Jonny interviews Carrie Vine of Rainbow Cafe and the Southern Illinois Pride Collective about the incredibly full weekend of SI PrideFest activities in Carbondale this coming weekend (June 15). In the back half of the show, he and Heather discuss some recent “historical moments” impacting the LGBTQ community. 

Jonny and Heather review recent hopeful developments in pushbacks and hinderences to trans bans and other anti-LGBTQ legislation. They also chronicle the distressing uptick in such legislation in 2023. In the back half of the show, they look forward to the election year of 2024 and speculate about the consequences of such a year on such legislation.They do their best to find the evidence for hopefulness while also acknowledging the reality of the situation.

Jonny, on his own this week, covers the fallout in Russia of their Supreme Court declaring all LGBT groups and activists “international extremists.” He notes how too many on the Right in this country pull from President Putin’s playbook, but he offers some hope in stories of folks successfully pushing back for LGBTQ+ rights in the US. In the back half of the show he reviews the shortened term and ousting of Rep. George Santos (D-NY). He notes why we tend to treat Santos as a joke, but warns against the dangers of doing so.

Jonny reviews new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) incredibly toxic anti-LGBTQ legislative and legal history. He profiles Johnson’s origins in the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the damage they are doing across the nation and across the world in the name of “defending” their religious beliefs. In the back half of the show, Jonny profiles Pastor Elazar Schoch Zavaletta of the formerly-named North Avenue Mission in Baltimore, MD. Zavaletta is an out, trans pastor serving the unhoused and marginalized in an impoverished urban neighborhood. Jonny juxtaposes Johnson and the ADF with Zavaletta and the NAM as two different paths for faith-based Christian responses to LGBTQ+ (and other) people and their needs.

Starting with the fiasco of the Speaker of the House oustng and subsequent fraught selection process, Jonny curates a series of recent news items that demonstrate how hate-based conservatism is self-destructive and unsustainable. The hate these folks foster for LGBTQ folks as a wedge issue pales next to the hate and lies they have for each other. In the back half of the show, Jonny examines the next potential SCOTUS case that might advance religious freedom at the expense of the health and well-bing of queer youth. He also takes stock of the rising visibility of Black queer politicians and activists.

Ew! Republican policies (and Republicans, in general) are just gross!
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