gay rights Archives

Tennessee’s Anti-Drag Hysteria Started in a Rural Town 90 Miles West of Memphis

March 14, 2023March 15, 2023 Pensito Editors

Tennessee Lookout: “In fall of 2022, nearly a dozen political and religious leaders met with Pride festival organizers in a back room of Jackson City Hall in West Tennessee. The shared goal? Hash out a deal over a drag show.

“Jackson’s third annual LGBTQ Pride festival was scheduled for the following month, and unlike the previous years, the event had grown beyond the usual music and games. Organizers had put together enough money for a 10-person drag performance.

“Jackson is a town of 70,000 in Madison County, Tennessee, located about halfway between Nashville and Memphis on Interstate 40. The county reliably leans Republican, while the city is more split, going 50/50 in the 2020 Presidential election.

“The city hall meeting was a dramatic affair, with Pride organizers storming out after a conservative pastor likened men dressing up in women’s clothing to blackface, but negotiations continued. Afterward, state lawmaker Chris Todd sued the city to stop the event. When that was only partially successful, he spearheaded the effort to create one of the nation’s first restrictions on drag performances.”

Cubans Approve Same-Sex Marriage

September 27, 2022 Buck Banks

“Cubans have approved a sweeping ‘family law’ code that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island.”

— Associated Press

Virginia Ratifies Equal Rights Amendment

January 16, 2020 Buck Banks

38th

“Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory for many women’s rights advocates even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution,” the AP reports.

Support for Same-Sex Marriage Reaches All-Time High

May 25, 2018 Buck Banks

67%

A new Gallup poll finds that approval for same-sex marriages hit an all time high of 67% — a near mirror image of public opinion on the issue just 22 years ago.

Ted Cruz Thinks Gay Rights Has Something to Do with Sex

May 20, 2015 Buck Banks

Is there something about the left — and I am going to put the media in this category — that is obsessed with sex?

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Texas Tribune, when asked about gay rights.

Huckabee: More Sanctions Placed on Indiana than Iran

April 7, 2015 Buck Banks

There’s been more pressure this week to put sanctions on Indiana than Iran. The reason that those corporations put the pressure on Indiana and Arkansas was because the militant gay community put the pressure on them.

— Mike Huckabee, in an interview with Michael Smerconish.

And We Bet Some of His Best Friends Are Black, Too

February 13, 2015 Buck Banks

I’ve had many friends who are homosexual.

— Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, interviewed by Bloomberg, adding that he would never attend a gay wedding.

Lawmaker Equates Right to Fire Gays to Right to Smoke

September 9, 2014 Buck Banks

You need to respect the autonomy of somebody running their business. It’s like smoking bans. Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property. In public spaces, absolutely, we can have smoking bans. But we don’t want to micromanage people’s lives and businesses. If you have a business, do you want the government to come in and tell you you need to hire somebody? Why should government be there to impose on the freedoms we enjoy?

— Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), comparing the right to fire gay workers with the right to smoke cigarettes on private property, ThinkProgress reports.

Texas GOP Platform Seeks to Codify Anti-Gay Attitudes

June 6, 2014 Buck Banks

We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally, we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values. We recognize the legitimacy and value of counseling which offers reparative therapy and treatment to patients who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle, No laws or executive orders shall be imposed to limit or restrict access to this type of therapy.

— Excerpt from the Texas Republican Party’s draft platform for the 2014 elections.

Support for Same-Sex Marriage Reaches New High

May 21, 2014 Buck Banks

55%

Of Americans support legalization of same-sex marriage, according to a new poll from Gallup. In 1996, 68 percent of Americans were against legalization of gay marriage. Among young adults age 18-29 support for gay marriage has risen to 78 percent.

“Cubans have approved a sweeping ‘family law’ code that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island.”

— Associated Press

38th

“Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory for many women’s rights advocates even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution,” the AP reports.

67%

A new Gallup poll finds that approval for same-sex marriages hit an all time high of 67% — a near mirror image of public opinion on the issue just 22 years ago.

Is there something about the left — and I am going to put the media in this category — that is obsessed with sex?

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Texas Tribune, when asked about gay rights.

There’s been more pressure this week to put sanctions on Indiana than Iran. The reason that those corporations put the pressure on Indiana and Arkansas was because the militant gay community put the pressure on them.

— Mike Huckabee, in an interview with Michael Smerconish.

I’ve had many friends who are homosexual.

— Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, interviewed by Bloomberg, adding that he would never attend a gay wedding.

— Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), comparing the right to fire gay workers with the right to smoke cigarettes on private property, ThinkProgress reports.

— Excerpt from the Texas Republican Party’s draft platform for the 2014 elections.

55%

Of Americans support legalization of same-sex marriage, according to a new poll from Gallup. In 1996, 68 percent of Americans were against legalization of gay marriage. Among young adults age 18-29 support for gay marriage has risen to 78 percent.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“It does make the conversation of the primary all about Trump, which is a good dynamic he had going for him in 2016, everyone being asked to react to Trump. We’re right now fighting a primary so all that matters is the party, and we can deal with the general after….”

— A GOP operative, quoted by the Washington Post, on the impact of Donald Trump being indicted.

— Gov. Ron DeSantis, when asked about Donald Trump’s “Ron DeSantimonius” nickname for him.

“I’m emancipated now.” — Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by the Los Angeles Times, on her life as a backbencher.

— Alexander Burns

— Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, distancing himself from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ apparent flip-flop on the war in Ukraine, on the Hugh Hewitt radio show.

Numerati

$20

Politico: “After inflation rocketed upward last year, those pushing for higher minimum wages see a new opening to gain ground on raising worker pay.”

3,500

$3,300

“Donald Trump asked his followers to sign a petition denouncing his potential arrest in New York,” Insider reports. “But signing this petition leads people straight to a page where they’re asked to give $3,300 or other suggested amounts of cash to his 2024 campaign.”

1.5

21

Twenty-one members of the South Carolina State House are considering a bill that would make a woman who has an abortion in the state eligible for the death penalty, Rolling Stone reports.