San Diego Gay and Lesbian News

Before the United Methodist Church (UMC) announced a proposal to split the denomination over “fundamental differences” regarding theological beliefs on LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage, that Friday morning of January 3rd, I was on the phone with the Reverend Joel B. Guillemette, pastor of Sudbury UMC.

The theme this Pride month is “Looking back, Loving forward. This week leads up to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that took place from June 27 to 29, 1969, in the Greenwich Village section of NYC.

The event is well-known because it galvanized LGBTQ+ activist organizations and movements here and abroad.

When you reside at the intersections of multiple identities, anniversaries of your civil rights struggles can be both bitter and sweet. And, May 17th was a reminder.

In real life, Smollett is an African American gay male. Smollett has been charged with concocting an elaborate racist and homophobic assault against him. Smollett’s fan base, needless to say, is flummoxed. So, too, are many Americans trying to push through this deeply polarized moment.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has voiced opposition to making Election Day a federal holiday. However, allowing American voters a more accessible and a stress-free trip to their voting precincts should be a no-brainer. And, H.R.1 — For the People Act of 2019 would do just that.

With a conservative Supreme Court-  Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh - it  comes as no surprise that a 5-4 vote has revived Trump’s discriminatory policy on transgender service members, while the merits of the cases will continue to be challenged in lower courts.

While I will continue to argue that the African American community doesn’t have a patent on homophobia, it does, however, have a problem with it. 

And comedian Kevin Hart is another glaring example of the malady.

First Lady Michelle Obama swept into Beantown Saturday as part of the national book tour promoting her memoir “Becoming” that was held at the TD Garden. The evening before the event, my spouse and I were gifted front row seats. 

OMG! the event was simply magical. And, the audience was wildly excited. 

This November 18th marks the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre.  The mass murder-suicide was the largest casualty of American citizens before 9/11.

With forty years since the Jonestown massacre, a more disturbing image of the Revered Jim Jones’s treatment toward his LGBTQ parishioners emerges.

In the words of the lesbian poet and scholar Judy Grahn, Halloween is "the great gay holiday."

And this weekend of lavish costumed theatricality will attract everyone, but especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) revelers.