The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Got this email sent to my "real life" box. "Lil Smilies" stolen from Autumn and added by me:
Wedding Dates
We are sending this to all of our friends who have managed to stay married to date. Since fewer and fewer couples remain married for a long time, we think we should congratulate ourselves.
365 Anniversaries
This is kind of cool! Out of all the billions of married couples in the world, there has to be a couple married on each date of the year. We're going to try to accomplish the task of seeing if we can fill the calendar with an anniversary, of one of our dear friends, on every day of the year.
Add you and your spouse's 1st names only (NO LAST NAMES, PLEASE), The year you were married, and where you were married on the list below. Then send it to 20 of your married friends, plus the person who sent it to you!
DON'T BE A SPOILED SPORT!
ADD YOUR NAME TO THE LIST.
All you have to do is hit forward, add the information, and then send it to all your friends and family that are also married or will be soon....
If someone has already put names in the date of your anniversary, please just add your names below theirs and DO NOT DELETE THOSE COUPLES' NAMES!
"Celebrating Marriage" as an effing email chain letter game...
When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result into some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I couldn't be held responsible for telling them, 'Go back.' Even if Chris never hit me again, who's to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say they won't kill these girls?
Chris lost a lot of fans after he assaulted Rihanna. And after that whole scandal, he's not exactly kid-friendly.
~An Anonymous Executive commenting on poor ticket sales Jive Records is seeing since Chris Brown's now infamous assault of Rihanna
Yesterday, I spent a lot of time at the San Diego Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center between two appointments. So, I bought copies of Friday's Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune. In the LA Times there was one entitled Rihanna hears a 'wake-up call', and in the U-T there was a piece entitled Fans not showing much appreciation for Brown.
So for those who have been following the story, musical performers Chris Brown and Rihanna were boyfriend and girlfriend last February when Rihanna ended up beaten, and Chris Brown was arrested for assault. On Friday evening, Rihanna interviewed with Diane Sawyer on 20/20, with a preview on Good Morning America.
Say what you will about why we lost in Maine, you have to admit that lgbts have learned the lesson from the aftermath of Proposition 8.
After that vote last year, some lgbts allowed their anger to rule their minds, acted the fool, and created a few events that folks like Mike Huckabee, Peter LaBarbera, Matt Barber, and the rest replayed continuously as proof of "intolerant angry lgbts."
Well that didn't happen this time when NOM head Maggie Gallagher showed up at a DC rally protesting the marriage equality loss in Maine:
It appeared to bother some attendees of tonight's rally that Gallagher would appear at a pro-gay marriage event, yet the estimated crowd of 120 mostly left her alone as she observed the hour-long protest.
Well, here's one of our personal story diaries we usually save for the weekend.
I went to the San Diego VA Medical Center this past election day (November 3, 2009), and did some snooping to find the exact date my genetic test was taken, and find out what the clinical name of the test is. After I found out the exact date and the test name, I went over to the office that releases records, and got the results of my genetic testing. Here's the header of the test::
You can see the full report by selecting it, but the posted header really has all of the information of the report. As you may be able to read in the image, my genetic karyotype was interpreted by a lab pathologist, and the results to my genetic test as follows:
NORMAL MALE KARYOTYPE
So, from the prespective my genetics, as well as the perspective of my genitalia shape at birth, I'm not an intersexual. This testing confirms to me that I'm a run-of-the-mill transsexual.
I'm still processing what this test result means. It's definitive in it's declaration, but it does have some emotional impact for me. Being declared to be intersexual would have given me a nice, tied-in-a-ribbon explanation for why my gender identity didn't match the genitalia I was born with, and now I'm back to just not knowing why.
I'm also realizing that I will probably never know the reasons why I, as an individual, am a transsexual. I used to frequently say that it didn't matter why my gender identity and genitalia I was born with didn't match -- my truth is my truth no matter what the impetus for my genitalia at birth and gender mismatch is -- but with this test I've learned something about myself: On some level, I actually do want to know why.
The Washington Secretary of State's final vote count report for the week continues to validate the conclusion that all of Washington state is moving towards equality. Tonight's numbers of 52.6% to 47.4% are not final, as vote counting is still underway. However, even the Secretary of State seems pretty sure about R-71 since their Friday afternoon blog post was titled "R-71: Effective 12-3-09"!
King [County]'s approval rate has been running 68 percent, and a number of the ballots remaining to be counted are from that county. ... If the vote holds, Senate Bill 5688 will go into effect Dec. 3. The election returns will be certified by Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Chris Gregoire, probably on Dec. 1, but under provisions of the Constitution, a bill referred to voters and approved takes effect 30 days after Election Day, or Dec. 3 in this case.
