Flying while trans
By Brad Glemser, Advocate.com, June 18, 2013
Though the Transportation Security Administration is currently reviewing its screening methods, lots of transgender people like me have had our privacy taken away from us only to subsequently face harassment and discrimination from airport security staff.

The Pope's gay panic
By Frank Bruni, New YorkTimes, June 17, 2013
I have many questions for and about the “gay lobby” in the Vatican, but I’ll start with this: How can you be so spectacularly ineffective?

Stop saying “sexual preference”
By Jesse Bering, Slate.com, June 17, 2013
The term “sexual preference”—at least when it’s used interchangeably with “sexual orientation”—is one of these seemingly harmless phrases whose cultural execution, I’d say in this month of pride, is long overdue.

Why isn't there Straight Pride month?
LZ Granderson, CNN.com, June 13, 2013
If you ever find yourself wondering "How come there's no Straight Pride month?" I say the day being straight becomes a crime -- as being gay still is in many parts of the world -- start one.

Social Security affects LGBT families
By Daniel Redman, Bay Area Reporter, June 13, 2013
One of the most important marriage rights – especially for LGBT seniors – is equal access to Social Security benefits. But even if DOMA falls, non-marital couples and LGBT families in states that refuse to recognize them will continue to face discrimination.

Two different marriage bans, both wrong
By Donna Brazile, CNN.coms, June 12, 2013
Today is the 46th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared unconstitutional any ban on interracial marriage. More than four decades after the historic and aptly named Loving decision, the U.S. Supreme Court is once again poised to rule in a case that could put an end to discriminatory bans prohibiting marriage, this time for gay and lesbian couples.

Intersex, the final coming-out frontier
By Hida Viloria, Advocate.coms, June 12, 2013
There's a double whammy coming out as intersex: One, people don’t know what it is; and two, the concept of being intersex messes with lots of people’s entire worldview.

Sexism's puzzling stamina
By Frank Bruni, New York Times, June 11, 2013
This month the Supreme Court will issue raptly awaited decisions about affirmative action and gay marriage. But what’s been foremost in my thoughts isn’t race, sexual orientation or our country’s deeply flawed handling of both.

Michelle Obama and the delusion of hecklers
By Anna Holmes, Time Magazine, June 6, 2013
Questioning authority – meaningfully and with the potential for real results – takes thought and purpose, which is part of the reason why I’m sort of disgusted with Ellen Sturtz, the 56-year-old LGBTQ activist who interrupted a speech given by First Lady Michelle Obama at a private Democratic National Committee fundraiser.

Why Michelle Obama got heckled
LZ Granderson, CNN Opinion, June 6, 2013
I'm a big fan of Michelle Obama's, but if she's going to be hitting the circuit to raise money for Democrats, she has to be prepared for heckling. Especially heckling from gay rights activists like the one who interrupted her speech Tuesday night.

The broken American dream
Editorial, Bay Area Reporter, June 6, 2013
It may be Pride Month but that doesn't mean we've achieved full equality yet. In fact, when it comes to LGBTs and their families, the American dream needs fixing, as a newly released report amply reveals.

When U.S. Customs forces my wife into the closet
By Lis Bromfield and Andrea Krapf, Advocate.com, June 4, 2013
We asked readers for personal stories about how the U.S. Supreme Court's highly anticipated ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act has consequences for their own lives. Between the U.S. and Germany, this lesbian couple faces different laws governing their marriage.

Bachmann exit helps GOP scrub stupid away
By LZ Granderson, CNN.com, May 30, 2013
The fact is, the brand of spitfire politics Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin et al. employ is usually not patient or intelligent. It's often irresponsible hyperbole designed to generate buzz as opposed to inform. If directed properly, it's an effective way to win an election. But the problem with spitfire is that it's sometimes hard to control.

Scouts, be prepared for a celebration in the future
By Leonard J. Pitts, Jr., Contra Costa Times, May 30, 2013
Hold your applause. As milestones go, this one is disappointing. It is, at best, half a milestone. Or a down payment on a milestone. If you are of a more cynical bent, you might even call it an effort to forestall a milestone.

Michele Bachmann's stinging defeat
By Michelangelo Signorile, Huffington Post, May 29, 2013
The news that Michele Bachmann is throwing in the towel, not seeking reelection in 2014, is a triumph for LGBT activists and all progressives. And it's a stunning blow to the Tea Party and the evangelical right.

