Saudi Cleric: Homosexuality should not be punished.

Salman al-Ouda talking to young YouTube producers (Emad Alhusayni/Flickr)

Salman al-Ouda talking to young YouTube producers (Emad Alhusayni/Flickr)

A leading Saudi cleric has publicly stated that homosexuality should not be criminally punished, during a visit to Sweden to visit Syrian refugees.

“Even though homosexuality is considered a sin in all the Semitic holy books, it does not require any punishment in this world,” Dr Salman al-Ouda said in an interview with the Swedish Sydsvenskan newspaper, adding that homosexuals would be punished “after death.”

Homosexuality has long been a controversial topic in much of the Muslim world. LGBT people still face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

[…]

“Homosexuals are not deviating from Islam,” continued Ouda in the interview. “Homosexuality is a grave sin, but those who say that homosexuals deviate from Islam are the real deviators.

“By condemning homosexuals to death they are committing a graver sin than homosexuality itself.”

He added that Islam did not “encourage individuals who have same-sex attraction to show their feelings in public.”

His comments have already provoked controversy in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East.

[…]

He also condemned the abuse of the concept of Sharia law by Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

“Sharia is a very broad and wide concept and it is a concept that has been kidnapped,” he said.

Though still a controversial topic, Ouda is not the first senior Islamic figure to propose changing the legal status of homosexuality.

Middle East Eye has the story.

LC: Pedophiles Behind Non-Discrimination Laws

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel.

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel.

From Right Wing Watch: On today’s “Faith and Freedom” radio program, Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver asserted that North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law and the Religious Right’s boycott of Target are necessary because efforts to allow transgender people to use facilities that match their gender identity are being pushed by pedophilia advocates.

“The fact is we know sexual assaults occur,” he said, “they are going to occur with or without these laws, there’s no question about that. People commit sexual assaults, they commit them in buildings, they commit them in restrooms; but what you have now done, knowing that sexual assaults occur, knowing that they occur in these places where women are trapped and they can’t get out, now what we’ve done, through these laws, is we’ve opened the door for every rapist and pedophile.”

“Frankly,” he continued, “when you look at some of the people behind the North Carolina law and some of these other laws, who are they? They have been identified, some of them that have been advocating this, as pedophiles. Some of this is being financed by those who are actively promoting pedophilia.”

Naturally, Staver did not state just which groups are advocating child abuse.

The Advocate also has this story.

Mississippi Gets Federal Lawsuit, Too.

Nykolas Alford and Stephen Thomas.

Nykolas Alford and Stephen Thomas.

An engaged same-sex couple in Mississippi today filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the implementation of the state’s sweeping anti-LGBT “religious freedom” law before it takes effect July 1.

The federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, contends that Mississippi’s Protecting Freedom of Conscience From Government Discrimination Act, also known as House Bill 1523, violates the promises of equal protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The named plaintiffs are Nykola Alford and Stephen Thomas (pictured above), who have been engaged for nearly two years, according to a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union and its Mississippi chapter, which is representing the couple.

“When HB 1523 passed, it was heartbreaking because it takes away our chance to finally be treated equally,” the couple said in the ACLU’s statement. “At a time when we’re supposed to be excited as a couple engaged to be married, this law permits discrimination against us simply because of who we are. This is not the Mississippi we’re proud to call home. We’re hopeful others will come to realize this and not allow this harmful measure to become law.”

Full Story Here.

McCrory: We’ll Sue the Feds

nc-mccrory-sues-fedsx750

Facing a federal government about to crack down, Gov. Pat McCrory is suing to stop them, arguing there’s no such thing as federal protections for transgender people.

At a press conference at the state capitol in Raleigh today, McCrory repeated his earlier claims that he and his conservative colleagues in the legislature did not “seek out” this issue, placing the blame squarely on members of the Charlotte City Council, which approved a trans-inclusive public accommodations ordinance in February. The statewide law was drafted explicitly as a response to these protections, which McCrory has consistently called “government overreach.”

[…]

North Carolina’s chief legal counsel, Bob Stephens, confirmed during today’s press conference that the state’s lawsuit, seeking declaratory judgment, “is our response to that deadline” set by the DOJ. “So we’ve met the deadline and now we’ll go forward,” he added.

The lawsuit blasts the United States, in particular the federal Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, “for their radical reinterpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which would prevent plaintiffs from protecting the bodily privacy rights of state employees while accommodating the needs of transgendered state employees.”

