Thursday, March 24, 2016

Quotes of the Day - Done with Republicans

UPDATED: For those inclined to boycott North Carolina and companies based in that state, in the wake of what happened yesterday, a list of North Carolina based companies can be found here.

As promised, Pat McCrory, the Republican governor of North Carolina, signed the Republican anti-LGBT bill last night that his fellow party members had rammed through a special session of the North Carolina legislature yesterday.  The result is that LGBT citizens of that state now have no non-discrimination protections in employment, housing or being served at businesses in the state.  All because of the desire of Republicans to prostitute themselves to Christofascists in the worse tradition of that state - and the South's - history of bigotry and discrimination.  Blogger friend Matthew Morrell Comer sums up the situation and the decision that decent people need to make:

Done with Republicans. Was once friendly with the moderates among you. No more. Take your Trump-led, homophobic, transphobic, anti-woman, anti-worker stances some place else. Your party of hatred and bigotry will be judged with the same distaste and disgust as every other form of bigotry in history. Especially to LGBT people who identify as Republicans: time to choose sides; your own people or those who hate us? Your choice. No more waffling. No more excuses. Change parties now; silence and complacency isn't an option.

A reader also provided this quote from Romer v. Evans which struck down a similar attack on LGBT citizens in Colorado in the 1990's:

Finding that "laws of the kind now before us raise the inevitable inference that the disadvantage imposed is born of animosity toward the class of persons affected," the Court inferred that the passage of Amendment 2 was born of a "bare...desire to harm a politically unpopular group".[2] The Court added: "[I]f the constitutional conception of 'equal protection of the laws' means anything, it must at the very least mean that a bare ... desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot constitute a legitimate governmental interest."

I truly long for the day when Christians are a minority in America and, if there is any justice, they find themselves treated as they have treated others.  Meanwhile, we have a family wedding scheduled in the Outer Banks.  If it is not relocated, I guess we will drive down for the day and return rather than spend the night in such a horrible state - thankfully, my car gets good enough mileage that we wouldn't even need to buy gas if we have to go. 

I hope LGBT travelers will adjust their travel plans so as to avoid flying through Charlotte and avoid the state entirely.  I also hope that a federal court challenge is commenced immediately. 

No comments: