#erin in the morning

[thatheathen]

Erin in the Morning | Fact Check: Viral Picture Of "Trans Trump Shooter" Turns Out To Be Someone Else

[anghraine]

Erin Reed of "Erin in the Morning" heard from various movers and shakers in the Democratic Party about the two Congressmen and various pundits saying the real culprit here is ... trans rights. She also compiled quotes from a few other influential Democrats quoted elsewhere as well. I thought it might be worthwhile to share while so many people are justifiably terrified, so here's the link to her newsletter, and some of the quotes in question—

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon):

In the 1990s I became the first Senate candidate to support gay marriage. After the 2004 election a lot of pundits said it was time for Democrats to stop standing up for gay people. They were wrong, and history showed we could stand up for what’s right and still win elections. This is not the time to abandon our values and principles, we must double down and fight for what is just and right – and that includes making sure that transgender people can live their lives without fear of discrimination. Our coalition is made stronger when we fight for all people and refuse to scapegoat vulnerable people.

A spokesperson for Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont):

The Senator will continue to stand up for the rights and personal freedoms of all Vermonters, including trans and LGBTQ Vermonters. The Democratic party fights to level the playing field—whether that’s creating jobs and lowering costs, protecting rights and personal freedoms, or making it easier to access health care. What news pundits say won’t change our core values.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-California):

Now more than ever, I remain committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ community and ensuring that trans people are treated with dignity and respect. The fight to defend the rights and freedoms of trans individuals continues, regardless of who occupies the White House.

Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky:

None of this means we abandon important values and principles. As governor, I have vetoed numerous anti-L.G.B.T.Q. and anti-choice bills, yet I still beat Mr. Trump’s handpicked candidate last fall. [...] Earning trust and showing people you care about them also requires that we talk to people like normal human beings. And that we are not afraid to share our “why.” For me, my why is my faith, and I share it proudly. I vetoed anti-L.G.B.T.Q. legislation last year because I believe all children are children of God. And whether people agree with my decision, they know why I’m making it. They know where I am coming from. So while others are talking about political strategy and messaging, the way forward is really about focus and about action.

Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington):

Democrats absolutely do not need to sacrifice trans people’s rights—or anyone else’s rights for that matter—to win elections. Most Americans believe in freedom, including the freedom to make your own health care decisions and live your life as you see fit. Frankly, the GOP’s intense focus on attacking the freedoms of such a tiny segment of the American population is nothing short of disturbing and no doubt deeply unproductive given the wide range of serious challenges facing our country.

Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois):

Unlike political pundits, my duty as a United States Senator, my literal oath of office, is to support and defend the Constitution—and one of the most important constitutional principles is equal protection under the law. Election results have no bearing on that sacred oath, nor the reality that our nation was founded on the ideal that every individual is endowed with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Denying Americans basic freedoms because of who they love or who they are is a betrayal of our founding ideals, period.

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon):

Every American deserves the freedom to fully participate in every aspect of our national life. No one should ever be excluded from this vision. As MAGA extremists continue their attacks on members of the LGBTQ+ community to score cheap political points, I will push to end discrimination and expand freedom for all.

[thatstormygeek]

"Attacks on transgender people are a major part of the 2024 campaign, with Trump spending more ads targeting trans people than on any other issue."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

On Wednesday, viral posts on Facebook and Twitter falsely identified a transgender person as Trump’s shooter. These posts, shared by right-wing disinformation accounts, gained millions of views and were amplified by major far-right figures. The individual in the image has now come forward, stating she is not the shooter. This incident is the latest in a series of attempts to falsely claim a shooter is transgender by using the picture of a random trans person from social media. The major source on Twitter for the image appears to be Paul Hookem, a right-wing disinformation account. According to the account’s profile, it was previously banned for four years before being reinstated by Elon Musk. In a post by the account, the transgender woman’s picture was used along with the caption, "Anyone wondering why they aren't using this photo of the shooter?" The image of the person bore little resemblance to the shooter. The post received 7 million views, with many quote tweets gaining additional millions of views.

