One Million Things

DOMA, Prop 8, and Thou

In just a few weeks, March 26th and March 27th respectively, , the Supreme Court will consider two major cases involving same-sex marriage: one addressing federal DOMA  (Defense of Marriage…

Labels, Schmabels

I am venting today about the need of public figures to come out.  Do we care that Chief Executive Officer of Sony Music Entertainment, Clive Davis, came out as bisexual…

Boy Scouts of America’s Half-Ass Solution

BSA Decision on Gay Ban Postponed Until May The Boy Scouts of America have faced turmoil in the past six months.  After the Scouts in June had announced their intent…

This Is Not a Shaggy Dog Story

This Is Not a Shaggy Dog Story Yesterday, I read in Huffpost Gay Voices about a Tennessee dog owner who wanted to euthanize his dog because he suspected the dog…

Two January Speeches by Heads of State Couldn’t be More Different

Pope Benedict XVI Vs. President Barack Obama The Pope Has Not Evolved In his global message for World Day of Peace, on January 1, 2013, His Holiness condemned same-sex marriage…

A Stranger’s Death Impacts My Life

Jeanne Manford and I are Connected There are people in your life, past, present, and future who have a major impact on the way you turn out. Maybe it was…

2012 in Sound bites

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly First, The Bad and The Ugly 2012 had some horrific moments:  October’s Superstorm Sandy devastated, with biblical proportions, the Eastern Seaboard, from New…

“Don’t Ask For Whom The Bells Toll. They Do Not Toll For Thee!”

The Salvation Army Embeds Everywhere I bought furniture for my first apartment at The Salvation Army on the west side of Manhattan. When I moved out, I was eternally grateful…

“There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays.” Or Is There?

Home for the Holidays.  Ah!  Tried-and-true traditions you can count on: church on Christmas eve, Mom’s turkey with giblet gravy, Aunt Elsie’s mulled cider, and Dad’s rants about gay marriage.…

I Am Grateful for More Than The Norman Rockwell Scene

“With Heart, And Hands, And Voices… Whose Wondrous Things Have Done…” In two days, I will preside over my great grandfather’s dining table laden with pumpkins, gravy-stained linen, and all…

Slouching Towards Universal Gay Marriage

Prior to Election night 2012, gay marriage had been defeated every time it has been on a ballot in the U.S. In Maine, voters in 2009 overturned a law passed…

How to Outwit Bullies by a Multi-Millionaire Who was Bullied

Many of my blog posts have mentioned allies to GLBT kids who are bullied: GSLEN (Gay Straight Lesbian Educational Network), PFLAG (Parents of Lesbian and Gays). While these are terrific…

Cyberbullying

Guest Post on Cyberbullying by Jessica Simmons

Today’s guest post is by Jessica Simmons, a graduate student and Yale University research assistant. Jessica is a board member of Connecticut’s GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight, Education Network) that promotes…

Celebrate National Coming Out Day on October 11, 2012

What is NCOD? October 11, 2012 is National Coming Out Day, celebrated in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (the latter on October 12th).…

“The New Normal” Isn’t That New

The story line of “The New Normal“ would probably not have been written before this year: a gay wealthy couple are paying $35,000 to have a surrogate mother have their…