As I listened to FBI Director James Comey’s statement on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server, one quote ran through my mind: “Vote For the Crook … It’s Important.” That was the unofficial slogan of the 1991 race for Louisiana governor. Whatever the official slogan was, it came in…
I remember how tough it was for me to change my documented gender in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) as a military retiree in 2013. It was incredibly tough and onerous: I needed six separate pieces of documentation, to include proof of surgery. Most of the documents the Department of Defense (DoD) required…
I will never forget waking up and turning on the TV to the breaking news from Orlando. Still lying in bed, I listened as bit by bit the horror unfolded. The words froze in time as I heard them – “gunman,” “terrorist,” “mass casualties” and finally “gay.” It was a gay club. It was our…
I’m sitting in a hotel room in Denver as the sun is coming up on Independence Day and I’m thinking about the power of music. I’m thinking about the other 6,000 LGBTQ singers who are here for the GALA Chorus Festival, the largest LGBTQ performing arts event in the world. I’m thinking about the mothers…
Is there ever really a good time to travel? It seems even with all the planning possible we just can’t anticipate what the future may bring while we are away. This was certainly the case with my recent trip to Cuba. Last month, I was a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Reconciliation tour organized…
Our community once again is preparing to come together for our annual Pride celebration. That means it’s time yet again to reflect on a question that we are often asked. You know this question well: “Is Pride still relevant?” By all accounts, the advances that our LGBTQ community has made just in the last several…
It is one of the most diverse communities in the nation. Black, Latino/a, Pan-Asian, Native American, indigenous peoples, white, multi-ethnic, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender-queer, transgender, male, female, cis-gender, Muslim, Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Protestant, Buddhist, Humanist, no organized religion, Democrats, Republicans, no party preference, able-bodied, disabled, scores of nationalities – immigrant and native born, low resource,…
Over 80 percent of the victims in the Orlando, Florida terrorist attack and massacre were people of color, mostly Latino of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. This coming Saturday, July 9 at 6 p.m., at St. Pauls’ Episcopal Cathedral (2728 Sixth Ave. in Hillcrest) over 50 San Diego Latino and Latina organizations will be…
We talk about coming out as if it’s something you only do once. In my experience it’s an ongoing part of life. Sometimes it’s easy, and other times it makes my stomach flutter. I first came out as a lesbian 30 years ago when I was still in college. Initially I was very careful about…
It seems everywhere I look, mainstream, LGBT and conservative Christian journalists are reporting about, and opining on the Orlando mass murder at Pulse, as well as lawmakers saying things and taking votes. If we’re going to talk in terms of groups of people, instead of us as individuals, for a moment, we all see random,…
