Once any church collects signatures for ANY POLITICAL BALLOT, their non-profit status should be immediately revoked. They have become Political Action Committees which are prohibited from attaining tax-exempt status. MAKE THESE CHURCHES PAY! The U.S. loses $$$BILLIONS in tax dollars due to these organizations masquerading as churches and/or preaching hate from their pulpits.
Hear hear! I'm over in the UK but our anti trans hate is just as loud and powerfully funded. These right wing politicians, even those on the left now as well, are bending over backwards and showing their arses to the powerful minority with money, who are funding their political campaigns to the tune of millions, and so they will not speak up for the trans community. They are lily livered cowards and I cannot stand it. I fight hard for trans rights, equal rights for all, basic human rights and dignity. Where is the humanity? Sorry not sorry. Rant over!
While I agree with your premise (religion shouldn't be part of politics), doing this would mean every non profit that engages in 'political' action (meaning anything to do with human rights for LGBTQ+, women, BIPOC, disability, etc) would also lose their tax exempt status, meaning most charities would immediately be at a disadvantage to provide support to those communities that need them.
I hear you, Tamara. The difference, as I see it, is between advocating for social issues which affect all of us, as opposed to the act of collecting signatures for specific ballot issues or to bring one before the people.
To accomplish this, many non-profits spin off partner orgs which carry on the lobbying and signature collecting for specific issues they desire, while the non-profit focuses on education and media outreach relating to, but not specifically and directly advising people to vote on specific election issues/bills in a specific way.
That said, the way you express your concern is exactly how the current regime is turning everything on its head (Title IX for example) to accomplish the exact opposite of what the regulation/legislation was intended to do. And now, we're seeing the regime is weaponizing so many pieces of legislation intended TO HELP people to accomplish their authoritarian, far right, billionaire predator class, goals.
Transgender plague?! I bet most Coloradans would be more concerned with the evangelical plague that is corrupting our government and bossing people around. I would love to see this backfire and mobilize massive turnout against these ballot initiatives.
They need to run "church lady" ads to get people to turn out and fight the plague of the Genitally Obsessed Puritans (GOP).
Holy fuck! Doesn't the Catholic Church have better things to do than hop on the bigot bus to Hell? Fingers crossed that the good people of Colorado will see this for what it is and vote it into oblivion.
The Catholic Church is desperate for money. I'm sure these billionaires are paying them off to entice them to hop on the "Crazy Train". Ozzy had more authentic spirituality than the entire Roman Empire which now operates as the Catholic Church.
In case there was ANY doubt that these right wing God botherers want to TOTALLY eradicate the trans community. When you call something a "plague" you truly reveal your cards.
Great. "Protect Kids Colorado". They must protect access to healthcare choices, protect against pedo priests, protect vulnerable LGBTQ kids from sexual and physical abuse and bullying, protect their rights to equal and safe education and finally dedicate themselves to expose the pedophiles and abusers in the Epstein files, right? RIGHT???
Colorado Initiatives 109 and 110 represent a dangerous step backward — driven not by compassion or evidence, but by political fear and coordinated pressure from groups intent on restricting personal freedoms.
What is especially troubling is the alliance forming between these advocacy groups and the Catholic Church, an institution that should first reckon fully with its own long and painful history of child abuse and institutional cover-ups before positioning itself as a moral authority over the lives and rights of others.
Coloradans deserve policies grounded in respect, facts, and individual dignity — not campaigns fueled by hypocrisy and ideological control.
Voters should look closely at who is pushing these initiatives, why they are doing so, and whose voices are being ignored in the process.
Our laws should protect people, not target them.
If these Initiatives do make it onto the ballot in November the citizens of Colorado should soundly defeat them and stand up for their fellow citizens who ask nothing more than to live their lives with the rights like anyone else.
Trans identity is the result of atypical development, something that manifests in all kinds of ways, undeniable, well recognized ways, but trans identity being one of them is something these believers in a loving God (for white people, mainly) could never accept would be a thing. It's so out of whack with nature and observation of reality, so ignorant and crazy, that it amazes me these lunatic legal proposals to harass and oppress trans people get the traction they so often do. But we've only begun to fight back.