Time for Exxon Mobil to endorse gay equality
Editorial: Dallas Morning News
Exxon Mobil has long been one of the country’s corporate giants, but it still suffers from small-minded thinking on one important issue: ensuring equal treatment of its gay employees.

We are not gay, we are human
By Kerry Eleveld, Advocate.com, May 28, 2013
Democrats not only missed an opportunity to help on immigration reform, they missed the point, argues Kerry Eleveld.

For Boy Scouts, a half-step on gays
Editorial, Denver Post, May 28, 2013
The decision last week by the Boy Scouts of America to cease discriminating against gay kids is a notable step forward for the 103-year-old organization. But the decision does not put an end to the debate over what role gays can have in scouting.

Can gay Catholics find a home in the Catholic Church?
By David Gibson, Religion News Service, May 24, 2013
When Cardinal Timothy Dolan used the morning talk shows on Easter Sunday to say the Catholic Church could do a better job of welcoming gays and lesbians, his remarks were hailed by one activist as an “Easter miracle” and by another as an encouraging “first step.” But two months later, it’s still not clear what the second step in this fraught process might be, or even if there is a second step.

Marriage equality is good for business, gays, lesbians and you
By Coco Soodek, Crain's Chicago Business, May 23, 2013
Marriage equality will eliminate millions of dollars in extra charges imposed on LGBTs and that the savings will flow to your business.

An imperfect immigration bill survives
Editorial, New York Times, May 22, 2013
The struggle for fairness continues, as the opponents of reform wage a dishonest battle.

One School's Catholic Teaching
By Frank Bruni, New York Times, May 21, 2013
With just the briefest acknowledgement of her life partner, Carla Hale lost the job she'd loved for more than 18 years.

Religion Shouldn't Be an Excuse for Discrimination
By Ian Thompson, Advocate.com, May 21, 2013
The right to follow a particular religion is a fundamental one for Americans, but the ACLU says it does not grant a free pass to discriminate against LGBT people.

How Latin culture got more gay
By Hector Carillo, New York Times, May 17, 2013
How can we reconcile the advancement of same-sex marriage in much of Latin America with the stereotype of Latin culture as a bastion of religiosity and machismo?

In the Reign of the Gay Magical Elves
By Bret Easton Ellis, Out.com, May 13, 2013
The rush to embrace and console every gay man who comes out is infantilizing and condescending—but it's a script written and promoted by GLAAD and reinforced by a sanctimonious establishment of gay men that rewards those who play by the rules—and punishes those who don't.

Obama scandals threaten progress
Bay Area Reporter, May 16, 2013
The twin scandals that erupted in the Obama administration last week put the president and Democratic lawmakers on the defensive. Revelations that the IRS singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny regarding their applications for tax-exempt status and that the Justice Department secretly examined phone records of Associated Press reporters, combined with the ongoing investigations into the terrorist attack at the U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya gives the Republicans the opportunity to hold hearings for months.

HIV quarantines already exist
By Jim Morrison, HIV Plus Magazine, May 16, 2013
Last week, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee re-introduced a bill to repeal HIV criminalization laws across the nation, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Earlier this year, the LGBT community went on red alert when a public health bill in Kansas proposed that people living with HIV should be quarantined.

Has hooking up become boring?
By Michael Kimmel, Gay San Diego, May 14, 2013
For many of my clients, having lots of fast, uncaring, unthinking sex isn’t very exciting. In fact, it can be downright boring.

Diversity and the political right
By Charles Blow, New York Times, May 9, 2013
Many on the political right simply can’t get this diversity thing right — and I deeply doubt that they want to. Theirs is a bone-deep contempt for otherness, a congenital belief in the superiority-inferiority binary, a circle-the-wagons, zero-sum view of progress, prosperity and power.

There's no excuse for discrimination at work
By Congressman Jared Polis, Advocate.com, May 9, 2013
he need for a national Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a critical part of the LGBT community’s struggle for equality. No American should have to live in constant fear that their employer can fire them just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Include Uniting American Families Act in immigration bill
By Camiel Becker, Bay Area Reporter, May 9, 2013
It is tempting not to rock the boat and to accept the existing compromise in order to get such a broad and much-needed bill through Congress. However, this means asking LGBT couples to keep sitting quietly and to continue suffering serious violations of their constitutional rights.

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