LGBTQ&A: Tonya Payne, Ally and Candidate for City Council

An occasional series where we pose some questions to local LGBTQ (and Allies) to learn more about their personal experiences with LGBTQ culture.  Former member of City Council Tonya Payne is challenging Daniel Lavelle to represent the 6th District – which I should mention includes my neighborhood of Manchester. Tonya has been a staunch ally […]

Changed Your Avatar? Next Step – Email Senator Casey

This post fuses two interesting themes. Did the great avatar swap on Facebook have any impact? US Senators are now coming out in support of marriage equality, 9 Democrats left.   So yes – you can demonstrate that changing your avatar had an impact, on you. How? By contacting US Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and […]

Pgh LGBTQ Vigil – The Wrong Straight Man?

Pgh LGBTQ Vigil – The Wrong Straight Man?

More than 100 people turned out Wednesday for a vigil following the final day of argument on marriage equality before the Supreme Court. It was freezing and rainy/snowy and basically not a fun time – but it was still great. The crowd was diverse, the signs were fun and I’ll let the photos speak for […]

The Week in LGBTQA – March 17, 2013

St. Patrick’s Day edition. First, let me wish my younger brother Jim a happy birthday. He’s 41 – 17 months younger than me. In my head he’s still 8. LOL.  One of most significant stories this past week involved a conversation about how we prevent rape. Gun proponents argue that women need guns to shoot […]

How Could You Check Facebook When Your 72 Year Old Dad Is In the ER?

My Dad has been hospitalized exactly once in his life – he had pneumonia about ten years ago when he was in hid early 60’s. He went to the doctor and was hospitalized immediately. I remember sitting at his bedside and thinking that it was the first time he looked vulnerable to me. Fortunately with […]

HIV Etiquette: An Interview With Radical Activist Ian Awesome

I first met Ian via the LGBTQ Connect “Pre-Conference” session of Netroots Nations in June 2012. While it is hard to miss the only guy with a pink mohawk in a room of middle aged bloggers and organizational folks, it also didn’t take long for me to realize that what he was saying resonated with […]

The Week in LGBTQ (March 3, 2013)

Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe submit pro-marriage Supreme Court brief – Outsports AndPittsburgh’s own Gene Collier weighs in on this: I’m pretty sure this ties Ayanbadejo and Kluwe for the league lead in amicus briefs filed with the Supreme Court this offseason. RT @thinkprogress: 131 Republicans to SCOTUS: Marriage Equality will protect children. This has […]

Losing my religion: Part 4

Losing my religion: Part 4

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) When I left the Roman Catholic church, I felt lost. I knew I wasn’t a fundamentalist Christian. I have friends who have become Buddhists, and while I admire them, it wasn’t for me. I heard an interview with Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on “The Office,” and who’s […]

This Week in LGBTQ – February 24, 2013

The New York Times reported on a study that found that the effects of bullying last into adulthood. Individuals who were bullied are more than 4x likely to have an anxiety disorder as an adult. Bullies who were also victims were 14.5x more likely to have a similar disorder  A Puerto Rican court has ruled […]

When Do We Talk About Poverty in the LGBTQ Community?

It is only fitting that days after Amazon releases an “inclusive” commercial for their new Kindle, I am led to a series exploring the lives of transgender persons living on the brink (or deeply enmeshed in) poverty. The cause? Often related to their gender identity, especially in a fragile economy. “Transgender financial struggle: ‘How We […]