Mischaracterizing the law as a “common sense privacy policy,” the complaint admits that House Bill 2 does not grant citizens access to public restrooms based on their gender identity. The suit continues:

“The Department [of Justice] contends that North Carolina’s common sense privacy policy constitutes a pattern or practice of discriminating against transgender employees in the terms and conditions of their employment because it does not give employees an unfettered right to use the bathroom or changing facility of their choice based on gender identity. The Department’s position is a baseless and blatant overreach.”

North Carolina’s complaint contends that there is no legal precedent affirming that transgender individuals are protected by federal employment law, but relies upon cases decided up to 16 years ago, notably failing to mention the numerous pro-trans equality rulings handed down in federal courts under the Obama administration.

At today’s press conference, Stephens told reporters that the DOJ is misunderstanding federal civil rights law, and argued that transgender people are not protected under Title VII. “The class of people that the Justice Department are referring to, are not a protected class,” Stephens told reporters, speaking about transgender employees who are now barred from using public restrooms that match their gender identity.

The Advocate has the full story. This just keeps plumbing brand new depths of stupidity and bigotry. How is it possible that holding on to bigotry is worth so much?

McCrory: no clear definition of gender identity.

With a Monday deadline looming and federal funds on the line, Gov. McCrory said he needs more time to consider how he addresses his state's anti-LGBT legislation.

With a Monday deadline looming and federal funds on the line, Gov. McCrory said he needs more time to consider how he addresses his state’s anti-LGBT legislation.

In a Sunday interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace, he revealed that he had requested an extension from the federal government. In response, officials offered a week-long deadline “if the governor admits publicly that their language regarding bathrooms does in fact discriminate.”

“I’m not going to publicly announce that something discriminates,” McCrory said, continuing, “there is no clear definition of gender identity. It is the federal government being a bully.”

Everyone’s a bully except for you, right, Pat?

[…]

Wallace questioned McCrory’s classification of the federal government’s response to HB 2 as “overreach,” comparing the debate to bathrooms segregated by race.

“We can definitely define the race of people. It’s very hard to define transgender or gender identity,” McCrory responded.

It is? How about a person’s gender being what they say it is? Problem solved. I’m getting flashbacks to when people used to grouse and complain that you couldn’t tell men and women apart because of those damn dirty hippies and that long hair, oh my.

Sunday Facepalm

On a recent episode of his “Pray In Jesus Name” program, Gordon Klingenschmitt declared that gays are driven by a demonic “spirit of persecution” that makes them attack Christians and “demand to have sex in your guest bedroom.”

“There is a spirit of persecution that is coming out of this homosexual movement,” Klingenschmitt said, “and it’s not enough that they get weddings in their own private churches, they want to come to your church, they want to come to your business, they might even come to your home — if you are a bed and breakfast owner, they’ll come right into your home and demand to have sex in your guest bedroom and there’s nothing you can do, they say, to deny them service because they have a right to violate your freedom.”

“That is an evil spirit of persecution,” he stated. “There are also evil spirits influencing them to come after the church and we’ve got to stand up, not necessarily against the humans, we’ve got to stand up against Satan, who is inside of them.”

From Right Wing Watch.

Six Amazing Moms

It’s Mother’s Day. This is not a day which affects me personally, in either direction. That said, I want to thank all those women who are also mothers, and are doing an amazing job at raising up thoughtful, accepting, inclusive children. Here are some of those moms, via HRC.

1. Michelle: Michelle is just your average mom in Northern California. She is the mother of three children, including her transgender daughter, Malisa. “Malisa is your typical pre-adolescent girl,” Michelle said in a video for HRC. “She loves to craft and sing.” Michelle and her father, Congressman Mike Honda, have both been open about their undivided support for Malisa and equality for the transgender community.

2. Annie: Annie always knew there was something special about her grandchild, Kaycee. “I knew it was something different about Kaycee,” she said in a HRC video. “Kaycee didn’t have to tell me. I knew it.” While Kaycee was worried about coming out to her family as transgender, her grandmother stood by her side every step of the way.

There are four more wonderful moms, check them out at HRC.

Rape Pregnancies A Silver Lining From God

Ugh. I can’t even suppress the nausea induced by this mess of a person.

via YouTube Republican State Rep. Tila Hubrecht held a press conference Thursday to defend her views on rape pregnancies.

During an intense Tuesday floor debate on the measure, Hubrecht made the case that women should not be allowed to abort pregnancies caused by rape.

