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LGBT Tag

When Masterpiece Cakeshop won its case on June 4, 2018, in the U.S. Supreme Court over refusal to bake a cake celebrating a gay wedding, many people assumed it was a win for religious freedom and free speech (the right not to have government compel your speech). The cake shop did not refuse to sell cakes to gays, it simply didn't want to prepare a custom cake with a specific message on it which it believed was contrary to the owner's religious beliefs. But as we covered at the time, the Supreme Court decision was tailored to bias against the cake shop in the Colorado administrative process. Justice Kennedy authored the 7-2 opinion:

A prominent LGBT rights attorney, David Buckel, committed suicide by setting himself on fire in New York's Prospect Park.  Buckel, who was involved in the Brandon Teena murder case made famous by the film Boys Don't Cry, left suicide notes and mailed copies to various media outlets. Buckel wrote that his final act of "early death by fossil fuel reflects what we are doing to ourselves” and expressed his hope that his suicide will serve others in some way.

California isn't just at war with Donald Trump. It is conducting a culture war against several red states in the form of Assembly Bill 1887. The measure prohibits state-funded and state-sponsored travel to Alabama and several other red states Thursday due to laws that could discriminate against the LGBTQ community (e.g., prohibiting adoptions).