If you ask almost anyone in our community about where they first felt safe to be authentically queer, they can remember. For some, it was a place, for others, a person; for me, it was Gettysburg, Pa. I have always been a blend of nerdy and artistic, two qualities to which I am happy to…
On Monday, Sens. Mike Lee and Jerry Moran went on record as the third and fourth votes against the Senate’s latest version of Obamacare, denying Republicans the 50 votes they needed to proceed and effectively killing the bill. By Tuesday morning, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he would introduce the repeal bill passed by the…
Did you know that … Major General Matthew Beevers marched in our parade with the military contingent? That the Walmart contingent had over 400 employees and families marching? That Ms. California 2017 waved throughout the parade at everyone? That the “Burning Man Festival” had a space at the festival? That our popular Sheriff Bill Gore…
With the Catholic Church being the largest Christian denomination in the world the fight for the dignity and inclusion of its LGBTQI parishioners is a fight for the church’s soul and moral integrity. DignityUSA since its inception has asserted that God loves the LGBTQI community equally. This year DignityUSA held its 23rd biennial national conference in Boston from July 6-9. Its theme was…
As a Latino and gay activist for over 45 years who has organized, led and participated in demonstrations, sit-ins, marches etc., and one who has been beaten and arrested by police in the 1960s and 70s, it is indeed upsetting to see my last column so misrepresented. As I stated, as the 2017 Grand Marshal…
I was among 175 constituents at a breakfast hosted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein June 14 when she announced the shooting at an Alexandria, Va., baseball park. The few details she had were the shooter targeted Republican members of Congress who were practicing for a congressional baseball game and many shots were fired. My mind flashed…
In this political climate hate speech is becoming common use. And there has been an uptick of the use of the n-word, even from the mouths of people one would not expect. While it came as no surprise to most people of color in Boston when in May Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said Fenway fans hurled…
There are many transgender specific conferences every year with different focuses, such as the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, Texas, Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference in Farmington, Conn., and the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference in Philadelphia, Pa. Although conferences often begin serving just one niche, these often grow to over more…
My mindset began binary. During the early years of my coming out journey, I felt it mandatory to choose a label within the LGBT acronym. I feared being seen as confused or uninformed and sought to fit in. I needed to convey to others that I was not straight, and I saw the L, G,…
In 2010, the Tea Party used congressional recesses to hammer members of Congress on the evils of “Obamacare.” Though it eventually passed, energized activists carried Republicans to sweeping victories in the midterm elections, and have kept repeal (and replace?) at the forefront of conservative politics ever since. Having ridden the same wave to become majority…
