Even Without Pence, Indiana Is Still Racist and Homophobic

Apparently, the ghost of Michael Elizabeth Pence lives on in the Indiana state Senate, as they recently voted to amend a hate crimes proposal scrapping all protected characteristics, including gender identity, race and sexual orientation.

Just so you know, if you aren’t white, and you aren’t heterosexual, and someone should assault you because you aren’t those things, that’s not  Hate Crime in Indiana.

Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, because, of course, has said the amended bill "does not get Indiana off the list of states without a bias crime law" and says he will “continue to fight for the right ultimate outcome for our state and citizens this year so we’re not right back here in the same place next year” but hasn’t said whether or not he’ll sign the bill.

Just seven Republicans—including authors of the original bill, Senators Ron Alting and Sen. Mike Bohacek—joined the Democrats in voting against the amendment, but not one of the seven spoke out against it on the Senate floor because … Republicans.

In response, Senate Democrats walked out and didn't return to vote on any of the remaining bills on the calendar.

Democratic Senator Greg Taylor:

"You don’t have to agree with how somebody lives to respect their ability to live freely and responsibly in this state. But when you take that ability away, knowing that they have been targeted, it is a shame, and this is a disaster for the state of Indiana. It might be worse than [Pence’s beloved] RFRA."

Senate President Pro Tempore, and Republican, Rodric Bray, defended the amended bill:

"This conversation has always been philosophical. Do you include a list in which you can maybe leave somebody off, or the court could interpret somebody not included in that, or do you make it more general so that everybody can be included?"

He’s arguing that excluding people from a Hate Crimes legislation—people of color, LGBTQ people—actually means they are more protected.

Seriously.

Democrat Senator J.D. Ford, the first openly gay senator in the state, says this amendment would tell people like him that they don't exist. And Democrat Senator Lonnie Randolph, an African-American lawmaker, asked his colleagues:

"Why don’t you recognize us?”

Possibly because they’re Republicans and they have never recognized black people, or LGBTQ people. I mean, listen to what state Senator Jim Merritt, one of the Republicans who voted against the amendment said:

"I will tell you, early in my career, we were in this room with a 10-hour discussion and I voted against it. I think through the years Indiana has changed. I think I’ve learned and I’ve evolved. I know my constituents have. You always think about what your constituents want you to do."

And yet he still plans to vote for the bill.

This is what’s wrong with the GOP; out of one side of their mouths they seem to say positive things, but when the time comes to act, to vote, they turn tail and run back to the party platform of racism and anti-LGBTQ bias.

Seriously, Indiana? You got Pence outta so you can no longer blame your bigotry and homophobia on him.

It’s you, and the people you elect to represent you.

IndyStar

GOP Governor Stands Up For Trans People

Remember when Michael Elisabeth Pence was governor of Indiana? Remember how he liked the idea of denying service to The Gays because he’s such a good Christian and his Bible is filled with Hate?

Well, Indiana has another GOP governor in Eric Holcomb, who was also Pence’s Lt. Governor, and he is a conservative just like Mike Pence; except for one thing. As Indiana battles over a Hate Crimes law [again!] Eric Holcomb has announced that he wants to be sure it includes protections for trans people.

Yes, in a state where Republicans have killed similar bills because they have included trans people, this lone Republican is taking a stand. And, naturally, he’s facing opposition.

GOP House Speaker Brian Bosma, an epic anti-LGBTQ politician, opposes including trans people in the bill because … wait for it … he’s one of those family values” Republicans facing numerous allegations of marital infidelity and is the darling of religious leaders in the state. Sound familiar? An adulterer beloved by Christians?

Still, Eric Holcomb remembers the stain on Indiana under Pence, for his hate-filled “religious freedom” law that allowed businesses to refuse to serve LGBTQ customers. He remembers the businesses that moved away, the drop in tourism, the drop in revenue that occurs when you make hate legal, and he wants no part of it.

And while Holcomb wants the Hate Crime law to mirror the executive branch’s nondiscrimination policy—which includes both sexual orientation and gender identity—Bosma is warning business leaders and activists not to push too hard to get transgender people included because it would bring “undue attention” to a state known as one of the most unfriendly to LGBTQ people:

“The result of this and how the discussion takes place affects every Hoosier and if this is a big knockdown, drag out, RFRA-esque discussion, it is not going to help anyone, and everybody is going to go to their corner and stand firm.”

Funny; the idea of simply protecting all the people of Indiana, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or non-religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, whatever it may be, hasn’t occurred to Bosma.

Luckily, it has occurred to the governor, and hopefully the legislature will listen to him; just like earlier this year, when Republicans wanted to strip transgender people from a similar bill, but Holcomb told them to either include gender identity or don’t pass anything at all. Legislators chose not to bring it up for a committee vote rather than protect transgender people.

