Tag: LGBTQ

Affirm or Help?

Say a friend came to you for financial advice.  “I’ve really been depressed lately,” he says.  “I feel like I should be rich, but I have $150,000 of debt piled up on credit cards.” 

Would you:

A) Affirm his feelings and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  I think you should go buy yourself a Lamborghini so that you can live how you feel.”

or

B) Try to help and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  Let’s see if we can figure out how to cut your spending and help you feel comfortable living within your means.”

This may sound like a pretty obvious answer to you.  It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst evil to affirm his feelings.  This analogy is exactly the same as the trans issue we are dealing with today.  If a male friend came to you and said, “I’ve been really depressed lately.  I feel like I’m a girl.”

Would you:

A) Affirm his feelings and say, “Wow, miss.  I’m so sorry.  I will use female pronouns for you.  Let’s get you on some girl hormones and have a doctor remove your boy parts.”

or

B) Try to help and say, “Wow, man.  I’m so sorry.  Let’s get you some help so that you can feel comfortable as a man.”

Affirming something that is not true does not help anyone.  As shown by the Cass Review, a landmark 2024 UK study, it makes things worse.  We know that gender dysphoria is a mental health problem that is doing a lot of damage in the world.  It is not healthy.

Both sides know this.  Conservatives point out that Robin Westman, the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on August 27, 2025, suffered from gender dysphoria. Instead of receiving help to address it, Westman was affirmed with a name change and female pronouns, and mainstream news still refers to him as ‘she,’ even after the tragedy. 

Using “affirming language” does not help them.  Giving them hormones of the opposite sex does not help them.  Surgery does not help them.  Even the people pushing that approach know that it does not work.  They give proof themselves when they point out that nearly 40% of those with gender dysphoria attempt suicide, yet the Cass Review shows no evidence that hormones or surgery reduce this risk.  They do not come to the obvious conclusion that we should stop trying to normalize this mental illness.  They instead blame the people who want to help those suffering from it.

Instead of going along with a feeling based outside of reality, we need to make it easier for people to find help.  Unfortunately, when you search for help, most of what you find is the opposite.  Even if you ask ChatGPT, it suggests biased, secular organizations that will not help you overcome your gender dysphoria.  You would be taking a major risk if you go to a psychologist who studied at an American university.  Radical gender ideology has saturated those places.  They are far more likely to make things worse by encouraging you to continue in your confusion, or even to act on it with hormones or surgeries.  In fact, these radicals have succeeded in banning helping people in some states.  There is a major case in front of the Supreme Court right now, Chiles v. Salazar, that will decide if states can ban what they call “conversion therapy,” which ironically is not conversion at all.  It is affirming a person’s real gender.

This is why we need to share good resources for people who need help.  Since you cannot just look for help online without getting awful results, here are resources that you can go to if you or someone you love is struggling:

  1. If you are near a Bible believing church, that is a great place to start.  Talk to a pastor.  The one obstacle to this approach is knowing which church to go to.  There are churches now that call themselves “progressive” or “affirming.”  Those are not real churches.  They are social clubs for people who want to belong to a church but do not like what God says.  If you are not familiar with the Bible and are unsure of what church to go to, email me at steve@steveconnally.com and I will personally research and find a scriptural church in your area.
  2. Focus on the Family – Transgender Resources – Offers Christian-based guidance for families and individuals, including compassionate counseling options, articles on standing firm in biological identity, and practical guidance for parents and churches.  www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/transgender-resources/
  3. Restored Hope Network – Its website says, “Restored Hope is a membership governed, inter-denominational network dedicated to restoring hope to those broken by sexual and relational sin, especially those impacted by homosexuality and gender confusion. We proclaim that Jesus Christ has life-changing power for all who submit to Christ as Lord; we also seek to equip His church to impart that transformation.” https://www.restoredhopenetwork.org/what-we-believe
  4. Sex Change Regret – Founded by Walt Heyer (who detransitioned after living for 8 years as a trans woman), this ministry offers testimonies and counseling aimed at addressing underlying trauma and encouraging healing in alignment with one’s God-given design. They emphasize the spiritual and psychological roots of gender confusion. https://sexchangeregret.com/
  5. Advocates Protecting Children – APC’s core mission is to serve and equip those responding to gender activism by offering facts, research, and guidance. Its vision explicitly calls for the “abolition of the gender industry,” including shutting down gender clinics and cosmetic surgeries for minors, while emphasizing child protection and holistic healing. The organization stresses that gender dysphoria in children often resolves naturally with supportive, non-affirming care, citing studies on desistance rates and long-term outcomes.  They also provide educational materials for parents, educators, and churches, as well as peer groups and low-cost counseling referrals. www.advocatesprotectingchildren.org/
  6. Harvest USA – This organization is located in Pennsylvania and focuses on providing biblical guidance for sexual and relational struggles, including transgenderism, pornography, and same-sex attraction.  They offer counseling in Philadelphia or virtually, but their website also has a lot of good resources about any number of struggles. https://harvestusa.org/how-we-help/transgenderism/

