Here’s Your Sign
Being transgender in the late 2010s means you talk about restrooms. Indeed, it's a topic you end up having to revisit over and over again, with what has been years now of attacks on public [...]
Parting Glances: Dreams Wet and Otherwise
The mind-boggling possibility of recording dreams may soon be a reality predicts "How It’s Made," a British monthly science magazine. The nanotechnology/brain scanning techniques are now such that translating neural impulses from brain neurons and [...]
Creep of the Week: Matt Walsh
It should be obvious by now that the Creep of the Week every week is Donald Trump. He is a cancerous tumor on the U.S, and as a nation we desperately need a Trumpectomy. But, [...]
VP Mike Pence is on my Radar, Wonder Why?
Is Vice President Mike Pence a closeted, deep-in-self-hate raging homo? Is that self-hate so intolerable for him that he’s become the commander in chief at the White House in pushing the most homophobic agenda since [...]
Viewpoint: Our Doors Are Open
BY THOMAS 'TJ' ROGERS Although fear is a legitimate emotion - one I would never discount - fear has a tendency to create paranoia. This could not be more apparent than in the alleged connection [...]
BTL Editorial: Crisis Of Leadership At Equality Michigan
Equality Michigan is a mess. There. We said it. This is not a new state of affairs for the agency, which has struggled to find its footing since before the 2010 merger between the state's [...]
Discrimination In The Lord’s Name
By Yoruba Richen When I began documenting the same-sex marriage quest in Maryland which ultimately became the award-winning film, "The New Black," I was intrigued by the many nuances explored and positions justified when people [...]
Transmissions: A Restroom, A Symbol
By Gwendolyn Ann Smith In November 2011, I found myself making a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. to be part of a meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The Eisenhower Executive Office Building, for [...]
Editor’s Viewpoint: Our Long Journey To Justice
I wept as I approached the plaintiffs' attorneys at the end of the trial in DeBoer v. Snyder. "I've waited 42 years to hear what you had to say in a court of law," I [...]
Where Is The High Ground?
As we move forward in our collective quest for equality we are struck by the absurdity of the opposition's arguments. Whether it is the Catholic Bishops letter against Employment Non-Discrimination Act or the rabid right [...]
We Wait, But Not For Long
It is Tuesday at BTL's offices. As we go to press this afternoon all of us are awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in two pivotal cases, scheduled to be handed down tomorrow morning. Although [...]
In Search Of A Gay Soccer Hero
By The Secret Footballer for CNN (CNN) - Childhood is confusing. It's difficult to fully understand things at the best of times and, occasionally, you'll experience something that is unlike anything that you've experienced thus [...]
The ‘Center’ Has Shifted
Once upon a time it took political courage to stand up for LGBT rights. Mainstream journalists, elected officials and governmental agencies treated LGBT people with anything from open distain to polite tolerance. As recently as [...]
HIV Testing and Care
Here at BTL we feel the same betrayal, anger and frustration as many of our readers do, over the recent revelations that the Michigan Department of Community Health has been improperly collecting personal information about [...]
HIV Is Not A Distant Threat – It Is A Matter Of Equality
BTL Editorial The numbers are staggering. The numbers are terrifying. The numbers represent a threat to the health and safety of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. And the silence around [...]
Sweeping Times When Love Is Equal
There are times in our lives when we remember exactly where we were when something historic took place. And for many LGBT citizens, Jan. 21, 2013 will be one of those days. As President Barack [...]
Hope Unfurls Election Night
"Boy, this restores my faith in the American people," said a woman sitting next to me at the election return watch party we attended Nov. 6 when it was finally announced that President Obama had [...]
Politics Gets Simple
BTL Editorial If you have a TV set you have most likely been subjected to the barrage of political ads this summer. It is so easy to tune them out and begin thinking that Romney/Ryan [...]