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.

It ain’t “pro-life” either. Having trouble with moral priorities? — I don’t even know where to start writing, so I guess I’ll summarize a truly staggering development. The State of Tennessee has rejected millions of federal dollars to fund agencies that test for and treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. I say “staggering” because as in many southern states…

His AP interview is encouraging and troubling at the same time. — If you’re Roman Catholic or if you care deeply about social justice and love, you will probably resonate powerfully with this observation: Pope Francis is both infuriatingly homophobic and occasionally supportive of LGBTQ people. He often morally condemns us while counseling Catholics to treat us with respect and common human…

I don’t mean 2016 or 2022. Hello, 2023! — There’s just a lot that I think people are taking for granted, particularly people who live in states like New York and California and aren’t paying attention to what’s going on in states like Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. — Chase Strangio, deputy director of the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project …

The college’s actions are beyond frightening for all people who fear religious bullies — A painting of the Prophet Muhammed by 14th-century Muslim artist Rashid-al-Din appears 27 paragraphs below for purposes of illustration, criticism, and commentary. If you believe you will be religiously harmed by viewing the painting, I’ll give you more opportunities to exit this story before the image appears.

Queer history is complicated — An older officer, handsome with barely graying hair and a chiseled jawline, slid a barstool over. “Hey, guys!” he said to me and my besty Juliet. “Buy y’all a round?” Juliet politely declined, waving a hand over her full glass. I chugged the rest of my white wine and accepted…