Missouri’s dangerous religious exemption measure advances – LGBTQ Nation

It is important to note what Onder focuses on, "[n]o one should be compelled to make a work with their own hands that’s offensive to their beliefs.”  This point is or is becoming the focus of some of the faux persecution cases we have been hearing of.

Missouri‘s Republican-led Senate on Wednesday advanced a proposal to add greater religious protections to the state Constitution for some business owners and individuals opposed to gay marriage after Democrats stalled a vote for about 37 hours.

The move marked an end to a stalemate emblematic of a national debate over balancing civil rights and religious liberties following last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

The proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution would prohibit government penalties against those who cite “a sincere religious belief” while declining to provide goods or services of “expressional or artistic creation” for same-sex marriage ceremonies or celebrations.

The measure was revised Wednesday to specifically state that florists and photographers would be protected and to clarify that it applies to services provided for a reception taking place around the same time as a wedding ceremony.

Missouri’s dangerous religious exemption measure advances – LGBTQ Nation

Bill de Blasio signs order allowing transgender access to NYC bathrooms – LGBTQ Nation

Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Monday that guarantees people access to single-sex facilities consistent with their gender identity at city facilities, including offices, pools and recreation centers, without the need to show identification or any other proof of gender. The move comes amid a continuing national debate over anti-discrimination laws.

“Access to bathrooms and other single-sex facilities is a fundamental human right that should not be restricted or denied to any individual,” de Blasio said. “Every New Yorker should feel safe in our city — and this starts with our city’s buildings.”
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The order does not apply to New York City’s public schools because there already is a policy that students must be allowed to use locker rooms or restrooms consistent with their gender identity. A bill currently pending before the city council would require publicly available, single-occupancy restrooms in both public and private buildings to be designated as gender-neutral.

Bill de Blasio signs order allowing transgender access to NYC bathrooms – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATED::Same-sex couple denied cake by Longview bakery - Longview News-Journal - Longview, TX

UPDATE::  John Wright makes an interesting point,

If someone really threatened violence against their son — behavior which we certainly don’t condone — the person would be guilty of making a terroristic threat. So, if the Delormes are truly concerned about their family’s safety, they should have contacted law enforcement. And their attorneys at First Liberty, an anti-LGBT “religious freedom” group, should have advised them to do so, instead of whining about the alleged call to right-wing media. 

And that’s part of why this whole story is beginning to sound as though it was baked up by First Liberty and other anti-LGBT hate groups, which are endlessly trolling for cause célèbres to help them raise money and further line the pockets of their attorneys. Again, Texas has no law prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, so there would be no other point in retaining bakery-chasing First Amendment lawyers.

Either way, it should be investigated!

Anti-Gay Texas Bakers Claim Caller Threatened To Violate Son With Broken Beer Bottle

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This incident is from February but it illustrates well the using of religion as a sword for your bigotry, how Christ like.  Regretfully this is legal in Texas,,,

A same-sex couple says they were saddened last week when a Longview bakery refused to bake their wedding cake, and the business owner said it would have offended her faith for the business to be linked to the event.

Ben Valencia and Luis Marmolejo still plan to wed March 27, and the couple said they will cut a wedding cake prepared by a local baker who read of their plight on Facebook.

"It just kind of makes you feel dehumanized," Valencia said Tuesday. "People shouldn't have to worry about going into a business, especially a public business that serves the public, and have to worry about being turned away for something, for who you are."

Same-sex couple denied cake by Longview bakery - Longview News-Journal - Longview, TX

New Kentucky bill would reward people for ‘catching’ trans students in ‘wrong’ bathroom

As Dan notes, all this bill is doing is rewarding bullying and harassment.

A bill in Kentucky is offering to pay students $2,500 if they “catch” a trans student in the “wrong” bathroom, meaning a bathroom designated for anything other than the students gender assigned to them at birth.

The bills sponsor, Republican state Sen. C.B. Embry says the bill is not bigoted and that he supports anti-bullying legislation and says he has a gay friend.