Now, the person depicted in the photograph has come forward in an exclusive interview with Erin In The Morning. Her name is Rose, and she learned about her picture going viral after a friend alerted her to a now-deleted Facebook post. Rose was alarmed to see her image, stating, “I’m just an artist, I enjoy drawing and writing, and occasionally playing video games. I’m literally the most average random person…” This is not the first time mass shooters have been incorrectly identified as transgender by right-wing accounts. In the Uvalde shooting, an unrelated transgender woman’s pictures went viral and were shared by major right-wing influencers and sitting United States representatives. Fact checks later corrected the disinformation: the person depicted in the photos was Sam, a transgender woman who lives in Georgia. In Texas, a megachurch shooter was also incorrectly identified as transgender. Similarly, right-wing influencers like Libs of TikTok and sitting congresspeople shared the disinformation before it was fact-checked.

The far-right disinformation machine is playing their “trans shooter hoax” games by baselessly insinuating that a trans woman was the shooter who tried to assassinate Donald Trump. The trans woman in question spoke to Erin Reed to debunk the far-right disinformation machine’s “trans shooter hoax” propaganda.

In reality, the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump was a cisgender male by the name of Thomas Matthew Crooks.

[lgbtawarenessproject]

[Image ID: An individual with long brunette wavy hair, white complexion, pride earrings, and a transgender T-shirt with incomprehensive writing. The individual is white with a gap between the two front teeth. In the background are framed butterflies, a green neon light, and a table with a plant. The video periodically shows images of a painting of Mesopotamia, a orange and grayscale image of Enheduanna, a grayscale image of Lucy Anderson wearing a hat and dress-coat, Michael Millis standing behind a podium, and a large scaled image of a riot near the capitol. End ID]

[Caption ID: The individual says, "We have always been here, and that's the message I want to start off with pride. You see, thousands of years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, the priesthood of Innana, they were made up of transgender priests. And the very first human author Enheduanna whenever the very first time a story was put onto tablets with synbols was written about that priesthood. Transgender people are a part of the DNA of what it means to be human. We have always been here. Fast forward, 2000 years, the empress Elagabalis, a transgender roman Empress, that you never hear about in the history books. Demaned, she be referred to as herself. She went by the title of queen. We have always been here. Fast forward 2000 more years, Lucy Anderson, a black trans woman in 1980, transitioned as a kid. She became the best-known cook and socialite in her town in California. And whenever she was arrested and they found out her assigned sex at birth, all the townspeople gathered up and demanded that she be released because they had a feast to throw that night. We have always been here. And so, whenever we see people like Michael Millis stand in front of seatbelt calling for transgender eradication, that is impossible. Because you can eradicate every last one of us, and we would still be here because we would continue to be reborn. We are a part of what it means to be human. And so, they will still try. They passed all these laws to target us, and yet, look around. They failed. We are still here. They failed to eradicate us. And we will celebrate their failure for an entire month, and our joy will be our resistance. Happy pride. End ID]

A member of our discord did this ID for us!

[onlytiktoks]

@a-captions-blog

[thatheathen]

Erin in the Morning | Erin Reed Substack | Odessa, TX Agenda

[stephobrien]

The political situation in the USA is grim, but there is hope.

Here are some of the strategies some Democrats are using - and additional strategies they can use - to protect their most vulnerable constituents from Republicans' hate-based legislation.

[oh-okay-kay]

stay safe, friends

[frameacloud]

Erin Reed (January 16, 2024). "Erin's Anti-Trans Risk Map: Early Legislative Session Edition." Erin in the Morning. https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/erins-anti-trans-risk-map-early-legislative

This post on Erin Reed's blog tells all about the current status of anti-transgender bills and laws throughout the United States.

[thatstormygeek]

The ruling, released late Monday, stated that transgender people are not a “quasi-suspect class,” meaning they do not receive the same level of equal protection under the Constitution as other categories such as race, ethnicity, religion, or sex. This decision implies that laws discriminating against transgender people are likely to be considered valid and constitutional by the 11th Circuit Court. ... The Supreme Court is poised to rule on such questions later this year in a case stemming from Tennessee’s trans care ban. If the Supreme Court were to rule that transgender people are not entitled to equal protection under the law, many forms of discrimination against transgender youth and adults could be deemed fully legal. For trans people in Florida, many cannot afford to wait for such a decision, and many have already fled the state. For those unable to leave, disruptions to their care will likely have significant impacts on their mental and physical health.

[thoughtportal]

terrorist veto