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Franklin Graham Fumes Over SCOTUS Ruling: My Rights to Fire LGBTQ People ‘Are the Freedoms Our Nation Was Founded On’

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Anti-LGBTQ activist Franklin Graham is furious over Monday’s Supreme Court ruling that finds Title Vii of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination, and says America was founded on his right to fire them.

“As a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ, my rights should be protected,” Graham writing on Facebook about the SCOTUS decision, insists. “Even if my sincerely held religious beliefs might be the minority, I still have a right to hold them. The same holds true for a Christian organization. These are the freedoms our nation was founded on.”

“I believe this decision erodes religious freedoms across this country,” the evangelical Christian preacher continued. “People of sincere faith who stand on God’s Word as their foundation for life should never be forced by the government to compromise their religious beliefs.”

That’s just plain false. For example, it’s also the argument pedophile polygamist Warren Jeffs, President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints made. The courts disagreed. (The FLDS is not the Mormon Church.)

Graham wasn’t finished.

“Christian organizations should never be forced to hire people who do not align with their biblical beliefs and should not be prevented from terminating a person whose lifestyle and beliefs undermine the ministry’s purpose and goals,” he added.

Related –
‘Cry Me a River’: Head of Right Wing Group That Spent Millions on Gorsuch Mocked for Fury Over LGBTQ Rights Opinion

Graham also falsely characterized the Supreme Court’s historic ruling, claiming it “enacted a new law that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the 1964 Civil Rights Act as ‘protected classes.'”

That, too, is just plain false.

What the SCOTUS justices did was what other courts for more than a decade had already done: understand and realize that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is sex discrimination. They didn’t “enact a new law,” they recognized the existing law already protects LGBTQ people.

Ironically, Graham linked to an excellent Rolling Stone article announcing the Court’s landmark ruling. It ends by calling it “a victory for LGBTQ people and for all Americans who care about justice and fairness.”

 

 

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BIGOTS GONNA BIGOT

Trans Kansans, ACLU File Lawsuit Against State Invalidating Driver’s Licenses

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Two anonymous trans Kansans and the ACLU filed suit against their state on Friday over a new transphobic law. The law takes trans Kansans’ driver’s licenses away if they have the correct gender designation, and also allows them to be sued by random citizens if they use the correct bathroom.

Earlier this week, many trans Kansans received a letter from the government warning them that, effective immediately, their driver’s licenses were null and void. The news was first reported by Erin In The Morning. Those who drive with an invalidated license could be hit with six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The suit was filed in Kansas’ Seventh District Court in Douglas County by two anonymous transgender men, identified as Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe. It takes aim at Kansas State Senate Bill 244, an anti-trans bill blocking people from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates and other legal documents like driver’s licenses. Trans Kansans are directed to surrender their license in exchange for one that has a gender marker aligned with the one assigned to them at birth. The bill made no allowance for a grace period for the change.

READ MORE: Blue States Join Forces to Sue Health Department Over Anti-Trans Declaration

In addition, it allows anyone who sees a trans person in the bathroom matching their gender identity to sue that trans person—even if the bathroom is in a private business. The law was originally vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, but the veto was overturned, according to Erin In The Morning.

The lawsuit says that the bill forces people to either face lawsuits for using the correct bathroom or out themselves to potential harassment and violence. Even then, the lawsuit alleges, they “may still be sued by individuals who are ‘aggrieved’ because they think they’re in the wrong restroom.”

The plaintiffs are both from Lawrence, Kansas and say they work in government-owned buildings and are not publicly out as transgender. Doe is an administrative associate at the University of Kansas, while Moe is a Ph.D student at the University. Doe has to drive a university vehicle as part of his job, and also has to fly periodically as part of his duties.

“Presenting identification that does not align with his gender identity would subject him to heightened scrutiny, potential harassment, and invasive questioning during security screenings. Such encounters would be humiliating and degrading and would forcibly disclose his transgender status without his consent,” the lawsuit says.

“Prior to updating his license, Daniel experienced precisely this type of mistreatment when a bartender questioned the authenticity of his identification and subjected him to prolonged interrogation. Since his driver’s license has reflected his male gender marker, he has not experienced similar incidents,” it continues.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to overturn the law on constitutional grounds. They’re also seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to keep the law from going into effect while the lawsuit is heard.

Image via Shutterstock

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‘Hateful Conduct’: Jenna Ellis Gets 12 Hour Twitter Suspension After Calling Afghan Refugees ‘Terrorists’

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Jenna Ellis, the former Trump personal and campaign attorney, says she has been suspended from Twitter after posting a tweet in which she appears to label Afghanistan refugees “terrorists.”

She also called for President Joe Biden’s impeachment, and baselessly claimed he is “literally bringing in terrorists.”

Ellis announced her suspension on Newsmax Monday night, and posted a clip of her appearance (below) to her Facebook page.

“Twitter doesn’t want any discussion of the truth about Biden’s illegal actions and the repercussions that will most certainly happen to the United States,” she wrote, falsely. “My 12-hour suspension for ‘hate speech’ is insane censorship.”

A screenshot of what Ellis says is her suspension notice says her account has violated Twitter’s rules against “hateful conduct.”

Ellis on Newsmax claims by posting her tweet she was “standing up for our Constitution, standing up for our rule of law,” and falsely claims that “Biden is letting in terrorists because he is not allowing any of these people to be vetted, he’s breaking the law.”

The refugees are being vetted by the U.S. Many if not most being brought to the U.S. have applied for the Special Immigrant Visa program and worked for the U.S. government or military. They are being housed on U.S. military bases.

The rules for obtaining a Special Immigrant Visa are quite strict, as The New York Times notes:

Applicants must show they have been employed for at least two years by the U.S. government or an associated entity. Among other paperwork, they must prove they performed valuable service by providing a recommendation from an American supervisor. They must also show that they have experienced, or are experiencing, a serious threat as a consequence of their work for the United States.

Watch:

 

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Slammed for Attack Targeting Dem With Trans Daughter as House Readies LGBTQ Equality Act Vote

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It’s almost as if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wanted to prove why the LGBTQ Equality Act is so important, right before the House will vote on the anti-discrimination legislation that Green just days ago called “disgusting, immoral, and evil.”

Wednesday night Greene posted a video of her hanging an anti-transgender sign outside her office, smugly wiping her hands when the deed was done, as Mediaite reported. It was a rare move, not only another direct attack on Americans, some of whom Rep. Greene represents, but a direct attack on her House colleague across the hall, Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL), whose daughter is transgender.

Congresswoman Newman had installed a transgender flag outside her office, after Greene’s ugly attack on transgender people and all LGBTQ Americans.

Greene’s attack only served to make anti-LGBTQ discrimination more apparent. When the House debates the legislation, no one will be able to say it’s not needed, after a sitting Member of Congress literally targeted transgender Americans in a vicious attack.

There was also this attack:

Newman told New York magazine why she put the transgender flag outside her office.

“I’m going to put this flag here so you can see it every day and see about your actions and your hate and your disrespect. So that’s all that was meant to do. It was just making a statement.” She added, “You only let a bully go so long, and then you have to be clear and direct and firm — and I was.”

Support for Newman has been tremendous.

 

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