I don't know what's going on with the universe today, but there seem to be more horrors than usual in the news.
Horror #1:
Federal court rules Mississippi businesses can discriminate against LGBTQ people
A federal appeals court says Mississippi can start enforcing a law that will let merchants and government employees cite religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples.
Merchants and GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES!
Because, you know, equal protection under the law sounds nice om paper, but in real life. . .meh?
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves had ruled that the law unconstitutionally establishes preferred beliefs and creates unequal treatment for LGBT people.
Yeah, I think that's a feature, not a bug.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and other supporters say the law protects beliefs that marriage can be between only a man and a woman, and that a person’s gender is determined at birth and cannot be changed.
A: No it doesn't. You are free to believe whatever you want. Having to issue a marriage license or bake a weeding cake for a same-sex couple doesn't prevent you from believing whatever awful shit you want to believe.
B: Those are false beliefs. The Supreme Court has ruled on what marriage is in the United States and marriage is NOT only for hetero couples.
Horror # 2:
Men Legally Allowed to Finish Sex Even If Woman Revokes Consent, NC Law States
Jun 22 2017, 2:33pm
North Carolina is the one state where the law explicitly says you cannot revoke consent once it's given. A bill that would remove this "unacceptable loophole" has little traction.
I don't have any smart-alecky comments to make about this truly horrifying piece of news.
The state Supreme Court, however, disagreed with the lower court's interpretation of withdrawn consent. "If the actual penetration is accomplished with the woman's consent, the accused is not guilty of rape, although he may be guilty of another crime because of his subsequent actions," the High Court wrote.
As a result, for the past 38 years, women in North Carolina—like 19-year-old Aaliyah Palmer, who allegedly agreed to have sex with a man at a party but changed her mind when he got violent—have been unable to legally revoke consent after sexual intercourse begins. "It's really stupid," Palmer recently told the Fayetteville Observer. "If I tell you no and you kept going, that's rape."
Yeah, I got nothing. It's really just too horrible for words.
Horror # 3:
Using Birth Control or Getting an Abortion Could Disqualify You From Jobs in Missouri
Reproductive rights have been taking a hit left and right, and now folks living in Missouri may be facing another setback. Their state Senate has just voted to pass a bill this past Wednesday night after 10 hours of closed-door meetings that, if fully approved, could legally allow hiring managers to discriminate against those who have gotten abortions in the past, as well as applicants who use birth control.
The legislation. . . would repeal a St. Louis ordinance that bans employers and landlords from discriminating against women who have had an abortion, use contraceptives or are pregnant.
You know, when I saw the movie The Handmaid's Tale back in the 90s and I read an interview with Margaret Atwood in which she warned that this could be the future, I thought she was a bit nutty. Obviously I owe Ms Atwood an apology. Also Susan Faludi, whom as a naive young college boy I thought was way off base about the Backlash..
Also, I owe an apology to the English language for the structure of that last sentence.
Horror # 4:
One of the fathers from this Slate article was arrested on charges of child molestation. (Link to arrest record in the comments.) http://www.slate.com/…/david_magnusson_purity_is_an_examina…
Striking Portraits of Fathers and the Daughters Whose Virginity They’ve Pledged to Protect
The shocking thing is that only one of them has been arrested for child molestation.
After all these horrors, I feel like we should close on some good news. And as an indication of how horrible everything is right now, the "good news" has to do with a man being stabbed by an alleged terrorist.
The man charged with stabbing an airport police officer in Michigan unsuccessfully attempted to purchase a gun before the attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, federal officials said on Thursday. Suspect in Michigan airport stabbing attempted to buy gun before attack
That's right. He attempted to purchase a gun, was unsuccessful, and instead turned to another handy murder weapon, a hunting knoife, which is what the NRA degenerates always say will happen if the bad people are not allowed to get guns. They'll just commit murders with knives and rocks and pointed sticks instead, right? Guns don't kill people etcetera etcetera etcetera.
Oh, that's not the good news. This is:
The suspect, Amor Ftouhi, 49, of Quebec, Canada, has been charged in federal court with violence at an international airport for stabbing Jeff Neville, an officer at the Bishop International Airport in Flint, in the neck on Wednesday. Neville underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
IS EXPECTED TO RECOVER! Hmm, how about that? The bad guy couldn't get a gun, used a knife instead, and the victim SURVIVED! This asshole's inability to get his hands on a gun saved a life today. Gun control works.
