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A bus staffed by paid protesters apart of several non-profits including the National Organization for Marriage, International Organization for the Family, and Citizen Go – all anti-queer and anti-trans groups, was righteously attacked today with a baseball bat, keyed, vandalized with “Trans Liberation” graffiti, and in general, laughed out of town for being the disgusting bigots that they are.

oops the @NOMupdate free speech bus got keyed tagged and smashed with a baseball bat pic.twitter.com/UbyUdVMU49 — New York Year Zero (@newyorkyearzero) March 23, 2017

The aforementioned non-profits have all joined together to launch the #FreeSpeechBus project, which is currently touring various US cities, holding rallies and press conferences. Such messaging builds on the stupidity of online Alt-Right trolls who use liberal buzzwords to promote oppressive politics. The move marks a turning point for anti-queer non-profits, away from trying to get money countering gay marriage, and instead focusing on attacking trans people. This is evidenced by the bus’s main message being that “boys are boys” and “girls are girls…and always will be;” arguing it’s “biology not bigotry.” Such a line has been used to justify a wide variety of disgusting laws, regulations, and excuses for apartheid and oppression since human beings sadly began to listen to people that look like this:

Almost ugly enough to be mistaken for one of Trump’s kids.

These groups have a long history of attacking various communities. The National Organization for Marriage was formed in 2007 to block proposition 8, gay adoption, civil union legislation, and also to block trans people the ability to use the bathroom of their choice. Brian Brown is the current President of the organization and is also on the tour bus generally looking like a velociraptor ate Jerry Falwell. According to Political Research Associates:

Brian Brown, perhaps most infamous for his tendency to equate the LGBTQ community to pedophiles, is the current president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and a hard-line member of the Christian Right. A Quaker turned Roman Catholic, Brown has been a key player in the anti-equality movement for over two decades—even moving his family to California in 2008 for the sole purpose of defending the now-repealed Proposition 8 ballot initiative. Brown’s most recent anti-LGBTQ crusades have involved the exportation of homophobia to Russia and, on a domestic level, supporting the anti-transgender movement in public schools.

Well that certainly didn't take long. NYC getting their tour started off right. #AntiTransphobiaAction #FreeSpeechBus pic.twitter.com/8LR4C9qc6s — New York City Antifa (@NYCAntifa) March 23, 2017

Another big group with international ties pushing the #FreeSpeechBus is CitizenGo, which was founded in Madrid, Spain in 2013. The foundation supports petitions in a variety of countries opposing same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia. As Political Research Associates wrote:

CitizenGO is a right-wing digital platform for online activism based in Spain that includes National Organization for Marriage head Brian Brown on its board of directors.

The International Organization for the Family is sort of a mega-group, bringing together anti-abortion, anti-trans, and anti-queer groups across the world. As Buzzfeed wrote:

The group’s manifesto, called the “Cape Town Declaration”, pledges to defend the institution of marriage from same-sex couples, bringing together groups and leaders from more than 20 countries. The group is effectively a reboot of the World Congress of Families, a 21-year-old federation of socially conservative organisations from around the globe. Although the group’s international summits drew attendees from dozens of countries, it was a loosely organised network of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT activists rather than a focused advocacy organisation. Brian Brown of the United States’s National Organization for Marriage took over the group earlier this year. Rebranding as the International Organization for the Family appears to be part of positioning the group as a more muscular advocacy group targeting marriage equality. This seems to be the culmination of years of talks to form an international group modelled on Brown’s work against marriage equality in the US and similar campaigns in other countries.

While such Dominionist organizations are disgusting – they are also a big ass business. Such groups bring in millions of dollars in donations from working-class people, and in turn use that money to influence far-Right politicians and fight for laws that attack various communities.

BREAKING: #freespeechbus vandalized, windows broken in broad daylight in NYC. Police report filed; pictures soon. Onward! RT #gottolerance? — NOM (@NOMupdate) March 23, 2017

The good news is that the tour is coming to a city near you. According to the CitizenGo website, the tour will feature protests and press conferences. Check their website for more details and keep an eye out. Here is the schedule: