Candlelight Vigil April 4 for Kathryn Newhouse, Trans Teen Murdered by Her Father in Georgia

Kathryn Vigil

Friends and neighbors have responded with outrage to news of the murder of 19-year-old autistic Asian-American trans woman, Kathryn Newhouse, at the hands of her father. The LGBTQ media has barely responded, leaving the media narrative skewed by Kathryn’s brother. That’s rarely good when it comes to violence targeting trans folx. I’ve spent the better […]

UpStairs Lounge, Pulse Nightclub, and 941 Saloon – Intersections of Racial Justice, Trauma, and Identity

In the summer of 2020, a group of activists protested the racist dress code of a local LGBTQ owned bar and restaurant called the 941 Saloon. It was a situation that required a response because this racist dress code disproportionately impacted QTPOC.With the closure of so many LGBTQ owned bars and restaurants, finding a comfortable […]

Q&A with Giuseppe Rosselli, Candidate for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

[W]e do not acknowledge poverty and lack of opportunity as a significant  contributing cause worthy of diversion. I believe that poverty and lack of  opportunity are the greatest contributing causes to criminal behavior. Our  diversion programs need to be expanded to include individuals who are affected  by these significant underlying contributing causes. This is the […]

Political Q&A With Candidates Who Don’t Follow Through With the LGBTQIA+ Community

Political Q&A

For several years, I have published a Q&A series with candidates for all sorts of offices. Some people approach me and I try to create an open invitation to candidates who meet the criteria of being an LGBTQ ally running for office in Pennsylvania. Each Q&A is hand-crafted so to speak to dive into issues […]

Q&A With Bill Peduto, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh

Bill Peduto Mayor

Competitive primaries evince the best out of elected officials. It keeps us honest, and allows us to stay in touch with the communities we serve. I’m proud to have run in multiple tough races, because I think it’s made me a better elected official. We are launching our election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive […]

UPDATED: Trans Woman Sara Blackwood Killed in Indianapolis on National Coming Out Day 2020

  An Indianapolis trans woman named Sara Blackwood is the latest victim of gun violence in the United States. She was shot to death walking home from work on National Coming Out Day, October 11 around 10 PM. From Fox 59 in Indianapolis According to police, the shooting occurred in the 2500 block of E. […]

Q&A With Nina Ahmad, Candidate for PA Auditor General

We are revisiting our Political Q&A series for the upcoming elections of 2020. We’ve reached out to candidates who are pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ, asking them a series of questions about their campaigns. We’ve sent out about a dozen Q&A’s to folks and encourage you to suggest others. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for […]

Saying “No” is a Revolutionary Act

setting boundaries

Recently, I blew up at another LGBTQ advocate who made some choices that I found questionable. I ended the conversation by telling them “Please don’t message me. I need a break from you. Thank you.” A week later, they unexpectedly sent me an expository email to help me understand their perspective and tell me how […]

City of Pittsburgh Honors 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots

  I was unable to attend this press conference, but I have been talking with Councilperson Strassburger’s team about the proposed legislation – I had no idea these gaps existed. Kudos to them for filling that gap. We’ll have more on that later. Note that Councilperson Strasssburger is wearing a ‘Yinz is a Gender Neutral […]

What I Think Allegheny County Should Do to Hold Police Accountable BEFORE They Are Hired

Police Accountability

Just my personal $.02 here. One issue that arises repeatedly when we are discussing police officers who kill civilians is the failure to ‘catch’ the cops who move from police department to police department because of discipline issues or misconduct or just because they are not good cops. There are two sides to this problem […]