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Gay Former Christian College RA To NOM: Recant Your Attack On Gay RAs

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Last week for Thanksgiving, Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, head of the National Organization For Marriage‘s Ruth Institute, recorded a video attacking gay college RA’s. Most colleges and universities have RA’s, resident assistants or resident advisors, who help students and act as ombudsmen. 

Dr. Morse saw fit to warn parents about gay RA’s — who apparently are everywhere, even at “a Christian college” — and supposedly are pressuring students in a “punitive” manner. Dr. Morse warned parents to have conversations with their children, and seemed to warn parents to be careful their children were not friendly with or even exposed to gay people, who might somehow, without their knowledge, be pressuring young college students, even at “a Christian college.”

Pressuring them about what, and how? Dr. Morse didn’t elaborate.

We invited one former RA from a Christian college, Brandon Habron, who is gay and a New Civil Rights Movement reader, to write Dr. Roback Morse in response, after he expressed his upset about Dr. Roback Morse’s comments via our Facebook page.

We’d like to offer Dr. Roback Morse the opportunity to respond on these pages. We doubt she’ll have the same courage as Brandon Habron, but we hope she will.  

 

An Open Letter To NOM’s Jennifer Roback Morse:

Dear Dr. Roback Morse,

Greetings to you and those at the Ruth Institute.  I have been watching your video posted on November 20, 2012 entitled “A Thanksgiving Message from Dr J” over and over again.  I’ve shared the video with my friends and Facebook followers.  I felt quite hurt by your words, but instead of attacking you like others may, I wanted to explain why I felt attacked.

I am a 23 year old, first generation college graduate residing in Harrisonburg, VA where I attended a small liberal arts Mennonite university.  At this school, I served as a resident advisor (RA) during my sophomore, junior, and senior years.  I began the arduous process of coming out as a gay man in my sophomore year.  It is my understanding that most of the students in the school knew I was gay before the end of my sophomore year, this includes the residents whom I served and would serve as RA.  I received a mixed reaction from the student body and faculty, but was met with primarily open arms.  I graduated in April of this year receiving the highest honor awarded to any graduate of the school, the Cords of Distinction, in recognition of my bravery, tenacity, and drive to succeed in creating what my school believed in most—community.

In your video, you recount a story of an interaction you had with a young lady at a state school who was pressured into participating in a building activity that you termed as a drag party.  While I agree with you that pressuring anyone into anything they do not feel comfortable with is unacceptable; I felt that your afterthoughts were quite discouraging.  Actions such as these do not create community.  However, neither does villainizing an entire group of people based on their sexual orientation.

As an RA, I was responsible for creating safe and enriched community.  I planned activities that were fun that also fit within my university’s Community Lifestyle Commitment which restricted the use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco on campus.  I made the choice to attend a school that had such beliefs because they aligned with my own, including the spiritual foundation of said beliefs.   My sexual orientation never created an issue when it came to doing my job to the best of my abilities.  I never pushed a liberal or gay agenda to students who felt similar to the way that you do.

In your video, I watched as you villainized me by saying that gay RAs are pressuring students, “hanging out with students.”  You make gay RAs out to be some sort of dark force of energy attacking “your young people.”  Dr. Roback Morse, they are our young people.  They were and are my best friends, classmates, and residents.  I was responsible for them, and I did my best to create a home for them where we all felt welcomed regardless of beliefs or sexual orientation.  I am one of those young people.

My mission in creating this home sprouts from a knowledge of how diverse our upbringings are, and our personal struggles to find acceptance, love, and one day — home.  I used my own marginalization as a tool to reach out to students struggling with their own sexual orientation or another problem such as self-harm, eating disorders, sexual abuse, misuse of drugs or alcohol or any other difficulty faced by modern college students.  I encouraged them to seek professional help from trained counselors, and embrace who they are as a way to find greater healing.  For it is only when we embrace our true selves, scars and all, that we can create community.

We are not a threat, Dr. Roback Morse.  We help create a diverse community, not threaten people’s convictions.  I want equality in this country, which is nothing more than what you have, no threat to your current situation.  I am asking you to recant your statements because they are harmful.  I am not a villain.  You do not know me, yet you make such assumptions about me and the other thousands of gay RAs in the world.  If you knew me I would like to believe that you would never have made such statements.  I want to live in community together with you and others like you striving to work together for a common good.  Community is about finding a commonality, growing, learning, excelling together.  We cannot have community until we have ubuntu, an African ethic, defined by Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist, as “I am what I am because of who we all are”.  We all must be tolerant and caring of everyone, if we ever hope to have that feeling ourselves.

