A push to win converts for the LGBT agenda

A Denver-based foundation this week released an ad campaign aimed at winning converts to the LGBT cause. But critics argue the campaign ignores the more complex questions surrounding what the government labels a protected class and when it should intervene.

The Gill Foundation, run by wealthy LGBT activist Tim Gill, unveiled the “Beyond I Do” campaign—which includes video, print, and radio ads—on Wednesday. The campaign is projected to get at least $15 million in donated media support, including TV and radio time and billboard space.

The ads tell the stories of LGBT individuals who have lost jobs and housing opportunities or been denied medical care, reportedly because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The campaign argues that even after gaining the right to marry, LGBT individuals still face discrimination. The ads push for nondiscrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the 31 states that do not have them.

But the campaign makes an emotional plea rather than looking at the issue in a logical and reasonable way, according to Peter Sprigg, senior policy fellow at the Family Research Council. It also fails to acknowledge discrimination that happens when people and organizations that oppose same-sex marriage because of sincerely held religious beliefs face lawsuits forcing them to support something with which they disagree.

The U.S. government has sought to maintain a consistent position that legal economic transactions between people should be free, Sprigg said. Discrimination (using the second definition in the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “the act of making or perceiving a difference”) happens all the time in those transactions, and is not always harmful, he noted. Companies selecting a new employee from a group of candidates are legally discriminating—the only way to avoid it would be to pick a candidate out of a hat.

But in certain cases, the government has decided discrimination is so offensive, such as when it involves race or sex, that it should not be permitted, even in the private sector.

For now, the majority of states and the federal government do not consider sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI) protected classes. LGBT activists want that to change, and the “Beyond I Do” campaign is starting at the state level—with people’s emotions.

“We have to make new and different friends,” Gill told the Associated Press. “Ultimately a federal solution is better, but it always comes after the states have demonstrated the need.”

Critics note a major distinction between current protected classes, based on immutable characteristics, and sexual orientation or gender identity, which are fluid and cannot be objectively evaluated. Existing SOGI laws have been used to target businesses owned by Christians that don’t want to participate in same-sex weddings or advocate for an agenda with which they disagree. Some states, including Mississippi, are adopting religious liberty laws to preemptively provide legal protections.

Still, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has recommended expanding the federal protected class list, and religious liberty experts view it as an inevitability. Once that happens, the courts likely will be asked to determine the extent of religious exemptions.

In pushing for so-called nondiscrimination laws, activists are “demanding that there be no dissent from their agenda,” said Sprigg. “If even one small business is in dissent from what they want everyone to believe, they want the government to step in and punish these people.”

Tragedy on Highway 1

Details are slowly emerging about the tragic and mysterious deaths of two adults and six children last month when a family in their SUV plunged 100 feet down a Northern California cliff.

Authorities this week identified the body of 12-year-old Ciera Hart, the sixth family member found.

A passerby alerted authorities on March 26 of the crash at a pullout on the Pacific Coast Highway near Westport, Calif., 160 miles north of San Francisco. Investigators that day found the bodies of married lesbian couple Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, and three of their six adopted children: Markis Hart, 19; Jeremiah Hart, 14; and Abigail Hart, 14. Search teams found Ciera Hart’s body April 7, and DNA testing confirmed her identity on Tuesday. Devonte Hart, 15, and Hannah Hart, 16, are still missing and presumed dead.

The family, who lived in Woodland, Wash., 30 miles north of Portland, Ore., had a checkered past. While family photos and testimony from friends seemed to portray a happy, healthy family, the Harts were also prone to sudden relocations and allegations of child abuse. Twice, in Minnesota and Oregon, child welfare officials investigated the couple. In 2011, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to a domestic assault charge involving a so-called spanking that left her 6-year-old daughter with bruises on her stomach and back.

A few days before the crash, on March 23, child welfare officials opened an investigation into the family amid reports of child neglect. Neighbors said two of the children came to their house, claiming they were being abused and denied food. The Hart family left their home later that day.

California officials initially treated the crash as an accident but have since labeled it deliberate.

Toxicology results showed Jennifer Hart, believed to be driving the SUV, was drunk. Sarah Hart and at least two of the children had significant amounts of diphenhydramine in their systems, an ingredient commonly found in Benadryl that causes drowsiness. No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt. Data from the vehicle’s software indicated the SUV stopped at the pullout and then accelerated about 70 feet, across a rock-piled ridge, and over the cliff. Investigators found no signs the driver tried to brake the vehicle.

Investigators are still trying to determine motives: why the family left home, why they ended up in California, and why Jennifer Hart drove their SUV off the highway and over a cliff. Teams are continuing to search for the bodies of the two missing children. —K.C.

Transgender troop battle likely going to court

A U.S. District judge in Seattle last week ordered President Donald Trump not to ban transgender troops from serving in the military, continuing months of back-and-forth between the Trump administration and the courts over the military’s transgender policy. In March, Trump ordered the adoption of a new policy proposed by Defense Secretary James Mattis that would allow transgender individuals to enlist and serve in limited cases, and allow current transgender troops to serve without limitations. On April 13, Judge Marsha Pechman ruled the policy’s constitutionality remained unclear. She recommended both parties prepare for a trial. —K.C.

Old-fashioned dating

One Boston College professor is pushing back against the hookup culture, one extra credit assignment at a time. Philosophy professor Kerry Cronin gives her students extra points if they ask someone on a date. She requires students to ask in person, ensure the recipient knows it’s a date, and pay. The date cannot cost more than $10; include drugs, alcohol, or physical interaction; or last longer than 90 minutes. Cronin said the assignment is an attempt to help students embrace “the foibles and the hard work and the joys and the despair” of dating. —K.C.

The ghost in your teen’s phone

Hidden or “ghost” apps for smartphones are increasingly popular with teens. The photo vault apps look like something else—for example a functioning calculator—but when users enter a secret code, the app allows them to store hidden photos and albums. Here is a handy list of apps parents should keep an eye on. —K.C.