And so, if Bosma gets his way and trans people are excluded , hopefully the people of Indiana will listen to Holcomb and send the cheating lying so-called Christians packing.

Because Hate should never be made legal.

LGBTQNation

Bobservations

One morning this week, I was in our home office and Carlos comes into tell me of yet another reason the Conservatives will be freaking out: male dancers with the professional sports teams. Not cheerleaders, but dancers.

I started to say something about how that might not exactly rile up the conservatives and Carlos said:

‘And some of them are really hot.”

Now we know the real reason behind his story.

PS Carlos loves American Ninja Warriors because, he says, the men must be in amazing physical shape to compete; then, of course, he adds:

“Some of them are really hot.”

Are you sensing a theme?

The GOP is all abuzz that Paul Ryan will be resigning soon. And, in case you thought that was just wishful thinking, think about how shortly after the rumor broke Paul Ryan put out an official statement denying a press report that Republicans were saying that he was getting ready to resign.

Uh huh. Bye Felicia.

Earlier this year the LGBTQ community of Starkville, Mississippi planned a Pride parade, but the alderman in the city put the kibosh on a Queer Celebration. Then the LGBTQ community filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Starkville and there was a revote, a 3-3 deadlock that was broken after Mayor Lynn Spruill voted in favor of the parade.

So, last Saturday Starkville held their Pride parade and it was the biggest parade in the city’s history, with over 3,000 people flooding downtown Starkville for the first ever LGBTQ Pride parade.

Mayor Spruill has been a vocal LGBTQ supporter and praised the turnout made possible by the high level of attention brought to the situation:

“I never expected to have this many people. Somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 people and this would never have happened if we didn’t have the controversy, so I’m almost grateful for the controversy in the sense it became something more than it ever would have been and it became something we can be very proud of, with no issues associated with it.”

Congrats, Starkville, for your Pride.

From the Rightwingnuts and NRA Lapdogs Are Lying Pigs file comes the story of Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez being pictured ripping the US Constitution into pieces.

Conservatives, gun nuts, asshats, morons, douchebags and idiots all over posted and reposted the picture except …

What? It was faked!

The original photo was from a Teen Vogue story from last week featuring Gonzalez, and other teen activists, ripping a target poster, not the Constitution.

Teen Vogue chief content officer, Phillip Picardi, set the record straight on Twitter:

"The fact that we even have to clarify this is proof of how democracy continues to be fractured by people who manipulate and fabricate the truth."

Rightwingnutted fake news spreaders and liars.

I would now like to thank all the “Family Values Voters” who still support _____for finally admitting that their moral outrage at Democrats over the last thirty years was total bullshit.

See, to the conservatives, being married three times and cheating on all of your wives with multiple parties is just fine.

And then you have evangelicals saying that _____’s affairs and bad behavior are between him and his “God,” yet these same evangelicals were all up in my business when I wanted to marry my husband.

Fuck off, asshats.

Speaking of Asshats and the GOP, Indiana Governor, and Republican, because of course, Eric Holcomb just passed a law that every time a woman seeks medical or psychological treatment she must be quizzed about past abortions.

Failure to disclose past abortions can result in 6 months in jail and $1000 fine.

The GOP cannot keep their hands out of women’s vaginas.

In other GOP hypocrisy, Arizona has about a thousand gun deaths every year, but the governor, Republican because of course, Doug Ducey, opposes universal background checks.

But last week one person was killed by a driver-less Uber automobile, and Ducey suspended Uber from driver-less autonomous testing.

So, he’s more concerned with one person killed by an Uber and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about a thousand gun-related deaths.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, because of course, announced that Baton Rouge police officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake will not be charged in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in 2016 because they had “good reason to believe” Sterling was armed and resisting arrest.

You know, cuz he was a black man.

Last weekend I watched a British film called B&B, the story of a gay couple refused a single bed at an English bed-and-breakfast; they sued, and won, and a year later, they return to the B&B to celebrate.

Only they find the owner still homophobic, and the owner’s son a closeted gay boy, and a hot beefy Russian staying at the inn. It gets very convoluted; is the Russian gonna hook up with the gay boy? Is he a gay basher? Are the gay men gonna kill him? Is the father gonna kill all of them? Is the son out to kill his homophobic dad?

Let’s say all of that happened and more, and less. It was a fairly decent film but the leads, from top to bottom, were especially delicious …

Tom Bateman played one half of the gay couple, with Sean Teale as his dreamy husband. James Tratas was the beefy Russian with an agenda … to get me riled up.

Just sayin’.