I am not asking you to doctor your opinions or for a vote or even for acceptance.  I just ask that you not attack me and others for living our lives fully as who we are.  Please recant your statements, or I worry RAs may lose their jobs, and their ability to serve openly.  Do not create a war against us because I would never create a war against you.

In peace,

Brandon Habron

 

  

Brandon Habron is from Harrisonburg, Virrginia. He graduated from Eastern Mennonite University with a major in Liberal Arts, with a concentration in Theatre and Sociology. His aspirations are to pursue a Masters in Sociology, with a focus on sexuality to eventually teach young people. Currently he is a library supervisor, and does speaking engagements throughout the Shenandoah Valley, telling his coming out story, empowering both gay people and allies to stand up for what’s right.

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News

‘This Isn’t Justice’: Legal Experts Blast Cannon for Postponing Trump Case Indefinitely

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U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon late Tuesday afternoon issued an indefinite postponement of the court date in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump on Espionage Act charges, in the indictment commonly referred to as the classified documents case.

Claiming it would be “imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court,” along with other matters, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, wrote: “the Court finds that the ends of justice served by this continuance…outweigh the best interest of the public and Defendants in a speedy trial.”

Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports, “It may be months before we know the new schedule.” Trial had been slated to begin May 20.

“With 13 days before her trial was supposed to kick off, Judge Cannon finally says what has been obvious to every legal journalist I know: She’s not just canceling the existing trial date; she’s also not picking a replacement,” MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin reports.

READ MORE: Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

The 37 count indictment was brought after Trump removed well over 1000 items, including hundreds of classified documents, out of the White House, retained then refused to return them, allegedly violating several statutes under the Espionage Act.

“Trump mishandled classified documents that included information about the secretive U.S. nuclear program and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack,” according t0 the federal indictment, Reuters reported last year.

The trial now is not expected to conclude before the November presidential election this year.

This is news but it’s hardly unexpected,” declared professor of law, former U.S. Attorney, and MSNBC contributor Joyce Vance wrote. “Judge Cannon seems desperate to avoid trying this case. This isn’t justice. defendants aren’t the only ones with speedy trial act rights, we the people have them too.”

“After the election,” professor of law and former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter commented, “if Trump wins Jack Smith gets fired, the case gets dismissed, and Judge Cannon is ready for SCOTUS.”

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

Attorney and author Luppe B. Luppen noted, “Judge Cannon’s rationale for indefinitely postponing Trump’s classified documents trial is that a large number of pretrial motions remain unresolved—a state of affairs she has literally engineered by failing to resolve them.”

Professor of law and noted election law expert Rick Hasen asked: “Is it too cynical to believe that Judge Cannon timed the announcement of the postponement of a Trump classified documents trial to take away from the salacious sex details from Stormy Daniels’ testimony today?”

National security attorney Brad Moss served up a “silver lining to Cannon not setting a new trial date: she isn’t blocking the DC or Georgia election cases from resuming in the late summer/early fall, pending SCOTUS ruling on immunity.”

Foreign policy, national security, and political affairs analyst David Rothkopf added, “Justice delayed is justice denied. Both the defendant and the public have the right to a trial ‘without unnecessary delay.’ (Sixth Amendment.) When does Jack Smith seek a remedy for the problem Judge Cannon clearly represents? Tick freaking tock.”

READ MORE: Judge Hands Trump ‘Incarceration’ Threat as Experts Say Next Time He’ll Toss Him in Jail

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News

Trump Battled to Go to Son’s Graduation – So Why Is He Speaking at a Fundraiser That Day?

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Last month Donald Trump falsely told reporters Justice Juan Merchan had blocked him from attending his youngest son’s high school graduation, refusing to give him the day off from his required attendance at his New York criminal court case.

Justice Merchan had actually told Trump he would take the request under advisement, but Trump quickly ran to reporters painting the judge as heartless.

On April 15 Trump said, “it looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard and he is a great student.”

“It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial,” Trump alleged.

The Associated Press reported, “Trump then furthered his criticism of the judge on his Truth Social platform, writing in one post both that he ‘will likely not be allowed to attend’ and that ‘the Judge, Juan Merchan, is preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation.’ He wrote in another post less than two hours later that he is ‘being prohibited from attending.'”

READ MORE: Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

None of that was accurate.

Last week Judge Merchan granted Trump the day off from court to attend his son’s high school graduation.

But The Lincoln Project and others on Tuesday posted the announcement for “Minnesota’s 2024 Lincoln Reagan Dinner With Special Guest DONALD J. TRUMP” on Friday, May 17, 2024.