While claiming he supports anti-bullying legislation, he is sponsoring a bill that pays students to conduct such bullying. Bullying is not only physical assault, but is also the psychological abuse of shaming students for using the bathroom of the gender in which a student identifies.

New Kentucky bill would reward people for ‘catching’ trans students in ‘wrong’ bathroom

Advocates Search for Answers in Bakersfield Trans Woman’s Killing | Advocate.com

In the absence of specifics from police surrounding the alleged murder of a transgender woman in Bakersfield, California, advocates are searching for clues about her life and death.

Police found the body of Jasmine Sierra, a transgender woman of color, on January 22 in an apartment on the 1000 block of Monterey Street, according to a report from local TV station KBAK. Police say Sierra’s body showed signs of trauma and foul play is suspected. Whether the police found the body in Sierra's home or a neighbor's house is still unknown.

While police reportedly interviewed neighbors and witnesses about hearing gunshots and fighting, they won't release further specifics about the circumstances of Sierra’s death. Calls to Bakersfield police were not returned by press time.

The alleged murder was not included among the other four homicides of transgender individuals in the United States this year because Sierra's gender-variant identity was unknown due to deadnaming and misgendering in the KBAK report. (Deadnaming occurs when using a transgender person’s former name, and misgendering occurs when identifying a trans person with pronouns or usages that depart from the person’s gender identity and expression.)

Advocates Search for Answers in Bakersfield Trans Woman’s Killing | Advocate.com

BREAKING: KFC apologizes to transgender woman, offers her a job, fires manager – LGBTQ Nation

Georgia Carter, 27, had been out of work for about a year when she went into an interview with a local KFC on Williamsburg Rd. last week. Sure enough, with her experience in fast food services, she nailed the interview and was offered a job on the spot.

“How would you handle an upset customer?” said Carter (top image), remembering one of the questions she was asked. “You be polite. You’re in customer service. There’s no ‘handling’ them, you’re polite regardless.”

But that expected level of politeness wasn’t extended to her when an hour later she got a call from the manager she interviewed with.

“George, we have a problem,” Carter said, again recalling that afternoon. She wasn’t bothered being referred to by her birth-name, but the next sentence was heart breaking.

When the manager pointed out she put ‘male’ as her gender on her application, she was quick to clarify.
“Yes, I’m transgender, I live as a woman,” she recalled saying. “I am a woman.”
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"I’d like to become someone people can talk to, an advocate or something. I want to help people,” she said. “I hope it opens people eyes. I hope people wake up. It’s not the dark ages anymore, its 2016, its time for us to step out in the light and not hide who we are or who we love.”

And don’t think she’s proud or happy to see the offending manager get canned – she said she felt sad that he lost his job, but she think’s the broader fight for equality is more important.

“It was just desserts,” she said. “You can’t do wrong to people and expect everything to be okay.”

BREAKING: KFC apologizes to transgender woman, offers her a job, fires manager – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATED::West Virginia House approves religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATE::  Child abuse victim advocates concerned about 'religious freedom' bill 

HB 4012,  has been defeated!!  "HRC released the following statement after a bipartisan vote in the West Virginia Senate rejected HB 4012, a shameful anti-LGBT proposal that would put LGBT people -- and West Virginians of all walks of life -- at risk for discrimination. This bill failed to advance this afternoon by a vote of 7-27."

But, knowing how the Reich operates, they will not let this matter go especially as the following article notes in regards to a recent Louisiana court ruling, "which held the sincere practice of a religious belief above the safety and well-being of a child abuse victim."

HB 4012 may be a "dead duck" for now but we will see it again which make the concerns of child abuse even ore pressing.

People who work to prevent child abuse and help abuse victims in West Virginia are concerned that a bill up for a final vote in the Legislature on Wednesday could be used to justify child abuse in the name of “religious freedom.”

The bill (HB 4012), which is similar to “religious freedom restoration acts” in other states, establishes a legal process for courts to follow when people or businesses believe the government is violating their religious beliefs.

The law would establish a balancing test for courts to use when determining whether the person is being substantially burdened by government action, and whether the state has “compelling governmental interest” in ensuring the law is followed.

