This is terrifying and totally goes against the Constitution which so many politicians ascribe to.
For example:
‘an array of anti-protesting laws that center on stiffening penalties for demonstrators who block traffic; in North Dakota, conservatives are even pushing a bill that would allow motorists to run over and kill protesters so long as the collision was accidental.’
‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.’
~Wikipedia~
LAWMAKERS IN TEN STATES HAVE PROPOSED LEGISLATION CRIMINALIZING PEACEFUL PROTEST
Spencer Woodman
Millions of demonstrators took to streets across the country to mobilize against the ‘so-called president‘ and his agenda, assembling in a national turnout that organizers call the beginning of a reinvigorated protest movement. But in states home to dozens of demonstrations, Republican lawmakers are moving to criminalize and increase penalties on peaceful protesting.
Minnesota, Washington State, Michigan, Iowa, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana
I encourage the reader to click on link to get additional, full information.
Microsoft’s 2016 holiday advertisement celebrates the accomplishments of ordinary people who worked hard to make 2016 a better year for everyone.
The global tech company worked with the ad agency McCann to bring eight changemakers into the same room to create artwork that reflects their “vision of hope, peace and beauty.”
The “Art of Harmony” ad featured people like Zianna Oliphant, a young girl who pleaded for justice at the Charlotte City Council after the police shooting of Keith Scott in North Carolina, Christopher Catrambone, an entrepreneur who founded the Migrant Offshore Aid Station to help rescue migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, and Jazz Jennings, a transgender activist.
“This year has been challenging for many and much of what we hear in the news can be negative. Microsoft wanted to lift people up and remind them that ordinary people can make a difference.
The message focuses on the spirit of the holidays, people coming together and celebrating what is good and right with the world – what unites us, instead of what divides us.”
Microsoft said.
The ad will run throughout the holiday season on television and online, in markets throughout the world.
“We wanted to lift people up and remind them that ordinary people can make a difference. Our message focuses on the spirit of the holidays, people coming together and celebrating what is good and right with the world – what unites us, instead of what divides us.”
#LoveWins: Celebrating One Year of Marriage Equality in America
In a historic 5-4 ruling exactly a year ago, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that bans on marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional, paving the way for nationwide marriage equality.
Two years prior, rulings in the historic Supreme Court cases United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and brought marriage equality back to California, respectively, laying the groundwork for Obergefell v. Hodges to make marriage equality the law of the land in all 50 states.
In 2016 alone, more than 200 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 34 states. HRC has been on the ground fighting back against these dangerous pieces of legislation. While most have been defeated, five of those hateful bills (one in North Carolina, Tennessee and Kansas and two in Mississippi) have become law.
Tragically, those who lost their lives in the Orlando attack two weeks ago demonstrate why our battle against hatred and violence is so important to the LGBTQ community.
As we honor and celebrate this historic day, we must recommit ourselves to ending discrimination against LGBTQ people and help realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
This North Carolina “HB2 Law” has not sat well with me.
Some of you may know the reasons behind my feelings.
Aside from being a proud member of the LGBT community, I was taught that America was the land of opportunity and the we are all created equal.
The second paragraph in the Declaration of Independence states,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Yet, here we are, in the 21st century, bickering about the triviality of which bathroom people should use.
Seems it has become fashionable now to direct hate and discrimination unto a group of citizens who have very frequently been at this receiving end for most of their lives.
I posted a video about this on Facebook a couple of days ago.
THIS EXPLAINS WHY THIS ISSUE IS SO IMPORTANT
This morning a FB “friend” commented:
I hope and pray North Carolina wins.
I asked why he thought that.
His Responses
Men have no right going in women’s bathrooms.
If you have a penis swinging between your legs, stay out.
God doesn’t make mistakes and any that believe he does will know at the end of time.
Then how can you say you have faith or even believe in God. You’re saying he messed up. It’s impossible for him to make mistakes.
I’m a psychotherapist I have the book … the DSM-5.
