With the gay marriage wins in New York, a lot of people want to know what’s next. A lot of states are next. 2012 is going to be a battlefield of gay rights, and it will be filled with glorious wins and damaging losses. This is the first in a series.
An increasingly likely candidate for President is Michele Bachmann, queen of historical half-truths (Founding Fathers fought to end slavery; if by fought, you mean fuck and impregnate), lover of gays (her ex-gay clinic operating husband), and believer in this little gem:
The Minnesota Family Council (MFC) has been very active in Bachmann’s congressional district in Minnesota. In the 1990′s, they successfully lobbied the largest school district in MN, Anoka-Hennepin, to adopt two policies: one known around the school as “No Homo Promo,” which basically means don’t talk about homosexuality under any circumstances.
Damn! I knew it was a mistake to put Li'l Wayne in charge of Minnesota school district bullying policies. We should have played him to his strengths: predicting oil futures.
And the other forces teachers and administrators to remain neutral in cases of anti-gay bullying, preventing them from providing any assistance to LGBT students. You know. For religious protections.
One thing you should know about Anoka-Hennepin: they are currently under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Why? Because Anoka-Hennepin has had a rash of LGBT suicides within two years alone, and a lot of people think it might have something to do with the deplorable support they are not getting at school.
In fact, there have been so many gay teen suicides at Anoka-Hennepin, that it prompted writer Dan Savage to create a support project you might have heard of called “It Gets Better.” That is correct. All those videos are thanks to the suicides in this one school district.
Bachmann’s school district.
In 2006, Bachmann supported keeping these policies in place because she worried to not do so would “stifle free speech.” Here’s an exclusive video of Bachmann’s conversation back in ’06 with MFC and Anoka-Hennepin distrcit students in regards to the “no homo promo” policy:
I’m sorry, my mistake. That was just a video of some witch terrorizing children.
Since news broke of her husband’s ex-gay promoting clinic, Bachmann has refused to answer any questions relating to any position on homosexuality, but here’s an example of the kind of un-stifled free speech Bachmann dreams of: 14-year-old Justin Aaberg was bullied relentlessly for being gay. He registered complaints with the school administration. They were ignored. Teachers were told to remain silent neutral on his problems. Justin was at the top of the school counselor’s “worry list.” Justin’s mother was never informed of this information until after Justin was found dead in his room. Who benefits from this?
Well, I think the MFC does. They raise millions of dollars stoking just this kind of hate and ignorance and administrative impotence. They even successfully lobbied the Minnesota congress to put a vote on the 2012 ballot that will ask Minnesotans like Tammy Aarberg, Justin’s mother, if she wants to put a statewide ban on potential same-sex marriage and civil unions.
Bachmann is not complicit in these deaths. She just had political actions that dominoed into an atmosphere of promotion of these deaths. The difference between those two sentences is an angry inch that will hopefully become a sticking point if she gets the nomination.
Fellow Minnesota Congressperson, the great Al Franken, believes that this anti-equality vote will fail in his home state. It will fail, but it will be painfully close.
The real question remains is if Bachmann gets the nomination, and if this discourse about the debt continues to consume and confuse the public about Obama’s presidency, what kind of damage are we looking at as gays if Bachmann should succeed in reaching the White House?
Frankly, if the last few months of bloody debt debate are any indication, I think becoming President is the quickest way to make someone powerless.
1 comment
Michael Russo says:
Jul 28, 2011
She is evil. Her husband is evil. They don’t even like each other! What is wrong with this picture? It’s like that episode on Buffy where Jonathan had everyone under a spell and the opening began with him instead of her and everyone thought he was awesome. Is this really happening? This just cannot be. There is so much wrong with teenage suicide and someone that isn’t at least softened by that. I tell you all Lucifer. She has the look of the devil on her face.
Scary! Scurry. Needs to stop. Now.
Excellent job Adam