Governmental actions could include civil rights laws, including local LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, so civil rights advocates fear the law will be used to allow discrimination against the LGBT community and other historically-discriminated against groups.

Proponents of the bill have openly said support stems from opposition to same-sex marriage.

Jim McKay, state coordinator for Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia, is worried about effects on another vulnerable group — children. He wonders if “governmental action” would also include laws to protect children.

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Amid growing opposition from the business community, West Virginia‘s Republican-led House of Delegates cleared a bill Thursday that proponents say would ensure freedom of religious expression and opponents say would sanction discrimination.

In a 72-26 vote, delegates approved the measure that would let people cite religious objections to state actions in certain court proceedings.

The bill resembles laws in 21 states that are largely modeled off existing federal law. However, newer laws have garnered attention after the Supreme Court ruled to legalize gay marriage.
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On Thursday, more than a dozen Democrats voted with the Republican majority, while a handful of Republicans opposed it.

The proposal moves to the Senate, where Republican Senate President Bill Cole hasn’t taken a position on it.
“That’s going to be a tough one,” Cole told reporters Monday. “There’s no question.”

West Virginia House approves religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

Advocates call Texas UIL birth certificate ruling ‘horrible policy’ for transgender athletes | | Dallas Morning News

Public-school superintendents in Texas have overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the University Interscholastic League’s constitution that will require the league to use a birth certificate in determining questions about a student-athlete’s gender.

A referendum ballot submitted to the state’s superintendents in January found 95 percent in favor of the proposal (586-32, with 2 non-responses).

Critics of the measure have called it a “horrible policy” for transgender athletes, essentially denying students a chance to participate in middle school and high school athletics. The new rule would force transgender students to amend their birth certificate, a laborious and potentially costly process, in order to play.
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According to TransAthlete’s data, Texas now becomes one of the most restrictive states in the nation for transgender athletic participation, joining six other states (Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, New Mexico and North Carolina) that require a birth certificate, gender-reassignment surgery or documentation of hormone therapy. Florida and California, the two states that most mimic Texas in student participation, have far more inclusive rules.

Advocates call Texas UIL birth certificate ruling ‘horrible policy’ for transgender athletes | | Dallas Morning News

Georgia governor says changes in works on religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

Georgia‘s governor indicated Monday that changes are coming to a bill allowing faith-based organizations to refuse service to gay couples without repercussion.

Supporters say it’s intended to prevent religious adoption agencies, schools and other organizations from losing licenses, state grants, or other government benefits for their religious beliefs about same-sex marriage.

The state’s business community continued to marshal opposition to the proposal, wary of the type of economic backlash Indiana experienced following 2015 passage of a broader “religious freedom” law. At an event touting the state’s booming film and television industry, Gov. Nathan Deal said his office is working with legislative leaders and declined to say whether he supports the Senate-approved version.
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The measure as approved by the Senate allows individuals and faith-based organizations to decline service to couples based on religious beliefs about marriage. Senate leaders added that language, originally from a separate Senate bill, to a House bill allowing religious officials to decline performing gay marriages.

Opponents warn that the changes to the bill also could extend the legal protection to businesses with faith-based mission statements.

Georgia governor says changes in works on religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

Charlotte passes LGBTQ public accommodations bill despite threat from Governor – LGBTQ Nation

North Carolina‘s largest city has passed a law allowing transgender people to choose public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, which the governor had called a threat to public safety and warned that the General Assembly may step in.

The Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 Monday to expand protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, making it the latest frontier in a national debate on how businesses treat gay, lesbian and transgender customers. One of the revisions to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance allows people to choose restrooms corresponding to the gender with which they identify.

“I’m pleased that Charlotte has sent a signal that we will treat people with dignity and respect, even when we disagree,” Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said moments after the vote.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory — a former mayor of Charlotte, one of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. according to census figures — said in an email Sunday that changing the policy on restrooms could “create major public safety issues.”

Charlotte passes LGBTQ public accommodations bill despite threat from Governor – LGBTQ Nation

See also:   McCrory: If Charlotte approves LGBT protections, ‘immediate’ state response likely

South Dakota Lawmakers Double Down on Anti-LGBT Discrimination | Advocate.com

South Dakota is making a name for itself as what may be America’s most anti-LGBT state. The Senate Education Committee today passed a new bathroom bill that would adversely impact transgender students. But that was just one measure in a week full of anti-LGBT actions by state lawmakers.

On Monday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1107, which the Human Rights Campaign called “extreme” legislation that if signed into law would authorize recipients of taxpayer funds to discriminate against same-sex couples, transgender people, and single mothers. Specifically, it would prevent the state from taking any punitive action against any entity that discriminates because of religious beliefs about sexuality, gender, and marriage.

The bill, titled “An Act to ensure government nondiscrimination in matters of religious beliefs and moral convictions,”was “disguised as an attempt to protect religious beliefs,” according to HRC.

“Anti-equality lawmakers in the South Dakota House of Representatives are sending a shameful message of intolerance and discrimination in the Mount Rushmore State,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow in a statement on HRC’s website.
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Also Monday, a Republican state senator told constituents at a forum in Sioux Falls he considered trans people to be “psychologically damaged,” according to Fusion. Sen. David Omdahl spoke in support of the bill to “restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools” so that trans students would not be allowed to use the facilities that match their gender identity.

“I’m sorry if you’re so twisted you don’t even know who you are,” he said, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, “A lot of people are — and I’m telling you right now, it’s about protecting the kids.”

That bill, House Bill 1008, was denounced by HRC as “a vehemently discriminatory bill that would make the state the first in the nation to pass a law attacking transgender children.”

South Dakota Lawmakers Double Down on Anti-LGBT Discrimination | Advocate.com

Mississippi bill: OK to refuse services, licenses related to same-sex marriages – LGBTQ Nation

State officials, private business owners and others who provide services to the public couldn’t be punished for acting on religious beliefs that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, under a bill advancing in the Mississippi Legislature.

Representatives on Friday voted 80-39 to pass House Bill 1523, which also specifies people couldn’t be punished for acting on beliefs that only married couples should have sexual relations and that a person’s gender identity is set at birth.

The bill was held for the possibility of more debate before it goes to the Senate.

Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, an attorney and Baptist minister, said the bill wouldn’t undo last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide but would balance that decision with people’s First Amendment right to act on their own beliefs.

Mississippi bill: OK to refuse services, licenses related to same-sex marriages – LGBTQ Nation

ADDENDUM::Georgia Senate backs exemptions for gay marriage objectors – LGBTQ Nation

Please note that I am well aware that the issues in Georgia have exploded in the past week to 10 days.  While "this" may be old news for those that are aware and have been following said issue, some may be uninformed.  I am also seeking to present some sort of time line for what has occurred as not only does it present national issues but international as well in regards to business and travel.

One point that needs to be kept in mind while looking at Georgia and other states (Indiana comes to mind), this IS a direct result of Hobby Lobby.

When one looks at the decision rendered by SCOTUS it has to be through the lens of the Reich's overall agenda -  starting with a "reformed" interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause or an outright repeal of the First Amendment,  continuing with the abolition of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending with the implementation of dominionist ideology in order to govern by theocratic control.  With the ruling in Hobby Lobby, the Reich will "now" be able to exempt themselves from any laws that they don’t like; that they find “religiously objectionable.” 

This is a direst response to the challenge against theocratic authority that Ken Ham and Terry Mortenson of AIG speaks of,

Georgia‘s state Senate approved a bill on Friday allowing faith-based organizations to refuse services to same-sex couples without government penalties, including loss of grants or other taxpayer funding.

Senators voted 38 to 14 on party lines, despite fear about damage to the state’s economy expressed by the state’s influential business community and opposition from gay-rights advocates.

The bill combines a Senate proposal shielding adoption agencies, schools and other faith-based organizations from penalties for opposing same-sex marriage and a House bill allowing religious officials to decline performing the unions.

Sen. Greg Kirk, an Americus Republican, initially proposed the exemption for faith-based organizations as a separate bill titled the “First Amendment Defense Act.”

What makes the bill so erroneous,

In its example of beliefs that would be protected, however, the bill cites only the view of marriage as that between one man and one woman.

Georgia Senate backs exemptions for gay marriage objectors – LGBTQ Nation

Meet The New Kim Davis: Anti-Gay Texas Clerk Still Won't Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses - The New Civil Rights Movement

Back in July, Irion County, Texas Clerk Molly Criner publicly declared that her office wouldn't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

In an interview with The Christian Reporter News, Criner compared her plight to clerks in Nazi Germany who were asked to collect information about Jews but refused to do so.

Citing her belief that children are better off with a mother and father, Criner said she prayed about the issue extensively, becoming physically ill and not sleeping for four days. She considered resigning, but after reading the majority and dissenting opinions in Obergefell, she concluded that the court had overstepped its bounds — even though she acknowledged she's not a constitutional scholar.

Meet The New Kim Davis: Anti-Gay Texas Clerk Still Won't Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses - The New Civil Rights Movement

UPDATE::Aaron And Melissa Klein Head For Big (Money) Leagues With New Attorney - The New Civil Rights Movement

None of this will Aaron or Melissa Klein ever admit to in public, nor, likely, will their new attorneys.

The Kleins have received well over half a million dollars from concerned and supportive conservative Christians outraged that the husband and wife, "good Christians," "lost their business," or so the Kleins claim, and were themselves subjected to harassment.

The Kleins have also started a new business, of sorts: they are now stars on the religious freedom talk circuit, making the rounds to events sponsored by the likes of the Family Research Council and other anti-gay groups.

“The past three years have been devastating,” Melissa Klein says in a press release today from First Liberty, formerly the Liberty Institute. “Just because we couldn’t participate in an event that violated our religious beliefs, we lost our business. We were committed to serving everyone regardless of their circumstances at all other times.”

First Liberty in their press release describes Melissa Klein as the "former owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa," and to show just how much compassion the young couple deserve, First Liberty proudly has placed a photo of the Kleins in front of their van, their van that says, "Sweet Cakes by Melissa," with a web address: SweetCakesWeb.com. If you click on it you might be confused, because the Kleins, as you can see, are still very much in business.
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The Kleins have apparently dropped their now-former attorney and, like elected officials who want to make big money after doing their stint of public service, have signed on to a top firm. The only difference is instead of a signing with a speakers firm, they've signed with a law firm. First Liberty, headed by the infamous Kelly Shackleford, says it is the "largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom."

But just like a speakers' firm, the Kleins have their own page at Fist Liberty, and you can even use it to "Book an interview" with them.

Aaron And Melissa Klein Head For Big (Money) Leagues With New Attorney - The New Civil Rights Movement

Lawsuit: Mom Of Gay Teen Sues High School Claiming Teacher Harassed, Threatened To Kill Her Son - The New Civil Rights Movement

A mother is suing an Oregon school district, claiming a teacher threatened to kill her son, who is a special education student and gay. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, also names five employees, including the teacher, Brett Trosclair, and says her son was subjected to repeated acts of "harassment and discrimination" by school staff.

She's filed a federal First and Fourteenth Amendment lawsuit claiming his constitutional rights were violated. The suit will also test the federal Title IX law, alleging sex discrimination.

The Oregonian reports that in a March assembly last year, her son "told his friend that he thought another student was cute, according to the lawsuit. Trosclair then turned around, the son said, and told the boys to 'shut up.' Then the teacher threatened to kill them and throw them down the stairs, the suit alleges."

Lawsuit: Mom Of Gay Teen Sues High School Claiming Teacher Harassed, Threatened To Kill Her Son - The New Civil Rights Movement

Indiana Republicans Introduce The Most Anti-LGBT LGBT Rights Bill Ever | ThinkProgress

After last spring’s disastrous “religious liberty” legislation and months of chatter, Indiana Republicans have cooked up some new legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Unfortunately, a draft of the new bill reveals that it is designed to accomplish the complete opposite.

The bill, which will be known as Senate Bill 100, does add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the state’s nondiscrimination laws as it claims to. However, it expends far more words to limit the extent of those protections, making them all but worthless to most plaintiffs.