I know that God doesn’t make mistakes and just because people want to say inside I’m a man or a woman doesn’t make it so.
Good luck to you, and I will pray for you.
My Responses
I disagree! Your thinking seems to be very narrow and lacks compassion for those experiencing these feelings (trapped in the wrong body) and seems too cut and dry.
The new DSM eliminates the term “gender identity disorder,” long considered stigmatizing by mental health specialists and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists. That old diagnosis meant that a man who believed he was destined to be a woman was considered mentally ill. No longer so.
Oh, now I know … Pastor at New Life Apostolic.
Now I understand. TY … but I don’t need you prayers!!
I think I’m hitting the “blocked” button soon.
“I hope and pray that the DOJ wins.”
Let the video speak for itself.
FYI
He’s still at it.
This is my last comment.
“I’m not questioning your right to live any life style or believe what you want according to the men of this world. In that manner you’re correct. You can do what ever you want.
God’s ways are not man’s ways according to the bible. When man gets his hands on what God intends to be holy, clean, and righteous, it become dirty, corrupt, and sinful. So, if you want to live according to what men say is okay and not what God says that’s your choice.
In the garden it was Adam & Eve, not Adam & Steve.
God meant for a relationship between a man and a woman for procreation. With that said kind of hard to do if in my mind I should be a woman and I’m really a man.
The Department of Justice has sued the state of North Carolina over HB2, the controversial “bathroom bill” enacted in March.
In impassioned remarks Monday afternoon, May 9, 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch blasted the law as “state-sponsored discrimination,” compared the law to segregation provisions of yore, and spoke directly to transgender people from a lectern at the Justice Department.
“This action is about a great deal more than bathrooms. This is about the dignity and the respect that we accord our fellow citizens,” she said. “It’s about the founding ideals that have led this country, haltingly but inexorably, in the direction of fairness, inclusion, and equality for all Americans.”
Lynch, who is a North Carolina native, placed HB2 on a continuum with state reactions against civil-rights progress, from Jim Crow to Brown v. Board of Education. She pointed out that just a few decades ago, black people were also barred from using certain bathrooms.
“Let me speak now directly to the people of the great state, the beautiful state, my home state of North Carolina,” she said. “You have been told that this law protects vulnerable populations from harm. That is just not the case. What this law does is inflict further indignity for a population that has already suffered far more than its far share. This law provides no benefit to society, and all it does is harm innocent Americans.”
“Let us learn from our history and avoid repeating the mistakes of our past,” she said. “Let us reflect on the obvious: State-sanctioned discrimination never works, and it never looks good in retrospect.”
The lawsuit is the culmination of a week of heated exchanges.
~~Attorney General Loretta Lynch on North Carolina’s HB2~~
~~Published on May 10, 2016~~
Attorney General Loretta Lynch on North Carolina’s HB2Today, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.
In her powerful speech, Lynch spoke directly to and stood up for transgender Americans.
HRC & Equality NC Respond to Gov. McCrory’s Reckless Lawsuit
By Stephen Peters
May 9, 2016
Today, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC issued the following statements in response to the news that Governor Pat McCrory has filed a lawsuit defending his deeply discriminatory HB2.
“North Carolina’s HB2 law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates federal civil rights law,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Department of Justice has already been clear that it violates the civil rights of North Carolinians.
The idea Governor McCrory is going to waste even more time and millions more taxpayer dollars defending it is reckless and wrong. HB2 is a vile law attacking transgender North Carolinians and leaves many more unprotected from discrimination. Rather than defending it, Governor McCrory should be working with state lawmakers to fix the mess he’s created.”
“The lawsuit that was filed today is just another tactic to delay a decision and is a continued waste of taxpayer dollars when it is already very clear that the only option is a full repeal of HB2,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “The 4th circuit court has already provided guidance on this and continued litigation by the state is simply wasteful. The state house and senate must fully repeal HB2 with Governor McCrory’s leadership.”
North Carolina has already lost more than a half billion dollars – and counting – in economic activity just from companies canceling or reconsidering plans to come to the state, and in cancelled conventions, concerts, and other lost tourism dollars. That doesn’t even include potential economic development that now just won’t happen in North Carolina because of HB2’s discriminatory provisions, or the potential catastrophic loss of federal funding for schools, roads, bridges, and other essential services.
HB2 has eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future. The legislation also forces transgender students in public schools to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, putting 4.5 billion dollars in federal education funding at risk.
It also compels the same type of discrimination against transgender people to take place in publicly-owned buildings, including in public universities, convention centers, and airports. It also eliminated the ability of North Carolinians to be able to sue if they experienced discrimination in the workforce, including on the basis of race, religion, national origin and sex. Lawmakers passed the legislation in a hurried, single-day session, and Governor McCrory quickly signed it into law in the dead of night.
North Carolina has the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first state in the country to enact a law attacking transgender students, even after similar proposals were rejected across the country this year — including a high-profile veto by the Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota.
I saw the news related to this incident yesterday as I went through my Facebook Timeline. Someone questioned the veracity of the news.
I contacted a friend who lives in NC to confirm or deny.
This is what she wrote me back when I asked if this was true:
“Yes and yes but it’s all HUSH HUSH. We don’t want the whole world to know what kind of people live in this state. Plus there is a state senator that refuses to change HB2 even after the governors executive order to change parts of it. What idiots we have in this state.”
Cath
It didn’t take long before someone not even transgender is affected by this onerous law.
…. “nearby police officers were alerted by local citizens” ….
That’s the way it began.
Now, NC, get ready … I see a lawsuit headed your way.
WOMAN KICKED OUT OF LADIES’ BATHROOM BY POLICE AFTER BEING MISTAKEN FOR TRANSGENDER
A North Carolinian woman was brutally ejected from a ladies’ bathroom yesterday after nearby police officers were alerted by local citizens that a transgender was using a public women’s bathroom.
Linda Hovensky, a 54-year-old resident of Charlotte, was tased multiple times by police officers as she was forced outside of the ladies washroom with her pants down and in front of a large crowd.
“I was taking a crap when police officers started yelling at me and telling me to open the door but I wasn’t finished, so they kicked the door open and grabbed me with my pants down and rushed me outside” recalls the victim, visibly traumatized by the latest events.
“I tried to fight them to at least put my pants back on, that’s when they threw me on the floor and started kicking the life out of me and tased me I don’t know how many times,” she told local reporters in tears.
~~GRAPHICS SOURCE~~
Google Images
I do not own these images.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
“I tried to fight them to at least put my pants back on, that’s when they threw me on the floor and started kicking the life out of me and tased me I don’t know how many times,” she told local reporters in tears.
A “visible threat” to police officers
The woman represented a visible threat to police officers on the scene, explains Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman, Allan Jones.
Kept in jail for five hours
Miss Hovensky was jailed for a period of over five hours at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department because she was unable to identify herself before a friend was able to bring proof of her identity to police headquarters.
“The idiot cops left my purse on the scene and left me to rot in jail for five hours because they thought I was a man? I’m going to sue the hell out of them, you can be sure about that” she told local reporters, visibly angered by the whole affair.
Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, also known as House Bill 2 or HB2, last month. The law bans people from using bathrooms that don’t match the sex indicated on their birth certificates, which opponents argue is discriminatory toward the transgender community.
I needed to recognize Bruce Springsteen’s actions and comments as they are very close to my heart.
I do not live in North Carolina. I live in Florida.
I am a member of the LGBTQ community and, as such, this law and others that may be coming down the pike, are very worrisome.
Huge steps were made this past year to assure equality of all LGBTQ citizens.
It all stems from the Obergefell v. Hodges SCOTUS decision.
Those pushing laws against a decision already made by the highest court of the land only show how small and petty their hearts are.
They claim “religious freedom”.
In my book, religion dictates kindness and love for all.
This law does the total opposite and shows the real “faces” of those behind such underhanded, scheming actions. Keep in mind that these are government officials elected to abide by the rule of law and the will of the people who got then there.
A Statement From Bruce Springsteen On North Carolina
APRIL 8, 2016
As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use.
Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden.
To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments.
Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th.
Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s Sunday April 10th show is canceled.
Who could use which bathroom was always only a distraction … something to keep attention away from all the truly damaging things contained in North Carolina’s HB2.
The right of local jurisdictions to set their own minimum wage?
Gone
The right for employees to directly sue their employer for discrimination?
Gone
The right to not be discriminated against because of your sexual orientation?
Gone
The right to file a civil action against the contents of this law?
“No person may bring any civil action based on the public policy expressed herein.”
Gone
There is so much to be outraged about in this bill, in so many bills that pass through our state houses. Bathroom privileges are the tip of the iceberg, designed to attract our attention away from the truly destructive power that lies beneath the surface.
They retracted the suing for discrimination and because of sexual orientation, but that was all.
The rest stayed and that is why the whole thing needs to be retracted.
There is a sign on the NC/SC line that states
“Welcome to North Carolina, where the laws have set the state back 100 years.”
Cathy
NC professor explains implications of HB2
BOONE, N.C. (WBTV) – Students at Appalachian State University are protesting against House Bill 2. It’s the latest round of protests against the bill that has put North Carolina firmly in the national spotlight.
“As it appears in … full read/full credit/full information
A few days ago, I wrote a post where Ellen DeGeneres expressed her personal opinion about the bill that was signed into law in the state of Mississippi.
That first post included a short version of her monologue in her April 6 show.
I found this longer, more complete version.
It explains, in more detail, why this law is totally against basic human rights and totally discriminatory in so many ways.
It seems that pressure, of any kind, will bring about a change
BREAKING NEWS
North Carolina Pat McCrory issues executive order to protect gay and lesbian state employees, a band-aid on a brain hemorrhage and a poor effort to correct the harmful House Bill 2 he signed into law.
As it stands, existing protections for gay and transgender people are still lacking, existing rights for everyone under state nondiscrimination law is eroded, and transgender individuals are forced to use the wrong restroom in schools and other government buildings.
This law – an unprecedented attack on LGBT rights – strips away discrimination protections for LGBT people across the state and mandates discrimination against transgender people.
Can you be refused service in a store because of your sexual orientation?
YES
Can you be turned away from a hotel on the basis of your gender identity?
YES
Overnight, Governor McCrory and lawmakers transformed North Carolina into one of the most hateful states in the nation for LGBT people. North Carolina’s law makes it public policy to harass, bully, humiliate, target, and punish LGBT people – especially transgender people just trying to use a bathroom.
~Ellen DeGeneres Speaks Out Against Mississippi’s ‘Religious Freedom’ Law~
~~Published on Apr 7, 2016~~
Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi recently signed into law state bill HB 1523, which allows religious organizations and private business to refuse services to people on the grounds that it would violate their religious beliefs.
Ellen DeGeneres used her opening monologue to address Mississippi’s new law — one that, in general, targets members of the LGBT community. “That is the definition of discrimination,” said DeGeneres. “It is also something that the Supreme Court already ruled on when they made marriage a right for everyone. Everyone.”
Under the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act, gay and transexual individuals can be denied housing and even fired. These steps backwards for equal rights strike a chord with DeGeneres, who has dealt with her fair share of discrimination in the past for her sexual orientation.
“So if you’re in Mississippi or North Carolina or anywhere, and are saddened by the fact that people are judging you based on who you love, don’t lose hope,” pleaded DeGeneres. “I was fired for being gay and I know what it feels like. I lost everything, but look at me now.”
Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language, or other status.
Human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty and freedom of expression; and social, cultural and economic rights including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, and the right to work and receive an education. Human rights are protected and upheld by international and national laws and treaties.
It Is What It Is 