Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addressed the State of Michigan after a plan to kidnap her and other Michigan government officials was thwarted by state and federal law enforcement agencies. She started by saying thank you to law enforcement and FBI agents who participated in stopping this [...]
People who have been in my home will note that most of the wall space in my 840-square-foot abode is adorned by theatrical posters of plays and musicals, most of which would be regarded as [...]
By Tom Nelson and Linda Karle-Nelson A response to Archdiocese of Detroit throws out 2 LGBTQ Catholic groups When we discovered our calling in life was to minister to others through our Catholic faith, it [...]
Fred Upton supporters have launched a homophobic $500,000 TV campaign against gay U.S. Congressional candidate Jon Hoadley that uses antiquated and false tropes about the LGBTQ community. Hoadley is a Victory Fund-endorsed, three-term Michigan State [...]
Over the last few months, "Harry Potter" author JK Rowling has developed from beloved children’s author to the trans equivalent of reviled anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant. Rowling has evolved over the last two years, from [...]
By The National LGBT Newspaper Guild, BTL Member Among the many compelling reasons to make sure that Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not reelected on Nov. 3, perhaps the 26 most compelling are the [...]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. What a devastating loss. For her family, for the country, for the rule of law. We didn’t let her have a single moment of peace in the last years of her life. [...]
Allow me a moment to bellyache. I’m living in the middle of a heatwave, inundated with smoke, fighting an infection and I am just in general full of reasons to grouse. It is none of [...]
Jon Hoadley is the first openly LGBTQ person to run for Congress in Michigan, challenging incumbent Republican Fred Upton in Michigan's 6th district. Hoadley is running a great campaign - so much so that he [...]
Every so often, I like to step back a bit and discuss some of the bare basics of being trans. It is very easy to go deep into the issues of the day, especially as [...]
Every day in these hard times, grocery workers and delivery drivers, health care aides and cleaning staff, childcare workers and fast-food cooks, go to work for $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage. It’s been [...]
If you know me, you know that I am a pop music connoisseur. If I’m not listening to it, I am either sleeping or blabbering about it to one of my friends. That being said, [...]
In the race for Oakland County Executive, there are two excellent choices in the Democratic primary on Aug. 4 – Dave Coulter and Andy Meisner. Between these two longtime advocates for LGBTQ issues, BTL strongly [...]
Less than a year ago, on Nov. 27, 2019, David Coulter signed a resolution to adopt an anti-discrimination addition to employment policy that protects LGBTQ workers in Oakland County. Previously, Oakland County’s policy had forbidden [...]
In just a month, Michigan voters will be heading to the polls for a primary election to select their candidates for November. The headline race for the Democratic nominee for Oakland County Executive features two [...]
“It is my duty as a representative in Congress ... to represent everyone in my community,” Congressman Justin Amash says. Last month, I joined so many across the nation in breathing a sigh of relief [...]
Netflix has recently released "Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen," a documentary created by Sam Feder, Amy Scholder and Laverne Cox. In it, a cast of transgender and nonbinary people examine the history of trans images [...]
Britney Spears is my favorite celebrity. My obsessions with others came and went — Paris Hilton, Oprah, Lindsay Lohan — but Spears has stayed in first place ever since I was 6 years old. The [...]
I was honored to recently join Affirmations, OutFront Kalamazoo, Equality Michigan and several other hardworking organizations and activists across the state for a virtual celebration of the historic ruling made by the Supreme Court to [...]
This Friday is the American holiday known as Juneteenth, although this holiday is largely unknown to many Americans — as it commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger announced federal orders in Galveston, [...]
As someone who participated in the Stonewall riots back in June 1969, many people have been asking me the similarities between that event and the events, civil unrest and demonstrations following the murder of George [...]
At the heart of many of society's "-isms" is a laundry list of stereotypes that seek to characterize a group in ways that both provide an easy, if inaccurate, method of describing that group, while [...]
I ended our Mother’s Day FaceTime conversation with my son telling me to be careful and stay safe. As I sat in my solitude, I thought about the irony of him telling me to be [...]
It wasn’t until the governor’s declaration that we had to stay home that I stayed home. I had been following the progression of the pandemic, but I had decided with social distancing, hand-washing and other [...]
I'll admit: as I write this, I am quite out of sorts. Last week, a friend of mine died due to complications from COVID-19. Another friend's mom passed of the virus. Yet a third friend [...]
Over the last couple of months, we have seen the coronavirus rapidly transform from a small outbreak halfway across the world into a full-fledged global pandemic. What was once a news story in a different [...]
As someone living with HIV in their 20s, I find myself constantly intrigued by books on STIs. I’ve read "And the Band Played On" and On Borrowed Time," but there really hasn’t been any larger [...]