After failing to pray in a victory, campaign manager for Protect Marriage Washington Larry Stickney was expected to concede defeat earlier today. Stickney has failed in his effort to undermine families and disadvantage children through the repeal of Washington's Domestic Partnership Expansion Law of 2009.
Larry Stickney...told LifeSiteNews.com that they plan to wait it out for the rest of [Friday] afternoon (pacific time) to make fully certain of the result and then "probably at that point concede."
No word yet that Stickney has transmitted his concession message to the press. He very well may choose to not communicate with them at all. He locked the media out of the Reject election night party, even the local Everett Herald. "It's a little lonely in the media room at the Holiday Inn in Everett...", reported Janet Tu of The Seattle Times.
The Washington State Republican Party endorsed Stickney's anti-family campaign, a move even their major candidate this election, Susan Hutchison distanced herself from and that they themselves never apparently backed with any vigor. No reaction from them yet either.
I believe He will guide us and provide the necessary funding. Please consider a tax deductible donation to Faith and Freedom Foundation. Thank you and God bless you.
A new organization called Youth Revolution popped up in Washington recently. I've written a bit about them here. YR's Executive Director is none other than Russell Johnson, Director of Governmental Affairs for the Focus on the Family/Family Research Council affiliate Family Policy of Institute of Washington. FPIW is the local organization that helped funnel over $200,000 of James Dobson's Colorado money into Washington's Referendum 71 campaign. YR, a youth recruiting tool, has posted the following video on their front page. Without comment, I give you "The Government Can".
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is set to deliver remarks at a Wisconsin Right to Life event Friday evening, one of the few speeches the former Republican presidential nominee will have given since she resigned the governorship last summer.
But Palin appears to be doing her best to keep a low profile on this trip: no press will be allowed into the Milwaukee auditorium where she will speak and those who have paid the $30 admittance fee are unable to carry in cell phones, cameras, laptops, or recording devices of any kind.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate told the Wisconsin Radio Network he finds all these restrictions "bizarre."
"You know, for someone who claims to be a rogue and isn't afraid of what other people think it really is sort of hypocritical to not let the media, the press cover your event."
•No cell phones
•No recording devices
•No video or still cameras
•No laptops
•No photos or recording allowed
•No literature distribution
•No posters or banners
•No strollers or car seats
•No carry-in food or beverages
Note from Lurleen: Louise has allowed me to make this an all-purpose "reactions" diary. The AP has called the approval of R-71 inevitable, although the Secretary of State has yet to certify the result. More below the fold as they come in, but first let me share two headliners. First from Washington's Governor Chris Gregoire
"I am extremely pleased that voters have approved Referendum 71. I signed the original bill and believe it is the right policy for our great state. Washington state has a history of fighting to ensure everyone - mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters - enjoys equal rights. From the first bill I signed in 2007 to this new law, we have proudly made great strides on behalf of all Washington families."
Let's pray the Reject R-71 effort across the finish line!
The Task Force released the following yesterday:
Passage of Referendum 71 in Washington state is a victory for fairness and families "This victory promotes fairness, supports families, and is good for Washington state and the country. This victory sends the message that no family should be left vulnerable and without basic protections because of someone else's prejudices."
- Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - Voters in Washington state have approved Referendum 71, which preserves expanded domestic partner protections for same-sex couples and unmarried senior couples, according to unofficial results. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund committed financial and staff resources contributing to this victory. It supported Washington Families Standing Together with a $10,000 contribution to underwrite the hiring of a statewide field director, provided advice and expertise to develop campaign and field plans, and sent a senior organizer to train the campaign field team.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"Passage of Referendum 71 is a victory for fairness and families in Washington state. Voters stood together, listened carefully and rejected the opposition's effort to distort the facts. This victory promotes fairness, supports families, and is good for Washington state and the country. This victory sends the message that no family should be left vulnerable and without basic protections because of someone else's prejudices.
"Washington Families Standing Together ran an excellent campaign to educate and mobilize voters all across the state about the domestic partner law and its protections for the 12,000 residents in registered domestic partnerships and their children. The campaign drove home the point that all families need and deserve fair treatment, especially in times of crisis. Health insurance, pensions, death benefits and family leave to care for a sick loved one were among the benefits made vulnerable by the threat to the domestic partnership law.
"Washington Families Standing Together brought together a broad spectrum of supporters who know that protecting all our families is good for the entire community. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force congratulates the campaign and thanks all the voters who cast a ballot in favor of equality."
