a rich, white man's party, and makes no room for the middle class or the poor, or anyone of color, or women, or, naturally, The Gays.

But one member of the GOP has stepped up and realized that being exclusive is not exactly the way to go, and has come out, so to speak, in support of repealing the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA].

New York Congressman, Richard Hanna, a first-term incumbent, announced his co-sponsorship of the Respect for Marriage Act in a statement provided to The Advocate:

“New York State allows all its citizens the freedom to marry the person they love. Under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government has a Constitutional responsibility to respect New York’s right to set its own laws. It’s my job to see that it does.

....

It is right to extend equal protection under federal law to all couples who are legally married without infringing upon religious freedom and beliefs. This legislation does not tell states who can be married or who must be treated as married, nor does it require any religious institution to violate their own convictions.

....

I respect the deeply held beliefs on both sides of this issue. The simple fact remains that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all legally married couples are treated equally under federal law – and this bill would achieve that proper standard.”

Hanna joins Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the first Republican lawmaker to back DOMA repeal some fifteen months ago. But Hanna has been quite clear on being an LGBT advocate and ally; he has vocally supported the Employment Non-discrimination Act [ENDA] and cast four votes against amendments to affirm DOMA.

Perhaps there will be a new GOP in the future, a more inclusive GOP, and one that includes more members like Richard Hanna.

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Two Wingnuts Talking

Texas asshat, delusional wingnut, Republican state representative, Louie Gohmert, had a little sit-down with with asshat, delusional wingnut Family Research Council  leader Tony Perkins about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA]:

Tony Perkins:

"What this would do is give special employment benefits and protections based upon their sexual behavior and orientation. What do you see as the outcome of this? I mean, are you concerned increasingly that this is a way to essentially punish religious freedom in the business environment, in the business sector?"

Louis Gohmert:
"It continues to be part of this administration’s ongoing war on religion, on particularly Judeo-Christian values. But of course this is one that even is extremely contrary to the Muslim religion as well. I mean, Islam, Judaism, although there are plenty of people in Judaism and Christianity who think despite the plumbing that God created, that as the Iowa Supreme Court said, there is no biological evidence of a preference for a man and a woman being married as opposed to a man and a man...It also means that Christian schools will be forced to hire openly homosexual individuals, and it’s kind of tough to teach biblical principles in Romans 1 in a school if you are of the persuasion of being homosexual."

So, let's see, protecting LGBT people in the workplace is a war on religion. Okay, tell us how, Louie....Oh, but he can't because he goes right into talking about the, um, plumbing that God created for men and women and how The Gays don't use the plumbing correctly.

This little chat between a couple of delusional asshatted wingnuts would be laughable if there weren't so many delusional asshats around the country going, "Yeah."

Oh, and Louie? Homosexuality isn't a persuasion, so stop tossing around that chestnut. it is also not a choice, or preference, so pack that one in as well.

A choice, or preference, is bigotry and intolerance and discrimination based on any inherent quality of a person, be it a choice, or preference, like religion, or a non-choice, like gender, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

You two asshatted delsuional wingnuts would be well served to stop hating because one day soon, you will be on the wrong end of this discussion. And, you do know what they say about homophobes who seem a wee bit obsessed with The Gays and their use of their plumbing, don't you? 

That maybe you're just a couple of self-loathing, closeted homosexuals so ashamed of being yourselves that....oh, screw it, get a room already!