“When God gives life he does so because there’s a reason, no matter what,” she said. “Sometimes bad things happen, horrible things, but sometimes God can give us a silver lining through the birth of a child.” Because, yeah, rape sucks, but there’s nothing like nine months of living with your rapist’s baby growing inside you to help you get over it!

Full Story Here.

Oregon: sweeping protection for transgender students

oregon-1

Transgender students across Oregon should be able to use the bathrooms, names and pronouns they want, according to unprecedented guidelines released Thursday by the Oregon Department of Education.

In a sweeping 15-page document the department issued what are likely to be controversial suggestions for Oregon educators — directing them to allow transgender females to play girls sports, for example, and transgender boys to wear tuxedos to prom.

They also suggest school leaders use transgender students’ preferred names, even if that differs from a legal name, on all transcripts and diplomas. And they say the state will require no proof before changing a student’s gender in Oregon records.

“A student who says she is a girl and wishes to be regarded that way throughout the school day should be respected and treated like any other girl,” the document reads. “So too with a student who says he is a boy.”

Full Story Here. And, YAY, Oregon!

Cisgender Kids Bullied by Inclusivity.

The families, represented by right-wing attorneys, claim the federal government's policies on trans students amount to "discrimination" against cisgender students.

The families, represented by right-wing attorneys, claim the federal government’s policies on trans students amount to “discrimination” against cisgender students.

One transgender student. A whole lot of cisgender students. Result: lawsuit against trans*persons inclusivity, non-discrimination and protection policies.

The Obama administration is bullying Illinois families by requiring cisgender (nontrans) students to share a locker room with a transgender classmate, according to a federal lawsuit filed by 51 families in Palatine, Ill.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, claims the federal government is discriminating against students by allowing a transgender girl at William Fremd High School to use the locker room that corresponds with her gender identity.

The families are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom and Thomas More Society, both notorious right-wing, anti-LGBT legal nonprofits, which claim that the U.S. Department of Education’s inclusive stance on trans bathroom access is a “blatant violation of student privacy.”

[…]

Wilson represents the 73 parents and 63 students who are named plaintiffs in recent lawsuit. The court filing alleges that since that ruling was handed down, using the locker room with a trans student has made life difficult for the plaintiffs’ families. “Every day these girls go to school, they experience embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, fear, apprehension, stress, degradation and loss of dignity because they will have to use the locker room and restroom with a biological male,” the complaint reads.

The suit further claims that female students who weren’t comfortable undressing in the presence of a trans person were “ridiculed and harassed by other students to such an extent that the stalls are not a practical option.” The students filing the claim further stated that their peers labeled them “transphobic” and “homophobic” due to their discomfort.

ThinkProgress‘s Zack Ford notes the irony that the aggrieved families refuse to accept the same accommodation the school initially offered the trans student — that she use a private restroom and changing facility, away from all other students.

Zack Ford has an in-depth story at Think Progress. The Advocate also has this story.

Free to Pee at…

pee_inx750

After big-box retailer Target made headlines by reaffirming its long-standing trans-inclusive restroom policy last month, several other national chains are promising that customers and employees can use the restroom that best matches their gender identity at stores nationwide.

Representatives with Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and Hudson’s Bay Co. — which operates high-end department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor — all confirmed to USA Today “that employees and customers in their stores are welcome to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.”

[…]

Bookseller Barnes & Noble told the national paper that as a company, it strives to treat “all employees with dignity and respect.” “For our transgender employees and customers, that means they are allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with,” spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating told USA Today.

I am so relieved. B&N is the only large bookseller in Bismarck, and I love going to the bookstore. All this actually means is that these companies aren’t interested in instituting Pee Police™. (I keep thinking about Psi Corps in B5. It’s the evil Pee Corps!) That’s a good thing, but a lot of national chains aren’t responding in the same way. They aren’t responding at all.  Full Story Here.

Obliterating male and female distinctives.

House Speaker Tim Moore (The News & Observer)

House Speaker Tim Moore (The News & Observer)

North Carolina Republican lawmakers vowed to defy a federal order to repeal or stop enforcing a controversial anti-LGBT law.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday found the law violated the federal Civil Rights Act and Title IX, and officials ordered lawmakers to comply with those laws by next week or risk billions of dollars in federal education funding.

But House Speaker Tim Moore indicated Thursday that he and his fellow Republicans had no intention of meeting the federally mandated deadline, reported The News & Observer.