And their bigotry is entirely based on one single cherrypicked Bible quote that comes from the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus, which also has a TON of other "thou shalt nots" that these people NEVER observe or recognize.
I listened to Erin Lee on a podcast. I’m a mom of a transitioned and thriving young adult. Listening to Erin Lee is so painfully hard because she truly is so black and white, and honestly just dark and cruel as she describes her feelings and thoughts about gender incongruence. I truly feel for people who encounter her opinions and who could be feeling pressured by her. She has made such a fuss over her daughter’s expression of identity and it’s sad; it’s also careless and her advice to parents is potentially negligent. She tells parents precisely what they should do, without knowing individual realities,
yet she says she is for parental rights. So clearly she doesn’t respect parental rights unless they align with her feelings and opinions. Affirming my adult kiddo was absolutely guided by my faith in Christ, by my unwavering and unconditional love as well as by courage to not be led by fear. For all the parents supporting their kids, whichever way is right for you, please show respect for others.
The hypocrisy of trying to ban trans kids and people from essential medical care while allowing or even requiring surgeries on intersex babies, where parents are not even told about the procedure, makes me so mad, so so mad, it burns.
That's where they betray themselves - if they actually cared about protecting children from mutilation, they'd be *at least* as adamant against surgery on intersex babies as they are against trans surgery.
Once any church collects signatures for ANY POLITICAL BALLOT, their non-profit status should be immediately revoked. They have become Political Action Committees which are prohibited from attaining tax-exempt status. MAKE THESE CHURCHES PAY! The U.S. loses $$$BILLIONS in tax dollars due to these organizations masquerading as churches and/or preaching hate from their pulpits.
Hear hear! I'm over in the UK but our anti trans hate is just as loud and powerfully funded. These right wing politicians, even those on the left now as well, are bending over backwards and showing their arses to the powerful minority with money, who are funding their political campaigns to the tune of millions, and so they will not speak up for the trans community. They are lily livered cowards and I cannot stand it. I fight hard for trans rights, equal rights for all, basic human rights and dignity. Where is the humanity? Sorry not sorry. Rant over!
We should get rid of the non-profit tax exemption altogether.
While I agree with your premise (religion shouldn't be part of politics), doing this would mean every non profit that engages in 'political' action (meaning anything to do with human rights for LGBTQ+, women, BIPOC, disability, etc) would also lose their tax exempt status, meaning most charities would immediately be at a disadvantage to provide support to those communities that need them.
I hear you, Tamara. The difference, as I see it, is between advocating for social issues which affect all of us, as opposed to the act of collecting signatures for specific ballot issues or to bring one before the people.
To accomplish this, many non-profits spin off partner orgs which carry on the lobbying and signature collecting for specific issues they desire, while the non-profit focuses on education and media outreach relating to, but not specifically and directly advising people to vote on specific election issues/bills in a specific way.
That said, the way you express your concern is exactly how the current regime is turning everything on its head (Title IX for example) to accomplish the exact opposite of what the regulation/legislation was intended to do. And now, we're seeing the regime is weaponizing so many pieces of legislation intended TO HELP people to accomplish their authoritarian, far right, billionaire predator class, goals.
By the Goddess I hope most people in Colorado have the sense to vote against this.
Another day, another story reminding me why I stopped going to mass. . .
Transgender plague?! I bet most Coloradans would be more concerned with the evangelical plague that is corrupting our government and bossing people around. I would love to see this backfire and mobilize massive turnout against these ballot initiatives.
They need to run "church lady" ads to get people to turn out and fight the plague of the Genitally Obsessed Puritans (GOP).
'Genitally Obsessed Puritans' - I'm so stealing that.
Use it freely! :-D
Thank you for your work and reporting. It must be so difficult to be focused on this, day in and day out.
