Summer is almost over, which means fall is on its way. Not only are “Wake Me Up When September Ends” posts already popping up on our feeds (which should be stopped, ASAP) but — surprise — homophobes are, too.
Yes, four days into the new month and we’ve already been bombarded by anti-LGBTQ2 folks doing what they do best: hate. While you were enjoying the long weekend, homophobic Harrys and Harriets around the world were busy throwing metaphorical rocks at the gays. So take a deep breath, harness your patience (you’ll need it) and learn about some of the anti-LGBTQ2 people who just can’t mind their own business.
Dominate us, Daddy
We thought we reached peak 2019 with the clownery that was Boston’s Straight Pride Parade on Saturday. Listen, we predicted the outcome in July and we were mostly right. Girl, did you see the flip flops? But on top of that, did you see the Trump supporters, the racists and Milo Yiannopoulos, the alt-right gay personality who said he’s been targeted within the LGBTQ2 community? So, he decided to attend a tailgate party with the straights instead? Choices.
The Straight Pride event received so much backlash (because tbh, it’s truly not necessary) that some right-leaning personalities decided to join the conversation. This brings us to Pastor Greg Locke of Tennessee’s Global Bible Vision Church. Locke expressed his opinion on the matter via a tweet: “The #StraightPrideParade responses truly reveals [sic] that the LGBTQ aren’t looking for equality. They’re looking for domination.”
LGBTQ2 twitter swiftly responded because, domination.
'They're looking for domination' pic.twitter.com/xx26Zkv2vk
— Blue-flyby (@blue_flyby) September 1, 2019
Others pointed out why the pastor’s interpretation is problematic.
https://twitter.com/GirlNamedBoston/status/1167961138081853441
LGBTQ are looking for respect and the ability to love whom they love without ridicule, and to be able to do so without hiding who they are. Heterosexuals get to flaunt their love for each other everywhere and they have rights like no other can. You trample on the rights of others
— Kim/Believe In Yourself (@Kim5Mc) September 1, 2019
I mean, maybe some of us are looking for domination, but it’s definitely not what Pastor Locke had in mind.
No mixed races, no gays because #christianity
A woman in Booneville, Mississippi said her brother and his fiancée weren’t allowed to celebrate their wedding at Boone’s Camp Event Hall because of the venue owner’s “religious beliefs.”
In a story first published by the Deep South Voice, LaKambria Welch alleged that a worker at Boone’s Camp said Welch’s brother, who is Black, and his fiancée, who is a white woman, can’t have their wedding at the location because the venue is a Christian one. The exchange was captured on video.
The staff told Welch: “We don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race — I mean, our Christian belief.”
After hearing Welch’s story, Katelynn Springsteen also told Deep South Voice that the venue refused to offer its services to a gay couple in 2018 — and she had a receipt .
Springsteen said she was trying to find a wedding venue for her best friend, who is a lesbian. Springsteen reached out to Boone’s Camp via Facebook Messenger to see if they would host the gay wedding. The venue responded: “Thanks for checking with us Katelynn, but due to our Christian faith, we would not be able to accommodate you.” And since she’s a smart woman, Springsteen took a screenshot.
The City of Booneville released a statement on Facebook, saying the mayor and other city officials are aware of the comments made by Boone’s Camp staff.
“The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status,” reads the statement. “Furthermore, the City of Booneville, Mayor and Board of Aldermen do not condone or approve these types of discriminatory policies.”
In 2016, the Mississippi Legislature passed a law that allows businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people on the basis of their religious beliefs. The law, however, doesn’t mention race.
Broadcasting Bigotry
Some people want world peace, others like to broadcast their bigoted beliefs on national television.
In a segment on the BBC daytime current affairs show Victoria Derbyshire, well-known anti-trans Christian parent Nigel Rowe aired his bigoted beliefs during a discussion on the implementation of LGBTQ-inclusive education in the UK. Rowe became infamous in 2017 after he and his wife pulled their children out of a school that allowed a six-year-old boy to wear a dress.
The segment also showed Simon Kidwell, Head Teacher at Hartford Manor Primary School & Nursery, reading the 2005 children’s book And Tango Makes Three — a story about two male penguins who create a family together — to a group of LGBTQ people, advocates, critics and authors.
After Kidwell’s reading, Rowe channelled great audacity and said the book about the penguins has an “underlying agenda” that’s “indoctrinating [people] into the LGBT lifestyles” that “committed Christians” do not align with.
When host Victoria Derbyshire asked Rowe what he meant, he said the book is teaching children to believe that being LGBTQ2 is normal.
The outcry came swiftly. In his rebuttal to Rowe’s statement, author Olly Pike, who was also a guest on the show that day, said being gay is normal for him and some people on the show.
“What this is about is saving lives. We know that LGBT+-related bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying in UK schools,” Pike said. “We know that one in five LGB students and more than half of trans students have attempted to take their own life. Once children are taught about LGBT+ bullying, then the bullying goes down in the school.”
Baby Trump Stans
Even on the first day of school, young Trump supporters want to send bad vibes into the universe.
On Aug 28, during the first meeting of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Frontier High School in California, a group of young Trump supporters showed up and disrupted the club’s meeting.
According to some accounts on social media, the group of “straight students,” who were waving flags bearing US President Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again,” were seen holding hands and shouting, “This is what’s right.”
In an interview with ABC, one of the student protesters, Matthew, said he and his group were suspended for harassment, intimidation and sexual harassment.
He said, “If you have an opinion that people don’t agree with, you get hated on.”
Why you can trust Xtra