Statement by Josh Friedes, Campaign Manager,
Washington Families Standing Together
"This is a wonderful victory for all those who value fairness and equality. Washingtonians have defended fairness and taken a strong stand for all families. We would not be celebrating this victory if it were not for Washingtonians' commitment to civil rights, our amazing campaign staff, our volunteers, our community and allies, and the support of organizations like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The Task Force spent time with us on the ground to train our campaign field team and contributed financially to help us ensure this victory."
To learn more about the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, visit www.theTaskForce.org and follow us on Twitter: @TheTaskForce
(http://www.twitter.com/theTaskForce).
And on a personal note, it was a true pleasure to meet Rea at the No On 1 gathering the other evening! :)
Triangle Journal News in Memphis and, since April 2006, she has been a regular panelist on Out & About Today on News Channel 5 in Nashville. Previously, she was a columnist for Out & About Nashville from August 2004 to December 2005 and the author of Casa Marisa, a monthly column in Transgender Community News from July 1999 to August 2004.
Prof. Richmond is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~
By Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.
The recent adoption of hate crimes legislation by the United States Government is a major step forward for the transgender community. this is the first time any positive legislation for LGBT people has ever been adopted, and for it to be fully inclusive makes this extra special.
For years, transgender activists fought to be included in this legislation because of the ongoing level of violence against transgender people across the nation. For many of us, the darkest hour came in 2005 when nearly 40 national groups singed a joint letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to adopt the fully inclusive bill which had passed the House, while another group, after pledging they would fight "only" for fully inclusive legislation, both refused to sign that letter and issued its own urging Senators to ignore the House action and adopt a separate bill that left transgender people. The argument that this "strategy" was necessary to pass such a bill was bigoted and, simply, poor politics.
Transgender Day of Remembrance, we can remember all that we lost in the knowledge that future victims of gender based violence will have those crimes aggressively investigated and prosecuted.
We should not forget, however, that the battle to end violence against transgender people has not been totally won. We still have to end discrimination in the workplace. Many communities still do not have any protections and must rely on the Federal government to take action to ensure they have a level playing field.
There is also the problem of what to do for those who live in states where there is a lack of interest in pursuing even an investigation of violence against transgender people. My home state of Tennessee is one such place. Our largest city, Memphis, home of the Blues, Barbeque, and Elvis, has become identified as the most dangerous city in the country for transgender people. I am regularly asked by other trans people if it is safe for them to visit Memphis.
The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) has a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly, SB0253 by Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis)/HB0335, by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis), which would add "gender identity or expression" to Tennessee's Hate Crimes statute. Currently, Tennessee is one of 38 states which does not provide protection for transgender residents. The rash of hate crimes against transgender persons, especially against African American transgender women in Memphis, make passage of this bill even more important here. Having an additional tool available to victims will make life safer for everyone and send a message that the lives of transgender people in Tennessee have value too.
We encourage everyone in the other 37 states that do not have hate crimes laws covering all LGBT people to continue the work to raise awareness of violence against all of us and to push to make sure your state laws match the federal one so that victims can pursue justice on every available front.
Thanks again to everyone across this great nation who worked hard to make sure that transgender people were not left behind and to see that the lives of transgender people are now recognized as having value.
Our old fundie friend, Pastor Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (yeah, that's clue number one about his point of view), is back at his gay hating ways. But this time he's taking it to a whole new level. Cass and crew are headed to DC on November 16th to protest the Hate Crimes Act in front of the Department of Justice. Their tactic?
The "Rally for Religious Freedom" in front of the Department of Justice in Washington is intended to force Attorney General Eric Holder either to address the issues or be put in a position of ignoring those who say they are violating the provisions of the federal law, Cass said. "We're basically going to defy the law, and challenge it," Cass told WND. "We're going to declare the whole counsel of God, including those parts that some may consider 'inciting a hate crime' to see if the attorney general is going to come down and arrest a group of peaceful clergy exercising their First Amendment rights
To say this week has been challenging... well, you know.
Wednesday I made my way through 200+ emails and found this one from my Charlie. No words, just this photo- gawds, but I do love him so...
And today? This message to all supporters on Facebook:
"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."
We are NOT done- not by a long shot. We will not be deterred; we will not lose our resolve- we will not give up.
I will stand up in Maine, and I will not be alone. I will have over 260,000 fellow Mainers with me and our numbers will grow...
This is a guest post by Vanessa Edwards Foster. Vanessa Edwards Foster, a longtime activist, is co-founder and current President of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC), a grassroots coalition of transgender Americans who are politically active and lobby locally, statewide and at the national level.
Vanessa was also the first trans individual ever elected President of a chapter of a National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) for Harris County in her home, Houston TX. Vanessa is a half-white/half-native transgender woman; she was an Obama delegate in 2008--returning to the Democratic National Convention as a delegate for a second time.
