Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT’s daily round-up of the latest in LGBT policy, politics, and some culture too! Here’s what we’re reading this morning, but please let us know what stories you’re following as well. Follow us all day on Twitter at @TPEquality.

- What was it like for a transgender soldier serving in silence to meet the President?

- Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has not expended any political capital to advance transgender nondiscrimination protections in New York.

- Only about a quarter of transgender people identify as straight.

- 11-year-old Marcel Neergaard successfully convinced the conservative education reform group StudentsFirst, run by Michelle Rhee, to rescind its “reformed of the Year” award from the Tennessee lawmaker who sponsored the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Rep. John Ragan (R). Watch Marcel’s television interview with WATE News.

- Florida’s Hillsborough County Commission has unanimously repealed its ban on recognizing gay pride.

- Illinois’s Cook County juvenile detention center has adopted an LGBTQ-inclusive policy.

- Thanks to a civil union, one Colorado couple was able to put both their names on their child’s birth certificate.

- Texas Comptroller Susan Combs was welcoming of same-sex families, and then not.

- Duke University will begin publishing the first nonmedical academic journal dedicated to transgender studies.

- A team of Biblical scholars point out that “traditional marriage” is not defined as just one man and woman.

- Proving the complex nature of gender, a 66-year-old Hong Kong man found out that he was a woman after a doctor identified a cyst on his ovary.

- The Church of England has given up on fighting marriage equality.

- Wells Fargo has hopped on the “It Gets Better” wagon:

Yesterday, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), the Center for American Progress (CAP), and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a comprehensive new report examining the myriad hardships and barriers facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers across the country. That report, called A Broken Bargain, puts together for the first time all available information about LGBT workplace issues. According to the report: “If fairness and equality are part of America’s basic workplace bargain, this bargain is clearly broken for LGBT workers. This broken bargain, in turn, can create an untenable situation for employers.”

One of the initial findings from this report unearths the unique demographic characteristics of LGBT workers in the United States. For example, the report finds that:

• LGBT workers are racially and ethnically diverse. One in three LGBT respondents (33%) in a 2012 Gallup poll identified as people of color, compared to 27% of non-LGBT individuals.

• LGBT workers are geographically dispersed. As many as 4.3 million LGBT people live in states with no state laws providing employment protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

• LGBT workers in the United States are at a higher risk of poverty than other workers. Among the hardest-hit by the broken bargain for LGBT workers are those who are parents, together with their children.

In creating this comprehensive resource, researchers then examined the one-two-three punch that LGBT workers in America face: discrimination in employment, fewer benefits, and higher taxes, simply based on their LGBT status.

Read more

Preston Mitchum is a policy analyst for LGBT Progress.

Once again, Republican lawmakers are trying to use the National Defense Authorization Act as an opportunity to enshrine a “license to discriminate” in the military. Last year, a watered-down version of previous “conscience clause” proposals was included in the bill, which President Obama condemned as “unnecessary and ill-advised.” The new proposal would make it easier for servicemembers to get away with anti-gay bullying, regardless of what impact it might have on unit cohesion.

The amendment comes from Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) and makes a few subtle but troubling tweaks to the original text of the conscience clause. The rhetoric change would make it harder for authority figures to discipline servicemembers for anti-gay bullying or discrimination within the ranks:

ORIGINAL: Requires the Armed Forces to accommodate the beliefs of a service member and chaplain reflecting the service member’s or chaplain’s conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, and in so far as practicable, would prohibit use of such beliefs as the basis for any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training or assignment. The protection does not protect the speech or conduct of an individual, and preserves the authority to take disciplinary or administrative actions that threaten good order and discipline.

AMENDMENT: Except in cases of military necessity, the Armed Forces shall accommodate the beliefs, actions, and speech of a service member and chaplain reflecting the service member’s or chaplain’s conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs, and in so far as practicable, would prohibit use of such beliefs, actions, or speech as the basis for any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training or assignment. The protection does not protect the speech or conduct of an individual, and preserves the authority to take disciplinary or administrative actions that actually harm good order and discipline.

The amendment extends the protections to “actions and speech,” suggesting that servicemembers could go much further in promoting their anti-gay beliefs without fear of discipline. More disturbingly, this provision suggests that no disciplinary action could be taken until expression of a belief “actually harms,” suggesting that much greater levels of anti-gay of harassment could be tolerated.

