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California

Michelle Shocked Tells Crowd At SF Concert; "God Hates Fags"

Michelle Shocked

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A 51 year old folk and pop singer angered the crowd during her show Sunday evening at the popular Bay Area club Yoshi's when she went on an anti-gay tirade ending with "You can go on Twitter and say 'Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.'" 

Shock commenced an anti-same-sex marriage rant halfway through the show, according to novelist James Patterson, who was in attendance. Patterson tweeted that something like two-thirds of the crowd walked out.

A spokesperson for Yoshi's told the San Francisco Chronicle that The manager, assistant club manager, and sound production engineer who were on duty shut down the show immediately, turning off the lights and cutting off the microphone. The spokesperson, Lisa Bautista, added that an apology was made to the audience and refunds were offered.

Shocked, had success in the 1980s and ’90s, including her hit single “On the Greener Side,” which got airplay on MTV and at one point was nominated for a VMA award at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. Shocked’s video for "On the Greener Side" was up for Best Female Video against Madonna’s "Vogue."  

The singer claims to be a born again christian. In an interview with the Dallas Voice in April of 2008, the paper noted that claims of her being a lesbian were disputed by the singer who also believes that homosexuality is a sin.

"There are some inconvenient truths that I’m now a born again, sanctified, saved-in-the-blood Christian. So much of what’s said and done in the name of that Christianity is appalling," she says. 

"According to my Bible, which I didn’t write, homosexuality is immoral. But homosexuality is no more less a sin than fornication. And I’m a fornicator with a capital F."

Shocked followed up on Twitter after the show in a tweet that read, "Truth is leading to painful confrontation."

Colorado

Colorado Springs School District Responds To Transgender Complaint

FOUNTAIN, CO -- Attorneys for the Fountain-Fort Carson School District have answered a discrimination complaint filed by parents of a transgender girl who has been denied access to a girl’s bathroom at her elementary school.

New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund attorneys had filed a complaint February 15 with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis, that claimed that their six-year-old daughter Coy had been discriminated against. At the time of the filing, TLDEF fund's attorney Michael Silverman said that barring her from the girls' bathroom was targeting [her] for stigma, bullying and harassment.

The district had until Sunday, March 17 to respond to the commission complaint, and according to Kelly Dude, an attorney for the school district, he would not provide details of the response. The response was filed on Friday ahead of the deadline.

“The parents chose this forum and that’s where we are going to have it resolved,” Dude said. “There is no point arguing it in the media.”

Mediation, which had been suggested as part of a legal resolution was turned down by the school distinct administration.

The New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund attorneys received a copy of the document from the commission Friday. Officials there said they had not gone through it in detail.

“In their conclusion, they said that the state law was not clear. There is nothing unclear about it,” Silverman, said of the district’s response.

The parents now have 30 days to respond to district’s filing with the commission.

The state law regarding transgender civil rights was passed by the General Assembly in 2008.