{"id":52871,"date":"2017-05-05T18:01:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T22:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaads-leaked-audio-helped-sink-anti-lgbtq-mark-greens-nomination\/"},"modified":"2017-05-05T18:01:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T22:01:18","slug":"glaads-leaked-audio-helped-sink-anti-lgbtq-mark-greens-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaads-leaked-audio-helped-sink-anti-lgbtq-mark-greens-nomination\/","title":{"rendered":"GLAAD’s leaked audio helped sink anti-LGBTQ Mark Green’s nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLAAD’s leaked audio helped sink anti-LGBTQ Mark Green’s nomination<\/b><\/p>\n

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Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, released the following statement after Tennessee State Senator Mark Green withdrew his nomination to be the next Secretary of the Army. GLAAD helped lead the charge<\/a> by exposing audio on April 20 in which Mark Green told the Hotwash with CJ and Alex Program that transgender Americans were an \u201cevil\u201d that must be \u201ccrushed.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Discrimination and anti-LGBTQ beliefs have no place in our military. GLAAD\u2019s leaked audio and the outrage from our supporters helped sink Mark Green\u2019s nomination, but we now need to continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable by fighting back against every attempt to erase the LGBTQ community from this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trump Pick For Army Secretary Says He Opposes Transgender Equality Because He Must \u2018Crush Evil\u2019<\/a>
Huffington Post \/\/ Amanda Terkel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green (R), President Donald Trump\u2019s choice to be the next Army secretary, believes that part of his mission as a public official is to \u201ccrush evil\u201d \u2015 and that opposing transgender equality policies is key to that effort.<\/p>\n

As head of the Army, Green would oversee a force that\u2019s fully integrated, since the Pentagon ended its ban on transgender people serving openly in June. If confirmed, he would set a significantly different tone than the previous Army secretary, Eric Fanning, who was the first openly gay<\/a> person to serve in the position.<\/p>\n

In June, Green said he opposed allowing people to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity, rather than the sex<\/a> assigned at birth. He told an online radio show he believed the matter should be left up to the states rather than the federal government, and then cited the safety of women<\/a> as a key reason he personally opposes transgender equality in public accommodations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 300,000 rapes in the United States every year,\u201d Green said. \u201cThree hundred thousand women<\/a> who are sexually assaulted by predators. We know this. It\u2019s documented. It\u2019s factual. To think that some young guy<\/a> isn\u2019t going to take advantage of the system where we\u2019re going to allow guys<\/a> to go into the bathroom \u2015 the women<\/a>\u2019s bathroom \u2015 to think that it\u2019s not going to happen is just ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The need to protect women<\/a> from sexual predators is a common conservative argument against inclusive bathroom policies. But it\u2019s also a red herring. It\u2019s already illegal for men<\/a> to sexually assault women<\/a>, whether it takes place in a bathroom or some other place. Nothing would change in that regard. And leading organizations dedicated to fighting sexual assault say they support transgender equal access.<\/p>\n

States and localities that have implemented transgender-inclusive restroom policies have also said they have not seen an increase in rape and assault because of these laws.<\/p>\n

But for Green, there\u2019s also a biblical reason to oppose these policies: He needs to \u201ccrush evil\u201d:<\/p>\n

And as far as the religious argument goes, and this applies to the issue of Syrian refugees as well. There\u2019s a big fuss about whether or not that we should sue the federal government over having to take refugees from Syria into the State of Tennessee, I believe we should sue the federal government in that case because Romans 13 is pretty doggone clear, this is the passage where it tells people to submit to the authorities \u2013 meaning, basically if you\u2019re in the government, you should do what the government tells you to do. You know, don\u2019t speed, all that kind of stuff. Obey the laws is basically what the passage says. But what it goes on to say is that because the government exists for two purposes.<\/p>\n

The government exists to honor those people who live<\/a> honorably, who do good things \u2013 to reward people who behave well and to crush evil. So that means as a state senator, my responsibility very clearly in Romans 13 is to create an environment where people who do right are rewarded and the people who do wrong are crushed. Evil is crushed.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m going to protect women<\/a> in their bathrooms, and I\u2019m going to protect our state against potential infiltration from the Syrian ISIS people in the refugee program. And whoever wants to stand up and take me on that, I\u2019m ready to fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration must have been desperate to fill this post because Mark Green\u2019s anti-LGBTQ remarks should disqualify anyone seeking to be in charge of the United States Army, which includes many out and proud soldiers,\u201d said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group. \u201cOur nation is strongest when we are together \u2015 and calling transgender people \u2018evil\u2019 does just the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green did not return a request for additional comment on his remarks and views on transgender people.<\/p>\n

In September, Green told a tea party gathering that he believes being transgender is a disease. (The medical community disagrees.)<\/p>\n

Green is also the sponsor of SB 127, a bill that would bar government entities from taking \u201cdiscriminatory action against a business entity on the basis of the internal policies of the business entity\u201d in Tennessee.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s nondiscrimination protections do not currently cover discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, although some municipalities do have stronger rules protecting LGBTQ government employees.<\/p>\n

Green\u2019s bill, however, would bar local governments and public universities from considering companies\u2019 internal policies (such as whether they discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation) when doing business or giving out contracts \u2015 because the legislation considers that to be discriminatory.<\/p>\n

The bill passed the Tennessee state Senate, but this week, the House deferred the measure until next year.<\/p>\n

Green is a West Point graduate and physician. He was an Army medic for the special operations team that captured Saddam Hussein in 2003. He later wrote a book about his experience interviewing the former Iraqi dictator.<\/p>\n

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May 5, 2017<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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