There has been no evidence that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has in any way limited the beliefs, actions, or speech of any servicemember. Nevertheless, this is the third year in a row that House Republicans have attempted to promote and protect homophobia in the armed services under the guise of conscience protections. None of these lawmakers has ever provided any evidence that allowing more anti-gay sentiment will improve unit cohesion or morale.

Last Friday’s decision to postpone a vote on marriage equality in the Illinois House came as a huge disappointment to supporters of LGBT equality. But Prairie State voters can take heart from legislative battles in other states where marriage equality was similarly delayed or defeated — but where the same chambers went on to pass bills soon after.

Like Illinois, legislative efforts to pass marriage equality stumbled in Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York — either failing to obtain a majority or by through postponed consideration. Future attempts to enact legislation later succeeded in three of those states, while the New Jersey legislature’s passage of a bill was met with a Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) veto. As Illinois supporters work to win passage of the bill later this year, ThinkProgress reached out to key players in each of those states and asked them about their experiences.

Three common themes emerged in their responses. Several said Illinois supporters need to make sure they have an accurate target list and focus on the lawmakers who need persuading. Constituents, they suggested, must respectfully tell their personal stories to their legislators and make their representatives understand why this issue matters to their families. Finally, the openly LGBT caucus within the legislature must appeal personally and emotionally to their colleagues, especially those who may not be as attuned to the topic.

Maryland

Perhaps the most analogous case was Maryland’s unsuccessful 2011 attempt to pass a civil marriage bill through the state House of Delegates. Though advocates believed they had the needed votes to pass the bill, they were forced to postpone the vote after some pledged supporters wavered. Unlike Illinois, supporters went through with the debate — hoping their compelling personal stories might sway the handful of votes needed for a majority — before sending the bill back to committee after it became apparent the votes would not be there. Advocates, including Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), the state’s seven openly LGBT Delegates, and LGBT groups, organized a new campaign and successfully pushed the bill through less than a year later. When opponents forced the question onto the November ballot, a majority voted for marriage equality.

Openly lesbian Maryland Del. Heather Mizeur (D) noted that about 10 supporters were willing to be a part of a 71-vote majority but would have voted against the bill if it appeared likely to lose. “It would not have been okay to lose by 12 votes and try to come back the next year to win those back. We wanted to hold onto their willingness to be yes on a winning vote, instead of locking them into a no vote because they saw it was going down,” she recalled. To turn around the vote in Illinois, she suggested, “it could be helpful for them to try to wage an effort to get their supporters to sign some sort of pledge, start getting a vote count, and get a campaign around securing public commitments.” Maryland’s success came, she explained, from working with allies at national organizations, state groups, and really putting together a campaign. “Leave no stone unturned until we’re able to claim victory.”

Carrie Evans, executive director of Equality Maryland, said that it made little sense to demand a vote in 2011 because there was not going to be an election before the next (2012) session. She noted that while grassroots activists were vital to the successful effort to win the second attempt, so was having a robust LGBT caucus inside the legislature who could remind colleagues, “you know my husband, you know my kids.” Issues like marriage equality, she observed, must be personal. “They’re so close — you really just have to build on that and get those last few votes.”
Read more

The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families is the world’s largest attempt to study how children raised by same-sex couples compare to children raised by heterosexual couples. According to a preliminary report on the study of 500 children across the country of Australia, these young people are not only thriving, but also have higher rates of family cohesion than other families:

An interim report found there was no statistical difference between children of same-sex couples and the rest of the population on indicators including self-esteem, emotional behaviour and the amount of time spent with parents.

However, children of same-sex couples scored higher than the national average for overall health and family cohesion, measuring how well a family gets along.

According to Dr. Simon Crouch, lead researcher on the study at Melbourne University, the way same-sex families have to cope with bullying and homophobia could impact how they relate to each other. A study recently found that 70 percent of gay and lesbian students in the Australian state of Queensland experience bullying from both students and teachers, so the children of same-sex couples likely experience similar taunts. If a student experiences stigma at school, the researchers hypothesize, the families are “generally more willing to communicate and approach the issues,” resulting in a closer family dynamic.

The Australian Senate defeated marriage equality last September and will not take the issue up again until after this September’s general election. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently came out for marriage equality, explaining that concern about the children of same-sex couples was previously his primary obstacle. Hopefully this research will convince additional Australian lawmakers to support marriage equality when it next comes up for a vote.

Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) will not publicly endorse his party’s Lieutenant Governor nominee, Bishop E.W. Jackson, due to his extreme anti-gay views — but will still vote for him this November.

Rigell told the Virginian Pilot on Monday that he could not campaign for Jackson because “his views with respect to the gay and lesbian community and homosexuality in general are not my own. I’m going to leave it at that… What he said and, indeed, how he said it. All of it.” But, Rigell said, he plans to vote for Jackson and does support Republican gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli II — whose anti-LGBT views and rhetoric are almost identical to Jackson’s.

Jackson, who unexpectedly won his party’s nomination at a sparsely attended party convention last month, believes “the homosexual movement is a cancer attacking vital organs of faith, family & military,” and claims, “homosexuality is a horrible sin, it poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of.” Cuccinelli, Virginia’s current attorney general, has said, “When you look at the homosexual agenda, I cannot support something that I believe brings nothing but self-destruction, not only physically but of their soul.”

While he claims not to be as anti-gay as Jackson, Rigell has amassed a consistently anti-equality record over his two-and-a-half years in Congress. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Rigell earned a zero score on LGBT issues in the 112th Congress, reaffirming the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), backing a watered-down version of the Violence Against Women Act that lacked LGBT protections, and supporting a prohibition on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal training for military chaplains. He declined to co-sponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and highlights his opposition to marriage equality on his campaign website as an example of his support for “Traditional American Values.” He even signed on as a co-sponsor of a resolution condemning the Obama administration for not defending DOMA in court.

Before his tenure in Congress, Rigell led an anti-gay split of his parish, bolting from the Episcopal Church over its “modern” approach, of allowing openly-LGBT bishops and opposing a marriage inequality constitutional amendment.

Polls have consistently shown that older Americans are less likely to morally approve of homosexuality and subsequently support LGBT equality at lower rates. A new Gallup poll, however, shows that for the first time in that poll’s history, a majority of Americans over the age of 55 morally accept “gay or lesbian relations”:

That support has nearly doubled since 2001, when only 26 percent of older adults morally approved of homosexuality. Of course, the population of people over the age of 55 includes many more younger people than it did in 2001, which could help explain the growing support. In the same poll, young people (ages 18-34) showed support at 74 percent, while middle-aged adults (ages 35-54) were still down around 54 percent.

Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT’s daily round-up of the latest in LGBT policy, politics, and some culture too! Here’s what we’re reading this morning, but please let us know what stories you’re following as well. Follow us all day on Twitter at @TPEquality.

- A pair of twins, Liz and Erin Czerwinski, are this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian at Key West High School, and they were raised by lesbian moms.

- An LGBT protester from GetEQUAL heckled First Lady Michelle Obama at a fundraiser Tuesday, demanding an executive order from President Obama with LGBT employment protections.

- Over a year ago, the White House promised a study on LGBT workplace discrimination, but the unnecessary study has not advanced.

- The town of Bisbee, Arizona has approved a new version of its same-sex civil unions bill.

- The College Republicans may suggest that the GOP be quiet about same-sex marriage, but that hasn’t stopped the College Republicans from sponsoring an anti-gay conference.

- Bill O’Reilly thinks children should be punished for violating gender norms.

- Some conservatives wish New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) appoint National Organization for Marriage co-founder Robert George to the vacant Senate seat.

- A high school in Alexandria, Virginia allowed a gay man to be elected prom queen, but dismissed the press from the room.

- 11-year-old Marcel Neergaard is taking a stand against Tennessee lawmakers who want to protect people who bully LGBT students.

- A new study from the Pew Research Center shows which countries are most and least accepting of homosexuality.

- An Australian court has approved a law that allows individuals to identify as neither male nor female on their government documents.

- Apparently, Australian gay men were holding secret illegal same-sex marriages in the 1930′s.

- Some of the most extreme opponents of LGBT equality held a press conference in front of the Human Rights Campaign building Tuesday. Here are some excerpts of their remarks:

Several conservative groups testified Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee about their mistreatment by the IRS. The National Organization for Marriage sent Chairman John Eastman to speak about their leaked tax forms from last year, even though that has nothing to do with the current “scandal” regarding extra scrutiny for Tea Party-affiliated groups. Despite the fact that over a year has passed since the leak, NOM is capitalizing on the current news by using the threat of an IRS lawsuit to fundraise, though no suit has been filed.