Holy fuck! Doesn't the Catholic Church have better things to do than hop on the bigot bus to Hell? Fingers crossed that the good people of Colorado will see this for what it is and vote it into oblivion.
The Catholic Church is desperate for money. I'm sure these billionaires are paying them off to entice them to hop on the "Crazy Train". Ozzy had more authentic spirituality than the entire Roman Empire which now operates as the Catholic Church.
In case there was ANY doubt that these right wing God botherers want to TOTALLY eradicate the trans community. When you call something a "plague" you truly reveal your cards.
Agree. The use of the term 'plague' is patently genocidal, because that implies it's a disease which needs to be eradicated and erased.
I've been noticing a lot of genocidal language coming from the Right these days. The mask is truly off.
Great. "Protect Kids Colorado". They must protect access to healthcare choices, protect against pedo priests, protect vulnerable LGBTQ kids from sexual and physical abuse and bullying, protect their rights to equal and safe education and finally dedicate themselves to expose the pedophiles and abusers in the Epstein files, right? RIGHT???
Oh NM. I guess they just like to bully vulnerable children.
Colorado Initiatives 109 and 110 represent a dangerous step backward — driven not by compassion or evidence, but by political fear and coordinated pressure from groups intent on restricting personal freedoms.
What is especially troubling is the alliance forming between these advocacy groups and the Catholic Church, an institution that should first reckon fully with its own long and painful history of child abuse and institutional cover-ups before positioning itself as a moral authority over the lives and rights of others.
Coloradans deserve policies grounded in respect, facts, and individual dignity — not campaigns fueled by hypocrisy and ideological control.
Voters should look closely at who is pushing these initiatives, why they are doing so, and whose voices are being ignored in the process.
Our laws should protect people, not target them.
If these Initiatives do make it onto the ballot in November the citizens of Colorado should soundly defeat them and stand up for their fellow citizens who ask nothing more than to live their lives with the rights like anyone else.
Trans identity is the result of atypical development, something that manifests in all kinds of ways, undeniable, well recognized ways, but trans identity being one of them is something these believers in a loving God (for white people, mainly) could never accept would be a thing. It's so out of whack with nature and observation of reality, so ignorant and crazy, that it amazes me these lunatic legal proposals to harass and oppress trans people get the traction they so often do. But we've only begun to fight back.
And their bigotry is entirely based on one single cherrypicked Bible quote that comes from the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus, which also has a TON of other "thou shalt nots" that these people NEVER observe or recognize.
Yes, that is spot on. If we're to accept that as evidence, sheesh. Just unreal, in this day and age.
I listened to Erin Lee on a podcast. I’m a mom of a transitioned and thriving young adult. Listening to Erin Lee is so painfully hard because she truly is so black and white, and honestly just dark and cruel as she describes her feelings and thoughts about gender incongruence. I truly feel for people who encounter her opinions and who could be feeling pressured by her. She has made such a fuss over her daughter’s expression of identity and it’s sad; it’s also careless and her advice to parents is potentially negligent. She tells parents precisely what they should do, without knowing individual realities,
yet she says she is for parental rights. So clearly she doesn’t respect parental rights unless they align with her feelings and opinions. Affirming my adult kiddo was absolutely guided by my faith in Christ, by my unwavering and unconditional love as well as by courage to not be led by fear. For all the parents supporting their kids, whichever way is right for you, please show respect for others.
Rights for me, rules for thee.
Thanks so much for this. And for being a supportive mom!
The hypocrisy of trying to ban trans kids and people from essential medical care while allowing or even requiring surgeries on intersex babies, where parents are not even told about the procedure, makes me so mad, so so mad, it burns.
That's where they betray themselves - if they actually cared about protecting children from mutilation, they'd be *at least* as adamant against surgery on intersex babies as they are against trans surgery.
There's that genocidal dehumanization again. They know exactly where this sort of talk leads, and they're positively giddy about it.
Where can I donate to fight these initiatives?
Yet no Epstein file arrests bc you know..protecting the children is conditional
They prefer to uphold the rights of pedophiles!