One final thought.  I know that some will argue that we should lie and affirm gender dysphoria because it might stop somebody from harming themselves or even taking their own life.  Would you say the same thing if your daughter’s boyfriend threatened to kill himself if she breaks up with him?  That happens often, and some boys do follow through.  Using the possibility of suicide to emotionally manipulate people is not an acceptable reason to give them their way.  It is tragic when somebody chooses to end their life, but that is not a reason to accept lies.  Try to help them by lovingly telling them the truth. 

In Defense of Rainbows

If leprechauns really hid gold at the end of rainbows, June would be the month to search.  There seem to be rainbows everywhere.  It used to be that everyone loved rainbows, but now they are divisive and provoke a negative reaction in a large segment of the population.  This is, of course, because our culture has changed the symbolism of the rainbow.  The rainbow is now seen as the symbol for pride.  Not pride in some great accomplishment, but instead, pride in choosing to have sex with people of the same sex, or pride in thinking you are a different gender than you are. 

This new rainbow symbol has caused a lot of controversy.  Target stores have been the subject of boycotts because they are featuring pride displays with LGBTQ+ geared products.  I walked into the Target by my house to see for myself, and sure enough, right near the front was the pride section, with rainbow clothing, dresses for men, and lots of pride slogans.  I was even more surprised when I walked around the store and saw a pride pet supply section with rainbow frisbees, chew toys, and bones.  Presumably, this is for your boy dogs who think they are girl dogs.

Major League Baseball has also made headlines recently.  Last season, five Tampa Bay Rays players caused a stir when they declined to wear rainbow pride logos on their jerseys.  Then, this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers took criticism for celebrating a pride night where they honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an organization that mocks Catholicism in the name of pride in their sins.  (Their motto is “Go forth and sin some more!”)  Now, to avoid further divisiveness and controversy, Major League Baseball has quietly instructed teams to eliminate rainbow pride logos from their Pride Day uniforms. 

While it is frustrating that the meaning of rainbows has been twisted in that way, they should still bring joy and hope.  Rainbows, along with being beautiful, have a very specific meaning.  When we see all of these rainbows, it should be looked at as an opportunity to tell people what they really mean.  The true meaning is found in Genesis 9:8-17.  After a time similar to the times we live in now, where people did what was right in their own eyes, God punished the world with a flood, saving only Noah and his family.  Then God made a promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood.  He set a rainbow in the cloud as a sign of that promise.  That is what rainbows really mean.

This is amazing news for so many reasons!  This not only shows God’s love and mercy, but it gives us a great chance to steer the LGBTQ propaganda back to God.  Not only that, but it destroys another political attack that is being used against us to crush our way of life.  All of you who have heard about “The Great Reset” know that it would ruin our economy and our culture, and the cornerstone of it working is the “climate change” agenda.  They try to scare children that rising temperatures will melt the ice caps, and the oceans will rise and wipe out the planet with a flood.  Since we know about the rainbow and God’s promise that it represents, we also know that there is no chance that this will ever happen.  There is literally a greater chance that the Oakland A’s will win the World Series this year than of rising sea levels causing a global flood.  Paulie Shore has a better chance of being appointed to the Supreme Court than there is of global warming flooding the earth.  I would gladly bet everything I own on this; because God does not break His promises!

The next time you are walking around and see rainbow flags, instead of getting upset, use that opportunity to tell someone about the true symbolism of rainbows.  Remember, we already have the book.  The good guys win in the end.  Stay positive!

Elvis: Pushing the Envelope

The new Elvis Presley biopic made me think.  Early in the movie, Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks, says that the acts that made the most money were ones “that gave the audience feelings they weren’t sure they should enjoy, but they do.”  Then the film focuses on the controversial gyrations that drove the girls crazy and made many people upset and uncomfortable as “The King” began his rise to stardom.  Now we laugh because those dance moves that seemed so edgy in the 1950s seem so tame by today’s standards.  This is not a new phenomenon.