At the hearing, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) called out NOM for hiding its political donors, pointing out that nothing about what NOM advocates constitutes “social welfare.” Eastman responded that it was “preposterous” to suggest NOM’s position “doesn’t qualify for defense of the public good.” Blumenauer took to the Huffington Post just after the hearing to address the matter, reminding of NOM’s race-baiting strategies:

To Dr. Eastman, I say that it is the denial of my constituents, and all Americans, the right to marry the person that they love is preposterous. To exploit racial and religious differences so you can fund raise for and enforce your specific worldview is preposterous.

But your right to be preposterous should not extend to taking political positions under the guise of a social welfare organization, raising money and campaigning.

During the hearing, an agitated Eastman claimed that NOM’s donors had to be kept hidden because people fear harassment. In fact, some people have been afraid to donate to NOM in fear of being held accountable through business boycotts and other political actions. In other words, NOM’s donors simply don’t have the courage of their convictions and would prefer to campaign against LGBT equality in secret. Watch a clip of Eastman’s response to Blumenauer (via Towleroad):

Today, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013, which is an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that includes a variety of reforms designed to make American schools safer and more effective institutions.  The bill has provisions to expand resources and establish guidelines for kindergarten and early childhood education, encourage equity by assessing individual school’s climates and opportunities, and support high quality instruction.

In addition, the bill includes Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) Student Non-Discrimination Act, SNDA, which follows the introduction of the bill into the House of Representatives by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in April.  The act is focused on preventing harassment, discrimination, and violence in the public school system targeted at LGBT youth.

SNDA argues that the current state of harassment and violence deprives actual and perceived LGBT students of their right to equal education, in part because discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is not federally prohibited in public schools.  Thus, the act would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the existing list of federally protected bases of discrimination alongside race, color, sex, religion, disability, and national origin. This measure would allow the federal government to withdraw funding from schools that condoned such discrimination in secondary schools as well as empower students to take legal action against perpetrators of harassment.

SNDA currently has 150 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, 149 of whom are Democrats.  The sole Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), has been attacked in the past for pro-equality stances, including her vote for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act.

For students across the United States, passage of the Student Non-Discrimination Act is a matter of physical safety.  According to a survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 6 out of 10 lesbian, gay, or bisexual students report feeling unsafe at school, with an even higher 8 out of 10 for transgender students. SDNA notes the seriousness of the problem by citing studies and cases in which bullying of LGBT students led to lower grade point averages, absenteeism, health problems, failure to graduate, life-threatening violence, and suicide.

In spite of these grim day-to-day realities for LGBT youth in public schools, Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute worries that passage of this measure would lead to “a violation of those kids who want to express opposition to LGBT opinions or behavior.”

Sunny Frothingham is an intern with LGBT Progress.

Just now, the British House of Lords voted to advance the marriage equality bill on second reading by a voice vote. Moments before, the Lords defeated an amendment that would have killed the bill by a vote of 148-390. It now proceeds to the committee mark-up phase, following which it must pass once more in the House of Lords.

During the debate that took place on Monday, Baroness Liz Barker came out as a lesbian publicly for the first time, telling her colleagues, “Many years ago, I had the great good fortune to meet someone. She and I have loved each other ever since.”

The bill passed its final reading in the House of Commons, Britain’s representative body, by a vote of 366-161, having passed its second reading by a vote of 400-175.

On Sunday, the Louisiana House gave final approval to SB 162, a bill that limits surrogacy to married (heterosexual) couples. According to the new rules for surrogacy, “intended parents” must be married:

“Intended parents” means married persons who contribute their gametes to be used in assisted reproduction, and who enter into an enforceable gestational surrogacy contract, as defined in this Chapter, with a gestational carrier pursuant to which they will be the legal parents of the child resulting from that assisted reproduction.

Because Louisiana’s constitution bans the recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions, the bill effectively bans same-sex couples from using surrogacy to have a child. A lesbian couple could still utilize a sperm donor, but a gay male couple would be prohibited from from asking a woman to carry a child to term for them.

It’s unclear if Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will sign the bill, but interestingly, conservative groups are also opposed to the bill. According to the Louisiana Family Forum, other aspects of the bill make it “morally questionable and potentially exploitative.”