Trump, as The New Republic notes, will be the headline speaker at the event in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which starts at 5:00 PM.

The fundraiser offers supporters the opportunity to spend $100,000, which grants them “10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 3 Photo Opportunities with President Trump.”

Or, for example, for $50,000, a supporter can get a “Chairman’s Host Table – 10 VIP Dinner Seats | 10 VIP Reception Passes | 1 Photo Opportunity with President Trump.”

KARE reports “the visit is expected to be the former president’s first trip to Minnesota of the 2024 election cycle.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Trump has strong motivation to head to Minnesota.

Over the weekend, as NBC News reports, “Top officials for former President Donald Trump’s campaign believe they can flip Democratic strongholds Minnesota and Virginia into his column in November, they told donors behind closed doors at a Republican National Committee retreat Saturday.”

Barron Trump’s graduation from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida reportedly will be the same day, May 17. Depending on timing, It’s possible Trump could fly from Florida to Minnesota to get to the fundraiser by 5 PM.

Watch Trump’s remarks from April 15 below or at this link.

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OPINION

Johnson Demands All Trump Prosecutions Cease, Vows to Use Congress ‘In Every Possible Way’

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In a clear attack on the executive branch, the judicial system, states’ rights, and the rule in law in America, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson vowed on Tuesday to use all the powers of Congress at his disposal to end all four current criminal prosecutions of ex-president Donald Trump.

Johnson’s remarks late Tuesday morning came at the exact same time Stormy Daniels was giving sworn testimony about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump in a Manhattan Superior Court case. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee is on trial for 34 felonies related to falsification of business records when he allegedly paid hush money to the adult film star, then covered up those payments in what prosecutors say was election interference.

“President Trump has done nothing wrong here and he continues to be the target of endless lawfare,” Speaker Johnson told reporters Tuesday during an official House news conference (video below). “It has to stop. And you’re gonna see the United States Congress address this in every possible way that we can, because we need accountability. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s bigger than President Trump. It’s about the people’s faith in our system of justice. And we’re gonna get down to the bottom of it. All these cases need to be dropped, because they are a threat to our system.”

Johnson’s remarks also come as he faces an ouster threat from far-right MAGA Republican Christian nationalist Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Speaker, who repeatedly has said he speaks to Trump frequently, spent the weekend at the ex-president’s Florida resort and residence, Mar-a-Lago. He also traveled there just weeks ago as Greene’s threats were heating up. Trump and Johnson held a joint press conference on “election integrity,” an image some say was a show of strength and support from the leader of his party.

READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Violate Gag Order and Go to Jail: ‘I’ll Do That Sacrifice Any Day’

Johnson’s job is being protected by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the vast majority of the Democratic caucus, which have promised to protect him should Greene call up her motion to vacate.

Claiming Republicans are “trying to keep steadying hands on the wheel here and keep the legislative branch moving and operating in the best interest of the people,” Johnson also alleged, “One of the things that is also in jeopardy right now is our judicial branch. And it’s our system of government itself. And I don’t think we can say often enough here how much of that has been abused under this administration, and with local prosecutors, state prosecutors, and at the federal level, who are using lawfare. They’re using our judicial system to go after political opponents.”

The Speaker continued his targeting, declaring Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “case should never have been brought.”

“If there’s ever been an example of lawfare, everybody can look at that and see, the trial is being orchestrated by Democrats, supporters of President Biden who are trying to make a name for themselves. I mean, they’re pretty open about that. They used it in their campaign flips. We’ve got a Democrat District Attorney, a Biden donor judge whose daughter is a Democratic political consultant and has clients that use the case in their solicitation emails to raise money.”

Justice Juan Merchan, CNN reported last month, made a $15 donation to the Biden campaign, amid a total of $35 total in 2020.

Johnson also called Justice Merchan “a well-known Democrat” who “is pursuing an indefensible gag order on President Trump,” and “trying to override President Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself against the constant smears of his political opponents.”

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Talking About That Meeting’: Noem Implies She May Have Met With Kim Jong Un

Pointing to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump in the Espionage Act case, often called the “classified documents” case, Johnson called it “the weaponization of our justice system.”

He called all the cases against the ex-president “a clear attempt to keep Donald Trump in the courtroom and off the campaign trail. That’s what this is. It’s an election interference. It is borderline criminal conspiracy and the American people see right through it.”

Watch a short clip of Johnson’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Israel Aid, Ukraine Aid, Kitchenaid’: Dem Mocks GOP’s ‘Hands Off Our Appliances’ Week

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