Tuesday, June 16, 2015

'GOPers threatening constitutional crisis over possible marriage ruling' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

The New Nullification Crisis: GOPers Vow To Defy SCOTUS Over Gay Marriage - Allow me to put it plainly as I can - IF SCOTUS rules for marriage equality, you have to follow the ruling. If elected officials encourage any type of defying, they are creating a constitutional crisis. You just can't decide NOT to follow a ruling because you don't like it.  

The Rise of Christian Conservative Legal Organizations - Dear lgbt community, familiarize yourself with these groups. IF we win at SCOTUS, you will hear from them whether you want to or not (and you will not want to). 

 Fisher-Price Backs LGBT Families - Here is where we have to call out folks who attempt to call this move "political." Fisher-Price is merely acknowledging the existence of same-sex households and the children who grow up in these households.

How Mexico Gradually Became A Marriage Equality Nation - By either the easy or hard way (and there is no easy way) we win again.  

This Trans Man's Breast Cancer Nightmare Exemplifies The Problem With Transgender Health Care - What happened here was awful and any health care provider who even tries to plead "religious liberty" in a case like this deserves to get a foot broken off in their tuckuses.

Signorile - Lgbts fell for a false 'turning point' narrative after Indiana win

Michelangelo Signorile
Ah, but the Indiana moment, I was told by some activists, was truly different from the Arizona moment. The Indiana moment, they exclaimed with jubilation, was really, totally and completely the true turning point, honest!

Unfortunately, they were swept up in victory blindness, intoxicated by a win, letting their guard down, seduced into believing in the inevitability of equality while anti-LGBT forces moved on to other states. Just last month I penned an op-ed in the Washington Post pointing out that, on balance, anti-LGBT conservatives actually had a pretty good 12 months, despite Indiana and other losses. I noted that they operate through trial and error, and that they'd be back, finding a new way to turn their animus into law. Last week they did, and it was a stellar win for them and an infuriating setback for LGBT people.

And please, spare me the argument that the laws won't hold up in court, which is often yet another symptom of victory blindness. First off, no one knows that, and after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision, we should all be concerned. Secondly, the goal of anti-LGBT conservatives is in fact to keep LGBT equality tied up in the courts as they gather their forces, raise more money and deny us our rights for as long as possible while they attempt to roll them back, just as they do on abortion rights, voting rights and other issues. So, yes, they had exactly the win they were seeking.

Michelangelo Signorile, Why Indiana Wasn't a Turning Point on LGBT Rights -- and Why You Should Be Mad About It


Michelangelo Signorile, in his new column, Why Indiana Wasn't a Turning Point on LGBT Rights -- and Why You Should Be Mad About It, puts the right perspective on the recent anti-gay laws passed in Michigan and North Carolina.

The lgbt community is like a character in a cheesy horror movie in that we hit the monster once and then celebrate a supposed victory. Meanwhile, the monster gets back up and we are in the same position we were before.

We  celebrated prematurely after Indiana because we believed a false narrative. There are too many of us ready to declare the battle for equality over after one victory. When we do this, we seriously underestimate those who fight against lgbt equality and set ourselves up for future disappointments.

The battle for equality will be long and strenuous. In the long run we will win, but it won't be pretty. If people on our side of the spectrum are ready to talk about "turning points" or wanting to celebrate  after one victory in the beginning of a new chapter of this battle, then maybe those folks should either re-educate themselves or examine their minds to see if they are up to the fight in the first place.