Unlike the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council has had no reservations about partnering with the Illinois Family Institute to fight marriage equality in Illinois. In FRC’s Washington Update Monday, Tony Perkins boasted that the marriage bill did not come up for a vote, cheering the tearful announcement by Rep. Greg Harris (D) as an accomplishment:

The LGBT lobby, who assumed their bullying would have the same effect on these legislators as it’s had in other states, were completely blindsided by the churches’ powerful resistance. On Friday, while the Left was preparing for a victory lap, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), tearfully announced on the last day of the session that he didn’t have the votes to bring the bill to the floor.

For our side, which has had its share of setbacks, it was a reminder of what can be accomplished when we stand together. Illinois voters refused to buy the line that same-sex “marriage” is inevitable — and because of their courage, it wasn’t! Join us in congratulating the Illinois Family Institute and the hundreds of pastors who stood their ground on marriage! It was a victory well-deserved, and more than that, a success story every state can learn from.

Harris has defended his decision not to hold a vote amid criticism from advocates for not forcing lawmakers to voice their position on the record.

But FRC doesn’t seem concerned with why Harris, who is openly gay, might have been upset by his bill’s setback. Indeed, by claiming that the LGBT lobby was engaging in “bullying,” the group is trying to paint opponents of equality as victims of some kind, even though allowing same-sex couples to marry would have no impact on their lives. Promoting and cheering the continued second-class status of the gay community is one of the many reasons both FRC and IFI are classified as hate groups.

Every year, the Florida Family Association protests “Gay Days” at Walt Disney World, primarily by flying a banner around the park with the message, “WARNING: GAY DAY @ DISNEY.” Apparently, the group — which largely consists of the anti-LGBT advocacy of one man, David Caton — spends over $12,000 on this yearly expense.

This year, Converge Orlando, the region’s LGBT visitor’s bureau, decided to reach out to FFA and thank them for this weekend’s protests. Here’s a letter sent from Mikael Audebert, executive director of Converge, outlining the significant economic impact of Gay Days:

On behalf of our members, our community and our many friends, I want to personally thank you for helping us make 2013 Gay Days even more successful and well-attended than ever. It seems you once again helped draw attention to an Orlando event that brings tens of millions of dollars to the local economy. It also brings thousands of families together who come to celebrate equality and love. Instead of scaring people away, it appears your efforts have encouraged people to come and offer support. Publicity and media coverage of any kind is good for gay and lesbian travel marketing. So, THANK YOU for the $16,000 contribution in publicity! [...]

The plane fly-overs really have no purpose other than promoting the Gay Days events. The parks already give their guests a courtesy notice about our tens of thousands of wonderful LGBT individuals and their allies being in town. So visitors are already ‘warned of gays.” Again this year, the same parks racked up another record level of attendance on the first weekend of June. Our experience with non-LGBT visitors last weekend was warm and gracious. The families we spoke to were happy to have gays and lesbians celebrate in the same manner every other group does in the parks.

We are counting on you to rent more planes and stir up more controversy about any week-long gay and lesbian event in Orlando. Please continue to rally your troops and make incendiary statements. Urge unequal treatment for some citizens and flaunt your misguided values. To make your job easier in the future, we are adding three new large LGBT events starting next year. We thought you would appreciate the opportunity to continue your efforts year round.

Next year, why don’t you just write a check directly to Converge Orlando to further promote LGBT tourism to our region? While I doubt you will take me up on this suggestion, I nonetheless look forward to working with you again next year in supporting another successful Gay Days.

In addition to protesting Disney’s Gay Days, FFA regularly protests companies who advertise on television shows that include LGBT characters and storylines. This often has a similar effect of increasing national awareness about the shows without negatively impacting the advertisers.

Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT’s daily round-up of the latest in LGBT policy, politics, and some culture too! Here’s what we’re reading this morning, but please let us know what stories you’re following as well. Follow us all day on Twitter at @TPEquality.

- Check out the over 100 posts from Blogging for LGBT Families Day!

- The American Bar Association is taking up a resolution to ban the use of gay and trans “panic” defenses in hate crime trials.

- Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is encouraging the state’s legislature to take up a trans nondiscrimination bill.

- One of the first-ever residents of The Ali Forney Center, a homeless shelter for LGBT youth in New York City, just graduated from law school.

- Meet Cody Tubman, a transgender teen who was voted prom queen at her high school in Middleboro, Massachusetts.

- Read how one parent disinvited a child from their kid’s birthday party for identifying as gay.

