Philly Archbishop Chaput and his wacky “pray-the-gay-away” campaign has scheduled workshops for his priests — sort of a how-to session. Please take...

Most of the world has finally begun to laugh at the idea of “praying away the gay.” That is, with the exception of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles ...

  New allegations that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman add to the mounting reasons that Brett Kavanaugh is no ally to women, despi...

So how bad is it? Let’s take a look at what he’s done in almost two years in office.    ...

This is the week that most columnists dread, since most of you are on vacation squeezing out the last bit of summer. So we sometimes let you in on ...

There is not a more important position that this community has to make a stand on than the Catholic Church’s institutionalizing child rape by their...

History is repeating itself 42 years later. That’s where my thoughts were as Jason and I were on Amtrak on our way to a reception at the Pennsylvan...

The Facts of LGBT Discrimination   This week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney won a major court case that will most likely make its way to the...

Hello Equality Supporter, Last month, PROMO joined coalition partners, Advancement Project, Missouri Health Care For All, Missouri Immigrant and ...

As representatives of faith groups and organizations serving the LGBTQIA+ community, we are appalled to learn of the “Revoice” conference, hap...

Ah, summertime — the living is easy. We toss our cares to the wind, head for a little R&R and, for many, that great summer vacation. So it shou...

It’s official: I’m history. Just saying that I am humbled is not enough: It is an honor of a lifetime. ...

It's been a month since the announcement of the latest iteration of the GOP administration’s ban on Transgender service in the U.S. military, jeopa...

This week I had a great honor. While we in the United States are concerned with the state of our struggle for equality, and worry each day how the ...

A whole bunch of us queer folk, our organizations, our allies, family, and friends fought hard for decades for the simple, basic, human right to ma...

I doubt very many of us thought 2017 would be a banner year in terms of civil rights gains in our community.   ...

OK, someone has to say it. We’ve survived the first year of the trump administration, but it has done damage to both the country’s reputation and o...

When I was young, about 11, Jewish kids didn’t acknowledge Christmas as anything other than just another day, but we appreciated that it meant some...

Approaching the holidays, it’s not hard as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community to run afoul of non-affirming faith based ideas, groups, and people. ...

I am an openly gay man, so you might say you hate the sinner part of me but love me as a person. You also might tell me my civil rights are special...

Much has been made of the lack of attention to human rights by President Trump on his recent excursion to Asia. ...

Is it not obvious by now who is controlling President Donald Trump and his anti-LGBT crusade? Vice President Mike Pence, who made a national name f...

I’m going to take a liberty and break one of my major rules about LGBT publishing that dictates that all coverage must be about or for the LGBT com...

I came of age in the 1980’s, a decade of immeasurable loss in the gay community. I watched and lived through the often painful march towards (more)...

I’ve been traveling out of the country for the last couple of weeks, and with what seems to be so much disagreement in our community on a range of ...

Dictionary.com describes the definition of funny as “causing laughter or amusement; humorous.” Further, it goes on the define a comedian as a profe...

Donald Trump and his fake excuse and misdirected attack on the NFL players who are kneeling for social justice have some people saying it’s a sign ...

I saw a picture today of a young gay couple standing next to an older heterosexual couple. Then, I noticed that the two men were holding up their h...

This month, NLGJA: The Association of LGBT Journalists has its annual convention, held this year in Philadelphia. The organization and its membersh...

A few weeks ago, at a campground in southeastern Missouri, I eavesdropped on a group of middle-aged gay men reminiscing about their criminal pasts....

It’s the last week of August — or what are known as the lazy, hazy last days of summer. Soon schools will open and, as many of us will recall, many...

To the entire LGBT community: Let’s begin as a community to state the truth without putting lipstick on a pig. Personally, it sickens me when I see...

A great deal of attention has been paid to the decisions of Chicago Dyke March organizers who requested the removal of a handful of LGBTQ Jews from...

I’m writing this column on Jason’s and my third wedding anniversary. Since marriage is something new for our community, and us, I thought I’d share...

Hard headline, so let me make it more clear. Whoever is in charge of the Chicago Dyke March has their heads up their asses. If you’ve read this co...

I went to my first Pride Parade in L.A. in 1985 (or was it 1986?) It seems a long time ago, now. But I vividly remember sitting on the curb of Sant...

Pride is very special to me, since I helped in the first Gay Pride march in 1970. At that time it was not a “Gay Pride” march, but rather a march t...

For those who are here, I’m actually ecstatic that you clicked the link instead of knee-jerking over the headline. To begin, I offer you brilliant ...

Right now I should be writing a paper for grad school. Instead I am focused on my disappointment in Pride St. Louis, Inc. and the role they've play...

A couple of years ago, the author and director of the Academy Award-nominated “How To Survive a Plague,” David France, contacted me for his next pr...

Editor's note: This piece is in response to Mike Murphy's Op/Ed "Whither Pride St. Louis" which was published earlier this week. “Diversity” is d...

There can be little question that Pride St. Louis, Inc. is one of the most successful and visible LGBTQIA organizations currently operating in the ...

