It is too bad that you have to use such hateful words toward consenting adults   
   just because don't have sex the same way you do.   
      
      
   On Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 1:51:12 PM UTC-8, Cut Some IRS Throats wrote:   
   > NEW YORK (AP) — After a string of major victories in recent    
   > years, LGBT activists are bracing for a different task in 2017 —    
   > trying to prevent Republicans in Congress and state legislatures    
   > from undermining those gains.   
   >    
   > They view President-elect Donald Trump and many of his Cabinet    
   > selections as disinterested — and in some cases hostile — when    
   > it comes to the various issues of civil rights and anti-   
   > discrimination protections that concern lesbian, gay, bisexual    
   > and transgender Americans.   
   >    
   > At the state level, with Republicans controlling a sizable    
   > majority of legislatures, there's already a push for measures    
   > which LGBT activists view as discriminatory. For example,    
   > legislators in several states — including Alabama, Missouri,    
   > South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin — are advocating    
   > for laws that would bar transgender students from using    
   > bathrooms or locker rooms that don't match their biological    
   > gender at birth.   
   >    
   > "2017 is going to be our toughest year yet," said the National    
   > Center for Transgender Equality in a recent fundraising appeal.   
   >    
   > There also may be a push in some states for so-called "religious    
   > exemption" laws that would allow some businesses and civil    
   > servants to refuse services to LGBT people if their decisions    
   > were deemed to be based on religious belief.   
   >    
   > In Congress, conservative Republicans plan to address the    
   > religious-exemption issue by relaunching the First Amendment    
   > Defense Act , which would prohibit punitive federal action    
   > against people and institutions that define marriage as a union    
   > of one man and one woman. The measure failed to advance during    
   > two previous sessions, but may gain more traction now, with    
   > Trump promising to sign it if it reaches his desk.   
   >    
   > Ian Thompson, a legislative specialist with the American Civil    
   > Liberties Union, says the proposed act "would open the door to    
   > unprecedented taxpayer-funded discrimination, allowing anyone to    
   > act with impunity in rejecting same-sex couples."   
   >    
   > The act's lead Senate sponsor, Republican Mike Lee of Utah,    
   > denies that the measure gives a green light to discrimination    
   > and says it's needed to safeguard religious liberty.   
   >    
   > "It will protect individuals, regardless of their beliefs about    
   > marriage, from being deprived of eligibility for federal grants,    
   > licenses and employment because of their deeply held    
   > convictions," Lee says.   
   >    
   > Among other objectives, the measure would prevent the IRS from    
   > revoking the tax-exempt status of religious institutions because    
   > of their refusal to accommodate same-sex marriages.   
   >    
   > Although prominent social conservatives consider passage of the    
   > act a high priority, its prospects are uncertain. LGBT-rights    
   > groups and the Democratic leadership strongly oppose it;    
   > Thompson doubts it would gain enough votes to overcome a    
   > Democratic filibuster in the Senate.   
   >    
   > It's also unclear how many of the state measures seeking to    
   > curtail LGBT rights will be enacted. One state with such a law    
   > in effect — North Carolina — has suffered a backlash that    
   > included cancellation of planned business and sports activities    
   > in the state.   
   >    
   > Business coalitions have formed in several other states —    
   > including Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee — to oppose enactment    
   > of like-minded bills, and Georgia's Republican governor, Nathan    
   > Deal, vetoed such a measure last year.   
   >    
   > Mississippi did enact a religious-exemptions bill last year, but    
   > a federal appeals court has blocked it from taking effect. The    
   > law would allow clerks to cite religious objections to recuse    
   > themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples,    
   > and would protect merchants who refuse services to LGBT people.   
   >    
   > Texas is likely to be a high-profile battleground this year. Lt.    
   > Gov. Dan Patrick, a key player in setting the legislative    
   > agenda, is backing a North Carolina-style bill that would ban    
   > transgender people from using public bathrooms of their choice.   
   >    
   > "The people of Texas elected us to stand up for common sense,    
   > common decency and public safety," Patrick said at a news    
   > conference Thursday.   
   >    
   > A statewide business coalition counters that Texas could lose    
   > billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs if it pursues    
   > the legislation. Such intervention by the business community is    
   > viewed by LGBT activists as vital now that chances for gains at    
   > the legislative level have diminished.   
   >    
   > "Even in the face of relentless attempts to undermine equality,    
   > America's leading companies and law firms remain steadfast,"    
   > said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a    
   > national LGBT-rights group.   
   >    
   > James Esseks, director of the ACLU's LGBT Project, depicted the    
   > push for religious-exemption bills as "Plan B" for social    
   > conservatives after their "Plan A" failed when the U.S. Supreme    
   > Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex marriage should be legal    
   > nationwide.   
   >    
   > "If they have to live in a world with LGBT equality, they want    
   > to carve out a refuge for themselves," Esseks told a recent    
   > media briefing.   
   >    
   > Some opponents of the LGBT-rights movement are urging the    
   > incoming Trump administration to reverse gay-friendly actions    
   > backed by President Barack Obama.   
   >    
   > In Congress, the House Freedom Caucus is calling on the new    
   > administration to scrap an Education Department initiative    
   > advising school districts to let transgender students use    
   > restrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity, as    
   > opposed to the gender on their birth certificate.   
   >    
   > The caucus also wants to revoke non-discrimination protections    
   > in the Affordable Care Act that have benefited LGBT people.   
   > On another front, the conservative Family Research Council says    
   > State Department employees who promote LGBT-rights causes abroad    
   > should be "ferreted out" and replaced by conservatives. The    
   > Human Rights Campaign denounced this proposal as "illegal and    
   > vindictive."   
   >    
   > In another initiative, dozens of prominent conservative    
   > academics and religious leaders recently co-signed a statement    
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)