- Meet Kristin Beck — formerly Chris Beck — who is the first former Navy SEAL to come out as transgender.

- French Mayor Helene Mandroux, who performed the country’s first same-sex marriage, has received some strange threats in the mail, including a package containing feces.

- The actress and musician Charice, who portrayed Sunshine Corazon on Glee, has come out as a lesbian.

- Watch the London Gay Men’s Chorus performing outside the House of Lords, which is expected to vote on marriage equality today:

Earlier this year, the Republican National Committee issued a report suggesting the party should be more inclusive, but not of LGBT people. Party leaders like Reince Priebus and Jeb Bush have suggested that the GOP continue to oppose marriage equality, but find a sugarcoated way to talk about it. Now a new report from the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) similarly suggests that the party simply not emphasize its opposition to LGBT equality so as to appear more attractive to young voters.

The CRNC conducted a survey that found that 44 percent of young voters believe marriage equality should be legal. It’s unclear if the sample was all Republicans or a more random political sample, but national polling has showed support as high as 81 percent among the same age group. About half of that 44 percent (26 percent of the whole) told the CRNC that opposition to marriage equality was a deal-breaker, even if a candidate agreed with them on many other issues.

Of course, the report does not recommend changing positions on marriage equality within the party. Instead, it suggests that if Republican candidates just keep their opposition to LGBT rights quiet, they might be able to win over young people on other issues:

It is important for Republicans to bear in mind that young voters warmed to President Obama long before his position on gay marriage “evolved,” and that there is no consensus in either party on the issue. Additionally, there is a “middle ground” approach of letting states decide the issue, a position that has been espoused by some prominent Republicans like Marco Rubio. Nonetheless, there is hardly an appetite from this generation to see the GOP crusade against same-sex marriage.

In the short run, as we wait for the Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, the best course of action for the party may be to promote the diversity of opinion on the issue within its ranks (after all, for quite some time, former vice president Dick Cheney was to the left of President Obama on same-sex marriage) and to focus on acceptance and support for gay people as separate from the definition of marriage.

Where the Republican Party will run into the most trouble over this issue is when it is not winning on any of the more prominent issues, either – the economy and spending. If a candidate is compelling enough on economic opportunity and spending, they may well be able to overcome a difference of opinion with young voters on same-sex marriage.

To be clear, Sen. Marcio Rubio (R-FL) very much opposes marriage equality — that’s the position he thinks states should take when they decide. It’s not a “middle ground” by any definition of the term. And it seems unlikely that a candidate who opposes marriage equality but simply points to other candidates or party leaders who support it is going to endear any voters. It’s certainly not a tactic any candidate is likely to try anyway.

It seems the Republican Party can only fathom one possible strategy for dealing with the issue of marriage equality (and subsequently any issue related to LGBT people): avoid it. They don’t want to recognize who LGBT people or what they’re experiencing as members of society or what policies would help protect their families. Instead, they just want to pretend that their opposition to equality is a non-issue and hope that young voters simply won’t notice how they continue to campaign and legislate against civil rights.

The group One Million Moms has joined the backlash against SheZow, a gender-bending cartoon superhero for kids that debuted in the United States this weekend. Like Focus on the Family, OMM expressed concern that the cartoon would confuse children, but went a step further and condemned the idea that any child should ever aspire to be a girl who saves the world:

There is no doubt this superhero character will confuse kids. Children desire to be just like superheroes and will mimic a superhero’s every action, even to the point of dressing up in costumes to resemble the characters as much as possible. It won’t be long before little boys are saying, “I want to be a girl, so I can help people and save the world!”

Christian parents don’t need a TV show to contribute to what might be a real problem for some children. Loving your child is to teach them right from wrong and find help when they need it. We are all sinners, but we try to do better and get help when and where we need it in our lives. Thousands of Christian counselors and pastors are available all across the country to help anyone who is struggling with any kind of sin including homosexuality, gender identity disorder, gender confusion or gender dysphoria.

OMM’s promotion of ex-gay and ex-trans ministries is offensive, but par for the course. The idea that a girl saving the world would be “a real problem for some children” — for a boy or otherwise — speaks to the patriarchal values at the core of conservative arguments. For an organization that supposedly represents the strength and importance of women to families, this rhetoric greatly undermines female empowerment.

In reality, One Millions Moms is a subsidiary of the American Family Association, an anti-LGBT hate group, and likely isn’t even made up of moms, let alone one million of them.