Vanessa is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~
by Vanessa Edwards Foster
It's been a long time coming. The historic passage of hate crimes legislation and signature into law by the President signals the very first federal law covering trans people in America. My emotions, though, are mixed: ebullience, wistfulness, solemnity, sadness
To have this finally pass, and to have it inclusive of trans people, is a major victory. Since 1997, I've been consistently taking time, shelling out money and visiting offices all over Washington DC and Austin - and even once in Annapolis this year - in attempt to get even this, the most elemental protection, passed with coverage for us all. With this official passage last week, all the memories of where we've all collectively been working to achieve what's finally reality - seemingly against all odds - come streaming in.
In 1999 I had the opportunity to pull in the most critical component of what would eventually be the key to eventual passage of the James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill in Texas two years later. Taking two of my gay friends on their very first lobbying visit to show them how to parry and effectively argue our case, we landed the support of Rep. Warren Chisum, long-known as an arch-conservative, lightning rod author for the most heinous anti-GLBT legislation. His support brought in other crucial moderate GOP co-sponsors and votes and also provided cover for blue dog Dems as well. Our only responsibility was to change the wording to "sexual preference" and "gender non-conformity."
It was a victory I was pleased to help along, but a hollow one personally. In 2001, gender non-conformity was refused inclusion in the bill (with a promise made to me that if we didn't fight this and let this pass, they'd "come back for us" the next session). The bill passed, I held my tongue, but they never "came back" for us. Even this year, while in Austin, I visited with Rep. Chisum again a couple times. He chastised me with reminder that he didn't want to revisit this bill again. However, he was ready once again to support. I'll always remember the bravery of those like Rep. Garnet Coleman, author of 2009's expansion bill in Texas, and the initial co-sponsors like Rep. Rafael Anchia and Rep. Alma Allen, as well as conservative Rep. Chisum and at least one other longtime Republican friend who were ready to bravely support and push this. The bill died in committee after testimony, but these unsung heroes deserve mention.
Memories of victims past stream back. Meeting one of our homeless trans girls in Houston mere months before she was shot and killed in the Montrose sticks in my mind: would this law have helped solve her murder and bring some solace? Seeing the abject, stoic sadness in the faces of the family of Terrianne Summers as I attempted to hold my own emotions in check while eulogizing my activist protégée, knowing her murder is also still unsolved with no justice.
Even in the cases where the murderers were caught, there's only a little solace for the victims' families past. Random memories. Watching the silent tears stream down the solemn face of Paula Mitchell at the Cortez, Colorado vigil in 2001 for her murdered child F.C. Listening to the sobs of Sylvia Guerrero over the phone in 2002, recalling her precious Gwen and how callously her body was dumped and buried, not long after Fred Phelps had found out Sylvia's address and viciously protested in front of her home. Sitting alongside Queen Washington as she recounted for a reporter covering NTAC's 2004 Lobby Day how her baby, Stephanie Thomas, was riddled with bullets a mere block from her home. Hearing the broken-hearted story from Sakia Gunn's mother about the shoddy treatment from Newark authorities and community leaders and later seeing it first-hand in 2004 when our march from West Orange into Newark had only six white faces - four NTAC members and two local PFLAG parents - and was briefly refused entry into the city by police even after organizers had received permits. Hugging an activist friend, Ethan St. Pierre, who was shaken and teary-eyed after having making his very first speech in Boston recounting his aunt, trans woman Deborah Forte, being brutally murdered and having to go to the morgue to identify her body. There's no way to adequately relate experiencing this.
I still recall vividly the long battles and the acrimony over the years of merely having trans people covered by hate crimes. Struggling with conservatives just as we did with the Human Rights Campaign or the Anti-Defamation League for protection. Vehemently arguing with Mara Keisling and Lisa Mottet at the 2003 IFGE convention as they agreed with HRC and ACLU lawyers, and tried to convince me, that "gender" would include "gender identity" due to congressional intent. Less than six month later, finding out first-hand from our own local District Attorney's office that they didn't "give a damn about," nor had the time nor budget to research what congressional intent was as they were following the letter of the law as written in Texas, and nothing beyond.
Even something as indirect as political campaigning paid off. Being an Obama delegate won me few friends in the GLBT community during the primaries. From my lobbying experience though, I knew Hillary Clinton's fondness for incrementalism and lack of knowledge on trans people just as well as I knew Obama's full-scope approach to rights. Trans folks, including myself, fought hard during the campaign up to the national convention and all the way up until election day. That night, 1000 miles from home in battleground Dayton, Ohio, I knew we'd finally won our rights to be included when Ohio was called for Obama and later when it became official that President Barack Obama would soon occupy the White House.