Every generation, you hear the older people complaining that the younger generation is worse than theirs was.  “Kids today,” they often grumble.  The popular culture explains this by saying that old people are stuck in their ways and overly critical of the younger generation.  The media may say that the younger generations are not really that rebellious or bad, because the older generation was also seen as rebellious and bad by the generation before them.  Have you ever considered that maybe, instead of each generation being old, stodgy, and self-absorbed, that actually they are right?  Each generation really is worse than the last, because they have to one-up the previous generation by pushing the envelope further than their parents.  Yes, no generation is perfect and they all have a rebellious streak, but that does not mean that younger generations are morally equivalent to older ones.  Just because Elvis shaking his hips on stage was rebellious and controversial in the 50s, that does not mean that it is morally equivalent to Cardi B singing “Wet Ass Pussy” today.  Can we please bring back the innocence of generations past?

The worrisome part about this is that the envelope has already been pushed so far that it is hard to imagine what somebody can do next that will actually shock anybody.  The Beatles’ long hair is certainly not controversial anymore.  Drug references in lyrics that shocked people in the 60s and 70s are old news.  Maybe it would take it to a higher level if someone bit the head off of a bat onstage?  Nope.  Ozzy Osbourne already did that in 1982.  Remember when Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson’s breast in front of over 100 million viewers on live television at Super Bowl XXXVIII?  That was way back in 2004.  I fear that celebrities will become so desperate for attention in the coming years that we will see some disgusting acts being done to gain notoriety.

Will we soon see live sex acts on stage?  Will our entertainment revert back to feeding Christians to lions in front of cheering audiences?  Are we going to see The Hunger Games play out in real life?  We seem to be heading in that direction.  The good news is that there is now another way to cause controversy and gain attention.  Simply do and say good things that were once considered normal and mainstream.  As the Bible says, when people rebel from God, they begin to call evil good, and good evil.  It is definitely happening.  Think about the things that actually are considered shocking and controversial today: 

  • In June, five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers were attacked by the mainstream press and “woke” social media pundits for opting not to wear rainbow “Pride Night” logos on their uniforms.  You do not even have to go back to my parents’ generation for when this stance would have been applauded.  Now it is counter-culture. 
  • Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling started a firestorm of controversy when she criticized the use of the term “people who menstruate” instead of women.  She also committed the unforgivable sin of tweeting her support for a woman who had been fired for saying that “men cannot change into women.”  I am pretty sure that Elvis could have said that without causing a stir.
  • Actor Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, The Terminal List) has been disparaged as “the worst Chris in Hollywood” for his public professions of Christian faith.  What a Hollywood bad boy, huh?  Personally, I think being a Christian is the best way to be a rebel because it also gets you into Heaven.
  • If you really want to be an outcast, choose not to get what is called a Covid-19 vaccine, even though it does not prevent you from getting or spreading Covid-19.  This is the most discriminated against group in America for the past couple of years (with one possible exception).  They have been banned from many places, and some have even lost their jobs.  They are controversial not for anything they did, but instead for not subjugating themselves to their overlords.
  • When it comes to controversial athletes, former baseball star Curt Schilling is near the top of the list.  He was fired from ESPN in 2015 for tweeting “A man is a man regardless of what they name themselves.  Male bathrooms were created with the penis in mind; female bathrooms were not.  Is it now necessary to have laws to teach us otherwise?  Pathetic.”  To any previous generation, that comment would not only be acceptable, but obvious.  Now it is a fireable offense and has even been used to keep Schilling out of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • Actress Gina Carano was famously fired from Disney’s, The Mandalorian, for taking the provocative position that she should not have to ask to be called “she,” since she is obviously a woman.  Apparently, calling a boy “he,” or a girl “she,” is now edgy.  Charlie Sheen had to work a lot harder than that to get fired from a hit show.
  • The one possible exception mentioned above as the most discriminated group in America are supporters of President Trump.  The backlash that Elvis got for dancing is nothing compared to what you can expect if you say you agree with President Trump.  If you support his policies that brought us a booming economy, less government interference in our lives, and four years of peace (including unprecedented peace agreements in the Middle East), you can expect to be attacked more viciously than an opposing sports star in Philadelphia. 

It is terrible that these things are now controversial, but there is one positive thing about it.  Entertainers want attention.  In the past, they had to come up with more and more outlandish and crazy gimmicks than we had previously seen to get that attention.  Now, all they have to do is espouse solid, traditional values, and wait for the media firestorm.

