May 2 is International Harry Potter Day, the anniversary of the climactic Battle of Hogwarts in the final Potter book, when love overcomes hate and death. It’s a very Easter kind of occasion, and intentionally so, according to author J….
Speaker offers primer on LGBTQ words and how parents may affirm their kids
Parents can support the emotional and physical well-being of LGBTQ children by accepting the language and concepts they use to express their emerging gender identities, according to Hannah Edwards. Edwards — executive director of Transforming Families, a Minnesota-based, peer-led support…
Disinformation campaign uses ‘phony science’ to discredit trans people, researcher says
Right-wing political and religious groups are waging a disinformation campaign based on phony science to dehumanize transgender people and deny them full political and religious status, said Royal G. Cravens III, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center….
Family Policy Alliance battles ‘Satan’ with plan to end abortion and IVF, outlaw porn, stop transgender identity and take over public schools
The Family Policy Alliance is perhaps the most influential conservative Christian pro-family organization most Americans have never heard of. Founded four decades ago by Focus on the Family, the nonprofit serves as Focus’ public policy partner, promoting its political agenda…
Two things can be true at the same time
In case you missed the controversy, Easter Sunday and Transgender Day of Visibility fell on the same day this year. Oh, the horrors! Conservative evangelicals — many of whom who believe transgender identity is not a real thing — saw…
This is how unhinged Focus on the Family has become
Thirty years ago, when my wife and I were parents of newborn twins, James Dobson was considered the go-to expert for Christian parenting. What we didn’t know then is just how wrong some of his advice was. Dobson was required…
Nex Benedict death ruled suicide, setting off a new round of suspicions and denials
Nex Benedict died by suicide a day after a fight with bullies at their high school, according to a medical examiner’s report released March 13. The 16-year-old nonbinary student’s death has drawn international headlines for a month now, cited by…
God, sex, gender and politics
A redlight recently stopped my progress through snow falling heavily on the smalltown equivalent of Times Square. Gold letters across the courthouse façade proclaimed, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Trusting both God and my all-wheel-drive Subaru, I felt awe and excitement…
Why can’t we just ‘BE KIND NOW!!’?
Thanks to a kindness art campaign going on at our local elementary school this month, I have received multiple notes from my youngest child with a rainbow drawing and one simple command: “BE KIND NOW!!” These BE KIND notes came…
On Nex Benedict, invisible students, Easter Sunday and Trans Day of Visibility
Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Owasso, Okla., died Feb. 7. The cause of death remains undetermined. While tragic that a teen died, many fail to see the significance of what occurred. The focus of numerous reports centers on…
Don’t sacrifice trans kids on a political altar
Many years ago, I read a comic novel in which one character’s hobby was described as “leaping to the defense of ….” We United Methodists are sometimes accused of the same predilection, of being theologically and spiritually wired to stand…
West Virginia bill would require ‘curing’ transgender people
In a season of extreme legislation against the transgender community, three West Virginia senators seek to up the ante with what has been called the “most draconian” legislation yet proposed against transgender identity. Senate Bill 194, would ban all gender-affirming…