We were branded as pariahs, had our characters impugned and reputations ruined for standing firm on trans inclusion. It was worth it. We now have what we set out to achieve: coverage, rights, recognition. Finally, federally, we're now human.
The Hate Crimes Bill is a watershed symbolic victory for Trans Americans. But beyond the symbolism, we remain vigilant. It's an important first-step, but not the final goal.
One of the most effective tactics of the religious right is to truncate an incident to claim that lgbts are violent and intolerant or that Christians are in danger of losing their rights if pro-lgbt legislation passes.
We've seen it in the case the group Repent America who was arrested at a Pride festival after they wouldn't comply with police. Religious right grous made it seem that they were unfairly arrested.
We've seen it in the case of talking head Matt Barber who claimed that he was fired from AllState Insurance for righting an anti-gay piece "on his own time." Of course Barber and everyone else who pushed this narrative conviently left out that he still used company equipment to write the piece and identified himself as an employee of AllState Insurance in short biography of the piece.
Now from Massachusetts comes a new phony narrative just in time for the ENDA hearings courtesy of the anti-gay hate group Mass Resistance:
A Massachusetts man was fired from a national retail corporation because of his traditional beliefs on same-sex marriage. Peter Vadala was formally dismissed from his job as second deputy manager of the Brookstone store at Boston’s Logan Airport on August 12, 2009, after a supervisor reported him to Human Resources regarding an incident two days earlier.
. . .As Peter described the incident, he came to work on August 10 and began his day normally. A female manager from another store was in the store and began talking to Peter about her upcoming marriage. When Peter asked “where is he taking you for the honeymoon,” she corrected him and said she was not getting married to "he" but to another woman.
Peter did not immediately react, but when the manager sensed Peter’s discomfort with the subject of same-sex “marriage”, the woman apparently continued bringing it up to Peter throughout the day, reiterating that she was getting married to another woman. Finally, after the fourth or fifth time she brought it up, Peter remarked that his Christian beliefs did not accept same-sex marriage. At that point the woman became very angry and bluntly told Peter that he needed to “get over it” and said that she would be immediately contacting the Human Resources department.
A few hours later Peter was notified by a Human Resources representative that he was suspended from work without pay, effective immediately. Two days later, on August 12, after some further interaction with the Human Resources department, he was formally notified that he was terminated from the company.
Many of you may be wondering what has been going on with The Advocate, a publication that has been described in the news as a sinking ship, as well as OUT, both owned by Here Media. Stephen Macias, GM of Regent/Here Media separated the truth from the fiction in a discussion with Michelangelo Signorile.
Here Media CEO Paul Colichman reflected on his year at the helm of The Advocate in an open letter to readers:
Dear Valued Readers,
Fourteen months have passed since Here Media integrated the Advocate and Out brands into our company. As we are about to release our year-end issues, I thought it a good time to share our vision regarding these venerable and iconic properties.
During an economically troubled 2009, which saw the death of many important print publications, both The Advocate and Out fared significantly better advertising-wise than the industry as a whole. Together the brands will show a small profit.
Aaron Hicklin, editor in chief of Out, has used his exquisite editorial voice to make that magazine the largest and most successful gay publication in the world. In June 2008 he recommended that we hire Jon Barrett as editor in chief of The Advocate. Jon, an enormously gifted and talented individual, thinks beyond print and has supercharged the Advocate brand. The meteoric rise in traffic to Advocate.com proves this. Thanks to Jon and his extraordinary team, The Advocate now reaches more people in a single month than it previously did in an entire year.
We have added extensive new features and staff to The Advocate, including our company's first Washington correspondent, Kerry Eleveld. As those of you who frequent Advocate.com know, Kerry's dogged reporting -- especially at White House press briefings -- has helped drive the agenda this year on issues such as marriage equality and "don't ask, don't tell." Also of particular note, The Advocate launched its first-ever website exclusively for women, SheWired.com.
The Washington Secretary of State's final vote count 
A new organization called 
For years, transgender activists fought to be included in this legislation because of the ongoing level of violence against transgender people across the nation. For many of us, the darkest hour came in 2005 when nearly 40 national groups singed a joint letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to adopt the fully inclusive bill which had passed the House, while another group, after pledging they would fight "only" for fully inclusive legislation, both refused to sign that letter and issued its own urging Senators to ignore the House action and adopt a separate bill that left transgender people. The argument that this "strategy" was necessary to pass such a bill was bigoted and, simply, poor politics.