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In other words, Indiana Republicans are proposing legislation that creates nondiscrimination for LGBT people that is as weighted as much against those LGBT people exercising their protections as possible. Lambda Legal decried the bill as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” noting, “This doesn’t protect LGBT people — it is a road map for discrimination against LGBT people.”

Indiana Republicans Introduce The Most Anti-LGBT LGBT Rights Bill Ever | ThinkProgress

Lambda Legal Sues U.S. State Department on Behalf of Intersex Citizen Denied Passport | Lambda Legal

Lambda Legal today filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. State Department on behalf of an intersex client, Dana Zzyym, denied a U.S. passport because Dana could not accurately choose either male or female on the passport application form, and the form does not provide any other gender marker designation.

Though many intersex people identify as male or female, some – like Dana – do not.,,,

Dana, who uses the gender-neutral pronouns “they,” “them” and “their,” was born with ambiguous sex characteristics. Shortly after Dana’s birth, their parents and doctor decided to raise them as a boy. As a result, Dana underwent several irreversible, painful and medically unnecessary surgeries that didn’t work, traumatized Dana and left them with severe scarring.

It was only many years later, after serving six years in the U.S. Navy and then attending Colorado State University, where they also worked as a custodian, that Dana began researching the surgeries and came to understand they had been born intersex. Drawing on personal experience, Dana began educating the public about issues facing intersex people. Dana currently serves as associate director for the United States affiliate of the Organisation Intersex International (OII-USA).

As part of their work, Dana was invited to attend the International Intersex Forum in Mexico City in October, 2014, at which time Dana applied for a U.S. passport. The application requires that the applicant select a gender marker of either ‘male’ or ‘female.’ It also requires first-time applicants to submit a birth certificate, which in Dana’s case lists their sex as “unknown.”

Notwithstanding the information on their birth certificate and the fact that Dana’s doctors with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirm their gender as intersex, Dana’s application for a passport was denied.

Lambda Legal Sues U.S. State Department on Behalf of Intersex Citizen Denied Passport | Lambda Legal

Brunei's LGBT Community Faces Terrifying Future

In Brunei, being gay could soon be punishable by death.
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Once the third phase is rolled out, activists are worried that the country will crack down on the LGBT community. This final phase, which was slated to be implemented later this year or in early 2016, will reportedly involve the introduction of executions for “offenses” like homosexuality and adultery.

“In Southeast Asia, the country that has the most worrisome state of rights for LGBT people is Brunei,” Ging Cristobal of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission says. “[The community] there is really concerned about their safety.”

LGBT activism in the public sphere is non-existent in Brunei, and based on anecdotal reports the small community that does exist keeps itself well hidden. Brunei was the only country in ASEAN where not a single LGBT person or advocate was willing to step forward to share their story with HuffPost -- even anonymously.

Brunei's LGBT Community Faces Terrifying Future

In Cambodia, Some Families Still Try To 'Cure' LGBT Sons And Daughters

When Meas Sophanuth started to transition in high school, his mother -- afraid that her child would bring shame to the family -- tried to stop what she saw as his “unnatural” behavior.

She took away his phone, kept him at home, and forbade him from seeing his friends. She finally took her son to a traditional healer, known in Cambodia as a Kru Khmer, in the hope that the shaman would be able to “cure” him.

It was a traumatic experience, Sophanuth, who identifies as transgender, told the Phnom Penh Post last year. “After that, I did not feel warm to my parents anymore. They frightened me,” he said.

Such attempts at “curing” are not uncommon in Cambodia, where LGBT people are often seen as being mentally ill or as being possessed with “bad spirits.”

“Usually the Kru Khmer will chant something [at the LGBT person], sometimes they burn the head, back or palm,” Srun Srorn, an LGBT activist, says of a typical “curing” ritual. “When they burn they believe the bad spirits will fly away. Sometimes they use the bamboo to hit the person.”

Homosexuality is not criminalized in Cambodia, which is a predominantly Buddhist country, but marginalization of the LGBT community is widespread.

In Cambodia, Some Families Still Try To 'Cure' LGBT Sons And Daughters