In a letter to Target, seven Republican Attorneys General implied that LGBTQ+ merchandise could be considered obscene and threaten Target for selling LGBTQ+ youth merchandise.
A onesie with a pride rainbow is obscene but no one tell Becky her toddler's "Ladies' Man" shirt and her other toddler's pink unnecesesarily short shorts are gross..
Haven't had time to read the full article yet, but what I have read reminds me very much of the Russian anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda laws. The rapid descent into this dystopian authoritarianism targeting LGBTQ+ communities (and bodily autonomy) is frightening.
I wrote the following to an atty friend of mine . . .
[begin excerpt]
Essentially what I said, yes of course many of those bills/statutes are being slapped down by the courts, but even if they are, there is a subsidiary effect of forcing LGBTQ people to be constantly fighting against them. As soon as one bill is dealt with another pops up. It keeps us in a constant state of strife. Strife that in the long run is not healthy and can cause other health issues.
I can personally attest to the negative effects, and I live in a (currently) safe State. The last time I felt this sad, angry, and generally depressed was before my transition. It is easy for a CIS person to say, “the courts will slap it down,” but that professes an ignorance of the psychic and physical impacts.
Further, I no longer have any faith in the Courts to do the ”right” thing. SCOTUS showed their true colours with their recent rejections of settled law and Stare Decisis. They set the tone . . . lower courts consciously or unconsciously take their cues from the higher Courts.
In closing . . . One aim of all this legislation is to wear down and exhaust the community. That was part and parcel of their anti-abortion playbook.
This bigoted insanity won't stop "by itself". I despair at the time-suck addressing their pointless and ridiculous "arguments". But good people, like ourselves, have to Act Up.
They are so gross. I imagine MT AG Knudsen is curled up in a corner that he missed out on this.
Who knew rainbows were so scary!
(I'm an 80s kid... grew up when HIV/AIDS with making the news...when the fear was rampant....until folks got more educated. This feels so much worse than all of that --- possibly because wtf do we continue to take giant leaps backwards?!)
Um, clothing doesn't make a person gay. It.doesn't.work.that.way!
A rainbow logo as obscene?! I can't even... in my wildest imagination (and I've seen/heard/experienced things beyond wild!), I couldn't fathom this happening now, in the 21st century, in this country. I mean, even typing that possibility --- makes my eye twitch.
Somewhere we took a wrong turn; one with dangerous consequences that are ahead of us. My concern and fear is that reversing course will come after much MORE harm/damage is done. Being reactive is rarely as beneficial as being proactive.
Now we wait and see how long it all takes to work out in the courts... while 'hoping' big biz will stand up and fight FOR us - for everyone, and not just 'with' us!
So where does this end? "Mom and Dad" is no less obscene and implies just as much sex as "Mom and Mom."
Consider this along side the recent Supreme Court decision in 303 United where the web-page "creator" claimed that in her religious view, gay marriage "wasn't real," that "only a marriage between and man and a woman was legitimate in the eyes of (her) God." None of us should ever be subjected to the self-serving rants of an imaginary deity occupying other people's minds.
The notion that public officials would have the audacity to tell a retail store what they can and can't sell where the merchandise is clearly not obscene is stunning. This is Hitler leaning on corporations to do his bidding. This is "I'll come break your windows" if you don't do what I want.
A onesie with a pride rainbow is obscene but no one tell Becky her toddler's "Ladies' Man" shirt and her other toddler's pink unnecesesarily short shorts are gross..
Haven't had time to read the full article yet, but what I have read reminds me very much of the Russian anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda laws. The rapid descent into this dystopian authoritarianism targeting LGBTQ+ communities (and bodily autonomy) is frightening.
Nobody is sexualizing LGBTQ+ except people who think we’re sexy. We literally just exist.
Thanks Erin, keep the coverage coming 💕
Do most Republicans buy into this? I’d be embarrassed.
I wrote the following to an atty friend of mine . . .
[begin excerpt]
Essentially what I said, yes of course many of those bills/statutes are being slapped down by the courts, but even if they are, there is a subsidiary effect of forcing LGBTQ people to be constantly fighting against them. As soon as one bill is dealt with another pops up. It keeps us in a constant state of strife. Strife that in the long run is not healthy and can cause other health issues.
I can personally attest to the negative effects, and I live in a (currently) safe State. The last time I felt this sad, angry, and generally depressed was before my transition. It is easy for a CIS person to say, “the courts will slap it down,” but that professes an ignorance of the psychic and physical impacts.
Further, I no longer have any faith in the Courts to do the ”right” thing. SCOTUS showed their true colours with their recent rejections of settled law and Stare Decisis. They set the tone . . . lower courts consciously or unconsciously take their cues from the higher Courts.
In closing . . . One aim of all this legislation is to wear down and exhaust the community. That was part and parcel of their anti-abortion playbook.
[end excerpt]
This bigoted insanity won't stop "by itself". I despair at the time-suck addressing their pointless and ridiculous "arguments". But good people, like ourselves, have to Act Up.
They are so gross. I imagine MT AG Knudsen is curled up in a corner that he missed out on this.
Who knew rainbows were so scary!
(I'm an 80s kid... grew up when HIV/AIDS with making the news...when the fear was rampant....until folks got more educated. This feels so much worse than all of that --- possibly because wtf do we continue to take giant leaps backwards?!)
Um, clothing doesn't make a person gay. It.doesn't.work.that.way!
A rainbow logo as obscene?! I can't even... in my wildest imagination (and I've seen/heard/experienced things beyond wild!), I couldn't fathom this happening now, in the 21st century, in this country. I mean, even typing that possibility --- makes my eye twitch.
Somewhere we took a wrong turn; one with dangerous consequences that are ahead of us. My concern and fear is that reversing course will come after much MORE harm/damage is done. Being reactive is rarely as beneficial as being proactive.
Now we wait and see how long it all takes to work out in the courts... while 'hoping' big biz will stand up and fight FOR us - for everyone, and not just 'with' us!
I'm starting to get worried about Skittles. Should I stock up now?
So where does this end? "Mom and Dad" is no less obscene and implies just as much sex as "Mom and Mom."
Consider this along side the recent Supreme Court decision in 303 United where the web-page "creator" claimed that in her religious view, gay marriage "wasn't real," that "only a marriage between and man and a woman was legitimate in the eyes of (her) God." None of us should ever be subjected to the self-serving rants of an imaginary deity occupying other people's minds.
Wow. I would like to see how many counter suits we could lob back, for short-shorts, thong bikinis, etc being sold.
The notion that public officials would have the audacity to tell a retail store what they can and can't sell where the merchandise is clearly not obscene is stunning. This is Hitler leaning on corporations to do his bidding. This is "I'll come break your windows" if you don't do what I want.
OUTRAGEOUS
Obviously, Target can sell whatever the hell it wants. If the Supreme Court doesn't agree, we have a constitutional crisis.
A terrific, needed cite, as usual, from our miracle woman, Erin.
Everyone should read the whole, as LGBTQNation called it (https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/07/7-gop-attorneys-general-threaten-target-over-pride-display/), "at times incomprehensible" letter. You just don't get the full flavor without the whole text, including its invocation of supposed "anti-Christian" imagery on some clothing.
Wonder what Ken "Deadeye" Paxton would have had to say were he not suspended.