This week, I’m writing about an issue that sheds new light on a subject we all think we know: Stonewall. Earlier this week, my husband Jason, who t...

Sometimes there seems to be a language problem in understanding, to quote a current president, “what the hell is really happening here.” Here’s an ...

I asked, you answered. Every so often I ask my Facebook and Twitter friends (about 30,000) to suggest subjects for me to address in this column. H...

How many of you watched the ABC miniseries “When We Rise”? Not many, according to the ratings. ...

Over the last few weeks I’ve been interviewed, filmed, taped and recorded numerous times. I’ve also been going through files — or, more like, boxes...

Mr. President: I write to you today regarding your lifting of the federal guidance on transgender rights in schools. While I am not privy to discu...

The last couple weeks have saddened those of us who love the freedoms this country offers and who have tried over the last few decades to make thos...

Last night I watched the HBO documentary on the relationship between Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher, best known fo...

There is no other U.S. president who can stand even close to the legacy of President Barack Obama on LGBT issues. In fact, you could stack all the ...

“There needs to be more gender variant role models and I am so happy to take on that role and be genderqueer and gender non-conforming in a differe...

We’ve reach that time of year when we look back, take stock of the year and begin to think about what will be in the New Year. This year, that is s...

In some circles, I might be referred to as a “fanboy”. This term is typically used to describe someone who is obsessive about some element of pop c...

This is a column about a diva. We don’t have enough diva’s anymore, not in the bigger-than-a-story kind of way. Today’s crop of names like Mariah a...

When I was 20 years old, there was an op/ed ran in my college newspaper, The Journal, at Webster University, about how our annual drag show sh...

Though many people haven’t noticed it, what might be considered the most earth-shattering election moment for the LGBT community took place this ye...

Several months ago, in this column, I offered my view of the last two candidates standing as choosing between a lesser of two evils. In the spirit ...

1. Trump is President-elect. If that angers or frightens you, don’t get upset, get involved. ...

I woke up this morning with heavy feelings of sadness, despair, confusion and isolation. The United States has elected Donald J. Trump to the presi...

You have no choice but to vote for Hillary Clinton. Your very life depends on it. ...

You most likely thought I’d be talking in this column about the race for president but I’m not. This column is instead about a subject close to my ...

Last week, after a trip to Miami for the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association’s annual conference, I had a couple of days on my calen...

When you read this column, once again I’ll be on a plane 35,000 feet in the sky on another trip I never expected to be taking. ...

We’re heading into September and, while most of you are out enjoying your last taste of summer, others are beginning to look at what will happen in...

In June, I had the pleasure of addressing the staff of the Democratic National Convention during a Gay Pride luncheon. As all speaking gigs go, I s...

If you’ve been doing anything for a long period of time and people believe you to be somewhat knowledgeable on a particular issue, they ask all typ...

It’s August and finally a time to write a non-political column. The biggest question I get these days as I’ve traveled the country on my book tour...

At ACLU of Missouri, we work every day to protect our constitutional freedoms. And no civil right is more important in our democracy than the right...

In LGBT media this week you’ll see history on the move. So here’s a sample: ...

This year’s election for president will be the first in history where LGBT people and the American public will be voting on the issue of marriage e...

Like many of you in the LGBT community, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from allies here and around the world after last month...

When you used to say the word “Orlando,” it brought up the image of Harry Potter, Disney World castles and waterparks — but it now conjures a diffe...

We all have different ways of coping with tragedy. Mine is to write. I feel that when something, anything happens – it’s always best to write what ...

The Philadelphia soda tax is a local story, but it’s also one that is playing out nationally. And, if you haven’t already begun to pay attention to...

When you’re in the media, you get invited to events where you see other media professionals with whom you work. So it was no surprise when I showed...

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...

This week’s column is (mostly) not about Donald Trump. Instead, as I do from time to time, I asked my Facebook friends to suggest topics. So here g...

This last sleepy, dreary, overcast Saturday, you might have missed President Barack Obama as he gave what many might say in the future was one of h...

This is a tough election year cycle for me. ...

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Tuesday, Donald Trump asked why people didn’t look into the reports that Ted Cruz’s father was pictured with Lee H...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite the overwhelming public consensus, including from over 500 editorial boards in 49 states, that U.S. Supreme Court nomine...

Almost a decade and a half ago, I was sent by my grandmother to Teen Challenge. Teen Challenge is a program primarily for alcoholics and drug addic...

Listen up, LGBT history fans. When you think of LGBT history, you likely think of San Francisco or New York City, but the truth is, 40 years ago, ...

Last Friday I attended a meeting of the National Gay Media Association, an organization of the publishers of the LGBT legacy publications. At one p...

After Republican senators announced they would unequivocally not “advise and consent” to any nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court that President Obama...

Jason and I went to a heterosexual wedding last weekend. (I wonder if heterosexuals say, “I went to a gay wedding last weekend”?) Anyway, it was th...

Nate Silver of The New York Times’ “FiveThirtyEight” website, and the most accurate of political pundits, attempted this week to bring sanity to th...

