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No, Honey, Conservatives Are Not Better for LGBTQ Folks Than Progressives

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Conservatives believe they’re the best option for LGBTQ people post Orlando. No, honey. Just no.

Have you noticed that all of a sudden conservative leaders are pretending to love The Gays™ and trying to convince us that they’re on our side? There are even gay folks out there shilling for Trump and trying to tell us that we’d be better off if we abandoned our progressive allies in favor of “pragmatic” conservatives.

Honey, no. Just no. 

Let’s talk about why this is such a stupid proposition, ok?

Pretty much by definition, and certainly by experience, conservatives just don’t like LGBTQ people. They don’t like us because of who we are, who we love, and how we live our lives. They find our very existence to be a threat to them because we refuse to fit into the boxes that they created. 

Conservatives have a terrible track record when it comes to LGBTQ people, and it’s not something they can out run any time soon: 

  • Conservatives criminalized our sex lives.
  • Conservatives were adamantly against us serving openly in the military – and we’re still fighting that battle today.
  • Conservatives passed laws prohibiting us from adopting children and raising families.
  • Conservatives passed laws prohibiting us from marrying the people we love.
  • Conservatives threw us in jail for going to bars with people who were like us.
  • Conservatives continue to prohibit us from donating blood because they think we’re a danger to society.
  • Conservatives are passing laws making it illegal for many of us to go to the bathroom.
  • Conservatives are passing laws making it legal for them to discriminate against us based on their religious beliefs.
  • Conservatives refuse to pass laws making it illegal to fire us or kick us out of our houses simply because of who we are.
  • Conservatives are fighting schools that create gay-straight alliances because they don’t want kids to know that queer people exist.
  • Conservatives are against comprehensive sex education in schools because they’re afraid we’ll turn the children gay.
  • Conservatives are in favor of abusive “conversion therapy” treatment, which has been shown to cause irreparable harm and doesn’t work.
  • Conservatives are against anti-bullying policies and laws that protect LGBTQ students.
  • Conservatives are against providing trans-affirming healthcare.
  • Conservatives placed numerous roadblocks in front of access to health and legal safety for transgender people.
  • Conservatives lead the campaign to make it illegal for gay people to be teachers because they didn’t want us around their children.
  • Conservatives fought against federal hate crimes laws and continue to fight against state and local hate crimes laws.
  • Conservatives believe using the proper pronouns and referring to us by our names is offensive and pedantic.
  • Conservative have been fighting against our full legal equality for decades.

So what could conservatives possibly think makes them better for LGBTQ people?

They like guns, and they want us to like guns, too. Also they’re incredibly xenophobic, particularly, Islamaphobic, and to them, that’s all the reason they need.

That’s it. That’s their argument. They love guns and they hate Muslims, and they think that we should too. 

(I should note that there are plenty of LGBTQ folks who like guns and that’s fine and there are also plenty of progressives who like guns too but that’s not what I’m trying to make this column about.)

The conservative argument for LGBTQ equality isn’t one of acceptance and affirmation. It’s Islamaphobia and hoplophilia. When conservatives say that LGBTQ people should join them, what they’re really saying is that if we were anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim, we’d be better off. They’re saying that the only reason Orlando happened was solely because of radical Islamic terror, and that if we all had guns, the shooter wouldn’t have had a chance. 

Neither of those things is true, of course, and neither of those things will make us any safer. Engaging in Islamaphobia won’t make our world a better place and there’s no empirical evidence that says having more guns makes us safer. Does anyone really think that someone who’s been drinking and partying all night would have the capacity to safely use a gun?

Conservatives are trying to scare us. That’s it. They’re trying to prey on our vulnerability and our fears in the wake of Orlando and it’s disgusting. And sadly, it’s not at all surprising.

Conservatives are NOT better for LGBTQ people than progressives. History has shown that they’re not better for our safety, for our health, for our families, or for our children. Anyone who says otherwise is ignoring the past – hell, they’re ignoring the present.

So when a conservative tells you we’d be better off with them? No, honey. Just no. 

 

Robbie Medwed is an Atlanta-based LGTBTQ activist and educator. His column appears here weekly. Follow him on Twitter: @rjmedwed.

 

Image:
Top by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
Bottom by  via Twitter

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Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds

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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”

“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.

Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.

“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).

The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.

A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.

“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.

“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”

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Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”

Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”

In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”

Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”

“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”

The original video is here.

See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.

Caution: the video is disturbing.

READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’

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Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.

While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.

But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.

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“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”

CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”

The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.

Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.

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NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.

“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”

 

 

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RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties

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Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.

“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”

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“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.

“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”

One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.

But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”

Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”

Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.

“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.

“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”

Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won

 

 

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