Portrait of a man, the beginning — Thanks for coming to see me. Nobody really does anymore. I get it, they’re busy. Plus I smell so bad, I make myself sick. Gross, right? And sometimes when I look in the mirror, I wanna heave. They call me Brad. It’s really Broderick, but I always hated that name. So keep it to yourself, huh? …

On tears and rejecting harmful belief systems — I cried as I fell asleep — My own fault, really. I shouldn’t have been reading Braden’s Story by Mason Dodd. As an aspiring author of LGBTQ YA fiction, I read a lot. Knowing my genre is part of the job. This one knocked me for a loop.

How absurd has the anti-LGBTQ backlash become? — I am not hard to find. If Mr. Miller wishes to arrest me, I am in my office working for the patrons and staff of the Lapeer District Library Monday through Friday. — Lapeer District Library Director Amy Churchill To threaten criminal charges against the judgment of a librarian who…

Join me for a freewheeling conversation about queer kids, faith, and fascism — Last week, I read a powerful op-ed in the Washington Post by a writer whose 12-year-old choirboy son taught her a surprising lesson in resisting bigotry and standing up for the dignity and decency of transgender, gay, and other LGBTQ people. ‘And a little child shall lead them,’ I thought…

Think something similar couldn’t happen to you? Think again. — I’m not sure what’s more disturbing, the Catholic-homophobia side of this story, or the Internet surveillance-culture side Let’s start by getting the facts on the table. Last week, The Washington Post broke shocking news that a private Catholic group in Colorado has for years been buying online advertising data then mining it to identify priests who use dating/hookup apps like Grindr, Growlr, Scruff and Jack’d. The vigilante…