OK liberals, the Republicans, in their “wisdom,” have said they won’t consider President Obama’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supr...

There seems to be yet another controversy in our community this week. The issue du jour is over HuffPost changing its dedicated LGBT site’s name fr...

Finally, the Iowa caucuses have come and gone and with them come the pundits and candidates with their spin. But what about the LGBT spin? Let’s lo...

One of the first things I had to do when I decided to revive this column is to reconcile that I am no longer part the younger generation. Post-fift...

Very simply, there are many LGBT people out there trying to revise LGBT history. ...

I’ve often shared emails I receive with you, and one that came in last week remarkably represents how far we have traveled on that road to LGBT equ...

This is a very special week here at Philadelphia Gay News. On Jan. 3, we marked the 40th anniversary of the first issue of PGN. We’ll have an offi...

What a year, and what a ride. As we all do, I’m beginning to look back at my year. And for me, it certainly was a special year, one in which I lear...

This will undoubtedly be the most unusual Christmas column I’ve ever written and it has to do with a hate crime. ...

If you’re like me, you often get a question from one of our non-LGBT allies that goes something like this: “I’m not LGBT but I’m an ally. What can ...

Let me ask you, readers, if you feel I’m going a little far when I suggest that I’m frightened that some people running for the highest office in t...

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to speak at Baltimore University about my new book “And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality.” ...

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the president and chancellor of the University of Missouri, where I teach law, have resigned in respons...

Listen up, LGBT America. Tuesday’s election showed a sharp contrast in LGBT rights across the country — but also illustrated how we can win that b...

Recently, while browsing social media, I encountered many articles and editorials about anti-LGBTQ bullying. The deluge of articles came in light o...

These last few years have been incredible for us as a community, and for me personally. My just-released memoir, “And Then I Danced: Traveling the ...

One of my favorite movies as a kid (and to this day) was “Auntie Mame.” ...

  Today, September 23, is Celebrate Bisexuality Day, part of Bisexual Awareness Week. There are many myths out there regarding bisexuality,...

We are less than a week away from Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. ...

While you’re reading this, I’m on a plane on my way back from San Francisco where I spoke at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association c...

Donald Trump. When many hear that name, they want to laugh — but don’t. He’s hit a certain nerve in some people that we don’t often talk about, and...

Oh, how I hoped to not be writing another column about the World Meeting of Families in September, but actions by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles C...

I’ve spent a lot of time in airports in the last few months, and I’ve noticed wonderful phenomena: LGBT couples holding hands. ...

  It’s been amusing and angering watching the debate and suggestion of a boycott over the forthcoming film Stonewall. The reality is that n...

  PROMO, Missouri's statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization issued the following statement to mark th...

In recent months, it has occurred to me that a little research on my past was in order for a project that has occupied my time for the last few yea...

Your Holiness, Many of us in the United States are looking forward to your visit, especially here in Philadelphia, where you will attend the World...

Falling in love with someone for the first time can be a scary and exciting experience. It can also sometimes lead to a reevaluation of plans, goal...

Archbishop Chaput in his actions this week proves to be exactly what our friends in Denver, whose archdiocese he previously led, warned Philadelphi...

  Dear Equality Supporter, This past Tuesday, Governor Nixon issued Executive Order 15-04, directing state agencies to implement the Oberg...

Republicans, it’s no longer 1950. But, if you continue to take positions that are held by only those born in 1950, like opposition to marriage equa...

  I was an altar boy while I was growing up in Hicksville, Long Island, NY. I attended St. Ignatius Catholic School and went to Mass at St....

  Visibility is so very powerful. Seeing individuals who reflect and represent you and your ideas and identities is so very important. I wo...

Last week, my phone rang and the voice on the other end very apprehensively said their name and then, “I’m the one who has been in a ‘conversion-th...

  I made it through the first 11 minutes and 4 seconds of the Jenner-Sawyer interview.  From a societal perspective, I saw a typical i...

There is a national spotlight on the 50th anniversary of the first LGBT demonstrations in front of Independence Hall that took place every July 4 f...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Springfield News Leader Editorial Board, today, published a scolding rebuke of the voters who opted to repeal the city's LGB...

  About seven years ago, I was invited to attend a meeting for people in leadership positions at local LGBT non-profit organizations. As th...

  Some moments in life never lose their power. There are two moments, two short hours, that I will always, ALWAYS, remember. And both came ...

  I started performing drag over five years ago. I guess you could say it was my little in into the St. Louis LGBT Community. I was young a...

   The Human Rights Campaign announced on July 30th that it would publicly support efforts to end the anti-trans “intention” of the Mi...

  The “T” has been silent for way too long. This year we will change that.   As I attend events put on for the “LGBT community,” I n...

  “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” -Maya Angelou   Throughout my years as a volunteer in the St. Louis L...

  In early 2013, my partner Allan and I began hearing talk that nine of our friends and acquaintances were thinking of filing a lawsuit aga...

  A few years ago I asked Judy Shepard how she felt about Fred Phelps, the founder of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church which had picket...