Again, this is not new.  When reading the Bible straight through, the Old Testament prophets were the hardest parts to get through because they were so repetitive that it got boring.  They were all the same thing.  Israel would turn from God and pull further and further away from Him.  He would warn them through prophets, and most of the time they would ignore the warnings and push His patience even more.  Eventually, God said that enough was enough and allowed Israel to be defeated and the people to be scattered into exile.  We are in that same spiral of self-destruction that the Israelites were in.  Each generation seems to push their rebellion a little further than the last.  We have had our modern-day prophets warning us to turn back to our morals and values of the past.  Dennis Prager, Rush Limbaugh, William F. Buckley, and others have warned us about the decay of our values and societal norms of earlier generations.  If America does not heed these warnings and keeps pushing the boundaries, we will soon run out of room to push and we will end up as Israel did. 

There is one last thing I should do before I close out.  To all the old people out there, I apologize for my generation.  You were right.

What Is Liberty?

The week before California’s recall election I had the privilege of meeting the world’s greatest athlete from 1976.  That title was traditionally bestowed on the winner of the decathlon, and at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal Bruce Jenner won the gold medal for the United States while setting a new world record.  In 2015 Bruce Jenner shocked the world in an interview with Diane Sawyer in which he told Sawyer that he was now a she.  (Disclaimer:  So as not to be a science denier I am using the scientifically correct gender pronouns in this article.  That is not the focus of the article.)  Jenner, who now goes by the name Caitlyn, ran in the California recall election as a Republican to replace the inept Governor Gavin Newsom.  The Friday before election day Caitlyn Jenner was the guest speaker at a discussion group that I have been attending for the last couple of months.

Caitlyn’s talk was impressive.  He was personable, friendly, and funny.  Jenner said that after the Sawyer interview there was more criticism for coming out as a Republican than there was for coming out as transgender.  Jenner also told a funny story about being in the weight room at the Olympics when a female East German athlete came in and started lifting heavier weights than him, ironically causing him to leave because he felt emasculated.  Jenner genuinely cares about California and wants it returned to the greatness it once had.  I did not expect much talk about actual policy positions, but Jenner has a pretty solid grasp of many of the problems Gavin Newsom and years of Democrat control have caused, including sky-high tax rates and backbreaking regulations.  A lot of ideas that Jenner had to fix some of these problems were good, including a sunset provision which would require regulations to be reevaluated by the legislature every ten years or else they would fall off the books. 

There was, however, one major point that Jenner made that stood out to me because it was based on a flawed premise.  Jenner said that he decided to run because of his belief that California needs a moderate Republican to fix the state.  Specifically, he said that people should vote for him because he is conservative on economic issues and more liberal on social issues.  Jenner also said that the candidate that I endorsed, Larry Elder, is “far-right.”  The premise of that argument ignores the fact that conservatism comes with a built-in solution to people disagreeing on social issues:  liberty.

Jenner’s reasoning assumes that the choice you have is between voting for a left-wing government controlling your life or a right-wing government controlling your life.  In actuality, the choice is between a left-wing government controlling your life or you controlling your life. 

For example, as a conservative Republican, I believe that the country would be much better off if every single American attended church weekly.  I would agree with Jenner if a governor who is “far-right” was going to mandate church attendance.  As much as I think we would all be better off if everyone went to church, I only believe that to be true if it was done voluntarily instead of under coercion.  If the Right operated like Democrats this might be something to worry about.  Imagine, the government forcing all businesses with over 100 employees to require proof of church attendance to be employed there.  Jenner’s argument only works if the Right did that kind of thing.  Instead, the Right wants people to be free to choose, even if we disagree.  That is what liberty is. 

Conservatives, especially Christian conservatives, are often accused of telling people what to do on moral issues.  The truth is, we do care about your moral decisions and we want you to choose what God wants for you.  Notice, however, that I said: “choose.”  Except on the issue of abortion, where the choice directly harms another person, we do not want to take the decision away from you.  The difference is huge.  Conservatives may try to persuade you to do certain things, but that is not the same as using tyrannical power to force those things.  This is what Caitlyn Jenner was missing.  The further to the left a politician gets, the more parts of your life they want to control.  Being a moderate Republican still means they want to have more control over you than a “far right” candidate does.  That is not a good selling point. 

Jenner was asked if he would run for office again if he lost this election and answered that he wasn’t sure about running again, but he would definitely work with the Republican Party to become more of a big tent party that is more inclusive.  I hope that he does, but it needs to be done by explaining clearly that the way to do it is to push for a return to limited government and personal liberty.  We can agree to disagree.  You are welcome in the Republican Party even if you want to use your God-given liberty to do things we may not agree with.  I certainly do not agree with many of Caitlyn Jenner’s lifestyle choices, but I also do not want the government to force him to do what I would prefer.  The Right has no interest in taking away your liberty.