“We will take no action by Monday,” Moore said. “That deadline will come and go. We don’t ever want to lose any money, but we’re not going to get bullied by the Obama administration to take action prior to Monday’s date. That’s not how this works.”

[…]

One of their fellow Republicans, state Rep. Mark Walker, sniffed that Bruce Springsteen was a “bully” after the rock legend canceled a concert appearance over HB2.

“Bruce is known to be on the radical left,” Walker said. “He’s got every right to be so, but I consider this a bully tactic. It’s like when a kid gets upset and says he’s going to take his ball and go home.”

Aaaaand just what it is you all are doing? Mandating bigotry into law certainly seems like serious bullying to me.

The Christian Action League of North Carolina — one of the primary backers of the controversial law — offered a scenery-chewing statement urging GOP lawmakers to disobey the Obama administration:

“At the hands of his henchmen in the U.S. Department of Justice, King Obama, has delivered his message of intimidation to the state of North Carolina.

“The Administration has taken it upon itself to declare “sex” in Title VII and Title IX includes “sexual orientation” and “gender Identity.” This interpretation goes far beyond the language adopted and intended by Congress. Nevertheless, the Great Pontiff of Political Correctness holds the educational futures of our state’s children hostage, while dangling the money bags of federal funds over their heads, demanding in exchange North Carolina bow to the madness of obliterating male and female distinctives – something foundational to every society in human history.

“The battle over North Carolina’s common sense law, HB 2, has national significance. Must every state, more specifically, 28 other states, with laws similar to our own be forced to sacrifice their fundamental right to privacy and safety when using a restroom, locker room, or shower? That is the question of the hour.

“If this doesn’t make people righteously indignant, then our culture has lost any capacity for real moral outrage. We deserve exactly what we’ll get – confusion and chaos. Either truth is something evidential and verifiable or it’s purely subjective and determined wholly in the eye of the beholder.

“It is imperative the Governor and state lawmakers remain strong and fight the advancement of this misguided agenda. No federal law, approved by the people’s Representatives in Congress requires North Carolina comply with the Obama Administration’s demands.”

-Dr. Mark Creech

Well, male and female ‘distinctives’ are certainly foundational when it comes to misogyny, patriarchy, and every day sexism. They certainly do provide a framework for intolerance and remaining close-minded. All of which are great reasons to obliterate them. (As if it were possible to obliterate them. Christians do love being melodramatic.)

Full Story Here.

UPDATE:

(CNN)- North Carolina will meet a Monday deadline to respond to the U.S. Justice Department about the state’s transgender bathroom law, Gov. Pat McCrory said Thursday.

“We’re reviewing (the Justice Department letter) and we hope to have a response in the very near future.” he said, according to CNN affiliate WNCN.

When asked if the state will respond before Monday’s deadline set by the Justice Department, McCrory answered in the affirmative.

“Definitely,” he said. “We’ll have a response by Monday.”

CNN Story.

Pat Blames PC Culture for HB 2 Hate

Pat McCrory

Pat McCrory

With House Bill 2 under intense scrutiny, the signer of the controversial transphobic bill — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory — lashed out at his critics and voiced concern he would lose his job. […] On the radio show, McCrory declined to take responsibility for the blowback and instead lamented his new pariah status.

“And now, sadly, in our nation if you have disagreement and you’re on the wrong side of that disagreement, according to the thought police, you’re dispensed of. You’re exiled,” he said. “I’ve even had some people call me, ‘Please don’t, governor, don’t show up to this event because I have people who disagree with you and we don’t want it.'”

[…]

“Society is changing quickly, and anybody who gets in the way is in trouble,” McCrory said on The Big Show. “And I might be in trouble. I might be looking for a side job over here.”

McCrory denied Cooper’s charge that HB 2 has embarrassed North Carolina, which has been hemorrhaging millions thanks to events and entertainers pulling out of the state.

“We haven’t embarrassed North Carolina by talking about something logically,” he said. “It’s logic but it’s not politically correct, apparently.”

The governor also contended that Bruce Springsteen, one of the performers boycotting the Tar Heel State, canceled his Greensboro performance because he couldn’t sell tickets. According to the Greensboro Coliseum, the show had sold 15,000 tickets and was about 100 tickets away from being sold out. McCrory also took umbrage with Fox News and Meet the Press, saying they presented him in a bad light when he was defending HB 2.

Full Story Here.