Being Out

As I have said many times, just walking out the door is a step in courage for us. The haters are coming out of the woodwork.

Suspect arrested in connection with beating of man in Montrose
Houston Chronicle
By Jay R. Jordan and Julian Gill
August 2, 2018

A man has been charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with the violent beating of a man in Montrose early Wednesday morning, Houston police said.

Caleb Tout, 19, is accused of beating Christopher Bradford while he was walking home from a Montrose bar around 1:50 a.m., leaving him hospitalized with a brain bleed and significant head injuries. Bradford said he was beaten with a belt, rock and boots, and he ultimately needed staples in his head.

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And in Oklahoma…

Achille ISD parents threaten to harm transgender student in Facebook posts
KXII
By Kristen Weaver
August 12, 2018

ACHILLE, Okla. (KXII) - Comments left on an Achille ISD parents Facebook page have garnered national attention after several parents made threats to harm a 12-year-old student.

It all started when a 12-year-old transgender girl in Achille used the girls' restroom on Thursday-- her first day of seventh grade.
[…]
Parent Jamie Crenshaw found out and took to social media on the private Achille ISD Parents Group, which has since been deleted.

"Basically talking about how she shouldn't be allowed to co-exist or use the female restroom," said local Darius Douglas.

Parents referred to Maddie as "maggot," "thing," and "it," saying those were the "perfect names" to describe her.

Some said a "good sharp knife" and being beaten in the bathroom would be the solution.

"It turned from concerns to violent threats made by not children, but adults who have children of their own," Douglas said.

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It's not just the latest Montrose assault. LGBTQ people are under attack.
Houston Chronicle
By Andrew Edmonson
August 6, 2018

For gay men of a certain age, the brutal attack on Christopher Bradford in Montrose on Aug. 1 was shocking, but not surprising.
[…]
The anti-LGBTQ violence on the streets of Montrose is not an isolated incident. In Trump's America, LGBTQ Americans are under attack in a number of ways at the city, state and federal level.

In July, the Houston Public Library introduced Drag Queen Storytime, in which drag queens read to children at Houston-area libraries. The program followed on the heels of similar successful programs that have been introduced from New York to Oklahoma to San Francisco to Alaska. Conservative Houston activist Steven Hotze seized on the chance to reignite the culture wars, labeling the story time "a form of pedophilia" and declaring, "Just like we have opposed the godless Communists who are trying to destroy our American values, so we must oppose the sodomites who are undermining the Biblically based moral values of our nation."

Hotze leads the organization Conservative Republicans of Texas, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Councilmember Michael Kubosh further stirred the pot at City Council on July 17 and took to Fox News to denounce the program. After his appearance, the next drag queen story time drew its largest attendance ever. A heterosexual friend of mine, the doting mother of a teenage son, proposed a pragmatic solution to the controversy: "If you don't want your children to see drag queens, then don't take them to the Drag Queen Storytime."

Thanks to Trump and his cronies our lives have become more threatened; white supremacists run rampant in the streets, people are being verbally assaulted as they ride the subway, eat at restaurants, or just walking down the street.

What is to be done in the face of this onslaught?
1) Vote as if you're life depended upon it. The deadline to register to vote in the November 6 election is October 9.  Find more information on how to register here.

2) If you're interested in electing fair-minded leaders who will oppose discriminatory measures, download the endorsements of the Houston Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus from their website in early October. The Caucus has one of the most rigorous, respected and transparent screening process of any Houston political organization.

3) Equality Texas is the statewide advocacy organization fighting for LGBTQ equality. They have a new pledge: "If you attack one Texan, you attack all Texans." Sign the pledge online, and they will alert you when discriminatory legislation is pending, with ways to contact your legislators and advocate against discrimination.

4) Join the Texas Freedom Network, a nonpartisan grassroots organization which has been building coalitions with faith leaders to fight for the civil rights of LGBTQ Texans. Sign up for their daily e-newsletter, which contains news articles on the latest developments impacting religious freedom, individual liberties and public education.

If you vote Republican you are condoning this violence against us. You might think you are voting for a small government, lower taxes, or to get government off you back but that is the hook that got you. Read their party platform…

• The platform asserts that laws and government regulations should only “recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” and explicitly calls for “judicial reconsideration or a Constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to states.”
• The platform “supports adoption organizations that refuse to serve gay couples,” and suggests that “children raised in households without a mother and father are more prone to use drugs, commit crime and get pregnant outside of marriage.”
• The platform vigorously endorses the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a deeply discriminatory anti-LGBTQ bill that would sanction unprecedented taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ people.
• The platform includes affirming language about so-called “conversion therapy,” a dangerous and discredited practice that falsely claims to change one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Republicans cited “parental rights” to justify supporting the practice, which is tantamount to child abuse.
• The platform in two separate amendments calls for legislation to prevent transgender people from “using public restrooms that align with their gender identity,” arguing speciously that it is “illegal and dangerous” and “alien to America’s history and traditions.”

And how many state Republican legislators have introduced bills to criminalize us for just going the bathroom.

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And then there is this…

Police Lured a Gay Man Into Sexual Activity — Then They Arrested and Outed Him
If you thought police raids on queer sex were a relic of the '60s, think again.
Them
By John Paul Brammer
August 2, 2018

You might think police raids of gay cruising are an anachronism, a relic of oppression that has since been vanquished as society becomes more tolerant. But trial attorney Abbie Cuellar, who is representing one of the 13 men arrested in a recent gay sex sting operation in Broward County, near Miami, will remind you that’s not necessarily the case.
[…]
When the Miami New Times reached out to the Miami Herald to question why it published the names and faces of the men arrested, the Herald rescinded that sensitive information and issued an editor’s note that portions had been removed due to content not meeting the paper’s standards.
[…]
“One problematic thing the police departments did was they didn’t put photos with anyone arrested except in stings like these,” he says. “They didn’t even put photos with escapees. That was hard and fast evidence of a PD whose goal wasn’t public safety, but to ruin the lives of men doing something they didn’t think they should be.”

I thought “gay shaming” went out in the 60s but I guess in today’s climate it is coming back.

Those are the tenets that you voted for. There is no way you can separate them from smaller government or lower taxes and as for “getting the government off of you back” what could be more intrusive then having government telling you where to go the bathroom.

We need to stop the Republican hate machine!