This presidential election will be LGBTQ+ history in the making, regardless of who wins. Full disclosure: it's not looking so good for us. That's why you better get out and vote if you care about LGBTQ+ rights and the state of democracy.  

America will have elected a new president in less than a week. I hope it won’t be Trump, but like many people, I didn’t think he would ever get elected in 2016. If he does win, how will he do it this time? Like in 2016, White Evangelicals will be the biggest reason for his winning. The most straightforward reason why White Evangelicals might be his key to victory is because they turn out to the voting polls in droves. Even though voter turnout has increased over the past two elections, many eligible voters in America still don’t vote. Not White Evangelicals. Then, factor in gerrymandering and voter suppression, and there is a distinct possibility he could win. Some key figures within the evangelical community have denounced their support for Trump. Still, he has maintained support from a solid voting base of White Evangelicals, about 10% of Americans. They fall to the far right on what is often referred to as the Christian nationalist spectrum. I say spectrum because most scholars and sociologists, such as Sam Perry, contend that most Americans fall somewhere within this spectrum.

A perfect example is Christmas, when the world shuts down, and many people don’t complain about getting paid time off because it’s a federal holiday. Most people don’t know why “In God We Trust” is on our currency or “One Nation Under God” is in the Pledge of Allegiance. Furthermore, they don’t seem to care, although they should. That does not mean the Christian nationalist spectrum is a good thing because Christian nationalism is ultimately connected to authoritarianism. But it’s that solid 10% of Americans who will not only be Trump’s saving grace if he is to make it to the White House, but they are the biggest threat to the health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community. They firmly believe America is a Christian nation, and the Bible should be fully integrated into our laws, although a high percentage of them don’t even go to church regularly. They believe that progress in terms of LGBTQ+ rights is a loss for them and that they are under attack by the left because of their Christian beliefs. Interest groups and think tanks that sustain the movement of Christian nationalism, such as The Heritage Foundation, Focus on the Family, The Family Research Council, Moms for Liberty, and the New Apostolic Reformation, are incredibly well-funded. They are behind many of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that have been introduced over the past several years, and they are determined to bring America back to the 1950s. That may come across as some crank conspiracy theory, but track them like I have for the past two years, and you will see it is far from crank.

When Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022, a movement commenced to revisit another landmark decision, Lawrence V. Texas, that ultimately struck down sodomy laws.

Those cases both focused on the right to privacy. Hence, the Christian right contends that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, so there is no constitutional right to have consensual gay sex. If Trump is elected, I think it’s highly likely that a case will make its way to the Supreme Court within a year demanding that all forms of gay sex be outlawed again. Regardless of the outcome of such a case, it would show how much of an impact the Christian right has on our judicial system. The fact that a case against medication-assisted abortion made its way to the Supreme Court recently with absolutely no standing only proves my point. There is a movement to prevent all forms of reproductive healthcare outside of labor and delivery units, and laws are being passed censoring the fact that the United States was founded on racism. I kid you not; I recently read a curriculum proposed for a public school that would teach children the benefits of slavery. Also, if you read Project 2025, you will see they identify trans people as the new sexual predators out to recruit children in America. So, it is not crank to say that Christian nationalists are pushing for a return to the 1950s.

So, I must use my visibility and training to be at the forefront of this fight to stop White Christian nationalism because it’s a threat to the health and well-being of any person who isn’t White, cis, straight, and Christian. Jesus Over the Rainbow: 10 Anti-LGBTQ+ Myths in the Christian Right is my way of using objective evidence to challenge the lies the Christian right is using to justify the bigotry and harm that they are causing the LGBTQ+ community. Also, I may sound like a broken record. Still, if you don’t vote in all elections, including your local school board elections, then you’re not doing anything to stop the harm that the Christian right intends to unleash on the LGBTQ+ community moving forward.

This presidential election will be LGBTQ+ history in the making, regardless of who wins. Full disclosure: it's not looking so good for us. That's why you better get out and vote if you care about LGBTQ+ rights and the state of democracy.  

America will have elected a new president in less than a week. I hope it won’t be Trump, but like many people, I didn’t think he would ever get elected in 2016. If he does win, how will he do it this time? Like in 2016, White Evangelicals will be the biggest reason for his winning. The most straightforward reason why White Evangelicals might be his key to victory is because they turn out to the voting polls in droves. Even though voter turnout has increased over the past two elections, many eligible voters in America still don’t vote. Not White Evangelicals. Then, factor in gerrymandering and voter suppression, and there is a distinct possibility he could win. Some key figures within the evangelical community have denounced their support for Trump. Still, he has maintained support from a solid voting base of White Evangelicals, about 10% of Americans. They fall to the far right on what is often referred to as the Christian nationalist spectrum. I say spectrum because most scholars and sociologists, such as Sam Perry, contend that most Americans fall somewhere within this spectrum.

A perfect example is Christmas, when the world shuts down, and many people don’t complain about getting paid time off because it’s a federal holiday. Most people don’t know why “In God We Trust” is on our currency or “One Nation Under God” is in the Pledge of Allegiance. Furthermore, they don’t seem to care, although they should. That does not mean the Christian nationalist spectrum is a good thing because Christian nationalism is ultimately connected to authoritarianism. But it’s that solid 10% of Americans who will not only be Trump’s saving grace if he is to make it to the White House, but they are the biggest threat to the health and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community. They firmly believe America is a Christian nation, and the Bible should be fully integrated into our laws, although a high percentage of them don’t even go to church regularly. They believe that progress in terms of LGBTQ+ rights is a loss for them and that they are under attack by the left because of their Christian beliefs. Interest groups and think tanks that sustain the movement of Christian nationalism, such as The Heritage Foundation, Focus on the Family, The Family Research Council, Moms for Liberty, and the New Apostolic Reformation, are incredibly well-funded. They are behind many of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that have been introduced over the past several years, and they are determined to bring America back to the 1950s. That may come across as some crank conspiracy theory, but track them like I have for the past two years, and you will see it is far from crank.

When Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022, a movement commenced to revisit another landmark decision, Lawrence V. Texas, that ultimately struck down sodomy laws.

Those cases both focused on the right to privacy. Hence, the Christian right contends that there is no constitutional right to an abortion, so there is no constitutional right to have consensual gay sex. If Trump is elected, I think it’s highly likely that a case will make its way to the Supreme Court within a year demanding that all forms of gay sex be outlawed again. Regardless of the outcome of such a case, it would show how much of an impact the Christian right has on our judicial system. The fact that a case against medication-assisted abortion made its way to the Supreme Court recently with absolutely no standing only proves my point. There is a movement to prevent all forms of reproductive healthcare outside of labor and delivery units, and laws are being passed censoring the fact that the United States was founded on racism. I kid you not; I recently read a curriculum proposed for a public school that would teach children the benefits of slavery. Also, if you read Project 2025, you will see they identify trans people as the new sexual predators out to recruit children in America. So, it is not crank to say that Christian nationalists are pushing for a return to the 1950s.

So, I must use my visibility and training to be at the forefront of this fight to stop White Christian nationalism because it’s a threat to the health and well-being of any person who isn’t White, cis, straight, and Christian. Jesus Over the Rainbow: 10 Anti-LGBTQ+ Myths in the Christian Right is my way of using objective evidence to challenge the lies the Christian right is using to justify the bigotry and harm that they are causing the LGBTQ+ community. Also, I may sound like a broken record. Still, if you don’t vote in all elections, including your local school board elections, then you’re not doing anything to stop the harm that the Christian right intends to unleash on the LGBTQ+ community moving forward.