I received an urgent call last week from one of my dearest transgender friends. He faced a horrible predicament. Apart from being transgender, my friend suffers from a rare autoimmune illness that, when it flares up, requires intensive hospital care….
This is what your indifference has done
A few weeks ago, one of my dearest friends called me on a Saturday evening from the floor of his apartment closet, where he was huddled in fear of ICE breaking down his door. My friend lives on the 25th…
Bravo to Baton Rouge Library for standing up to evangelical grievance
Seriously. How hard can it be to call someone by the name they want to be called? Is this such a huge imposition? To hear a lot of conservative evangelicals tell it, yeah, such a simple thing goes against their…
Group behind state trans laws celebrates court wins
The Family Policy Alliance is celebrating recent Supreme Court victories for state laws it promoted that halt transgender medical treatments for minors and restrict online porn to viewers who can prove they’re 18 years old. The court also has agreed…
‘We’ve seen an explosion in state-level anti-LGBTQ laws’
The June Supreme Court ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors is a signal that more anti-LGBTQ legislation is on the way, said Orion Rummler, reporter for The 19th, an independent nonprofit news organization. “We’ve seen an explosion…
Supreme Court sides with parents who object to LGBTQ-themed books
Parents have the right to keep their children from any instruction on LGBTQ themes in public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 27. The 6-3 decision found the constitutional right to free exercise of religion was violated by a…
Supreme Court ruling on transgender care called partisan and flawed
The U.S. Supreme Court abandoned science, fairness and common sense in its June 18 decision upholding a state’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, civil rights and legal experts said. The 6-3 ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti found Tennessee’s…
Proposed SBC resolutions throw red meat to the base, avoid key issues
When the Southern Baptist Convention meets in annual session each summer, few things make as many headlines as the resolutions adopted in those two-day sessions. This year will be no exception as the voting participants — called “messengers” in SBC…
Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today
Several Republican-led states have restricted transgender rights: Iowa has signed a law removing civil rights protection for transgender people; Wyoming has prohibited state agencies from requiring the use of preferred pronouns; and Alabama recently passed a law that only two sexes would be recognized. Hundreds…
All the people the recently proposed Obscenity Act does not protect
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has proposed the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act. The bill would change the legal definition of obscenity across all 50 states, redefining the term with more vague language than before. It aims to do this by…
‘Pro-family’ groups support Trump despite major cuts to children’s programs
“President Trump is Protecting America’s Children,” says a White House statement on efforts to halt transgender treatments for minors. Meanwhile, Trump’s drastic cuts to federal programs represent a “war on children,” says a 2,100-word report from ProPublica. “The staff of…
Baptist group not gaining traction in fight against Colorado trans bills
The Center for Baptist Leadership is urging Baptist pastors, Focus on the Family, Compassion International and other groups to publicly oppose a Colorado bill that would penalize parents and others who “deadname” children by not using their preferred pronouns. “Despite…