I have HIV. Amid the COVID-19 crisis sweeping the globe, people like me, people living with HIV/AIDS, are faced with a number of questions: Will our medications be delayed? Will we still be able to [...]
By Glenn D. Magpantay By now, everyone should have received a mailing from the U.S. Census Bureau to get counted. I have complicated feelings about the census. While the census is critically important to ensure [...]
By Shea Howell On Friday, April 3, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan assured the city that he has restored water to everyone who had it shut off at his daily COVID-19 briefing. He also praised the [...]
The message could not be clearer: respond to the COVID-19 crisis by staying home whenever you can, wash your hands frequently and do whatever you can to not spread the virus. But there is also a much larger message to spread: take care of each other, reach out to people who are isolated and fearful, and let's open our hearts to each other – even if we can’t physically open our arms.
In the trailer for the new feature-length documentary film "Crystal City," Rob, who is living with HIV and four years sober, says that during his time dealing and using crystal methamphetamine he discovered that “there are addicts everywhere."
By Porchia Dees I am a Beautiful Black Queen Living with HIV. It has taken a long time for me to come to terms with that statement, because the concepts of beauty and HIV don't [...]
While I typically write about trans issues, this particular column will not start with a story about a transgender or nonbinary person. Rather, it begins with a story about hair. Specifically, DeAndre Arnold's hair. Arnold [...]
The romance genre is a billion dollar plus industry and it’s finally starting to look like there’s a little something for everyone. That includes new adult — post high school/early college protagonists — more mature adults and second chance love stories, LGBTQIA relationships and protagonists who are people of color.
This past year in my practice, I began to see both male and female clients who presented with a past history of child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the statistics prove that someone misusing alcohol or other drugs most likely has some form of child abuse in their past as well. Add that this person identifies with the LGBTQ community, and the numbers change dramatically.
In November a federal district judge in New York found that the Trump Administration lied. The Court also held that the Administration had overstepped its authority. Let me explain. In May 2019 the Administration issued its “Medical Conscience” rule. We’ve had medical conscience rules in the past that have protected health care employees who refuse to participate in performing abortions, sterilizations and assisted suicides, based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.
As we approach the holiday season we are excited to share with you our plans for the coming year. After 26 years of continuous publishing we are going to take our first real holiday break!
It’s time for my annual gift guide to some of the year’s best LGBTQ-inclusive children’s picture books! There were happily more books published this year than I can include here, so please visit mombian.com for [...]
Transphobia, like homophobia, isn't generally using the suffix "-phobia" to mean "fear," but to mean "aversion." It's the same notion as hydrophobic surfaces refer to their ability to repel water. That said, I feel there [...]
How I contracted HIV is none of your damn business. I'm going to tell you what happened, but not because I owe you an explanation. Here goes.
The New York Stock Exchange. St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The National Institutes of Health. All three locations are icons in America not just because of their status in the broader culture but because of their seminal roles in bringing the urgency of our community in addressing the HIV crisis.
On Nov. 20, transgender and non-binary people — and our allies — across the world come together to honor those murdered due to anti-trans violence. This year marks the 20th since a group of people [...]
During this divisive political era it sometimes seems like everyone has taken sides in a never-ending fight. That's why preparing for the upcoming winter holidays can feel like the perfect way to try to temporarily [...]
In 2008, a woman named Jenna Karvunidis sliced open a cake, revealing pink frosting within the layers. With her, the "gender reveal party" entered the popular lexicon. A decade or so later, the gender reveal has gone a long way from those humble beginnings becoming something far different from that cake.
Halloween is a time of magic and mystery. Traditionally, it once served as the end of the year, where autumn — and the abundance of the harvest — gave way to the dark and dim days of winter. In that liminal space between the seasons, one could get a moment to pierce the veil between other states, even between life and death itself.
Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases that will determine if people can discriminate against LGBTQ people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The future of our community's rights is at stake here in the U.S. The three cases that are before the Supreme court are Bostock v. Clayton County, GA, Altitude Express v. Zarda, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home v. EEOC. The first two cases involve plaintiffs who were fired for being gay. The Harris Funeral Home case involves plaintiff Aimee Stephens, who was fired for being transgender.
It starts as a thread. Some little tidbit of information dangling out there that captures my attention. A conversation, a news article, radio interview, yes, even Facebook posts and the dance begins. I reach out [...]
Every week, in my email, I receive dozens of story pitches. Some are quite good, connecting me with engaging people and interesting stories that I might otherwise have missed. Most, however, are pretty useless to me in the overall scheme of things. A lot only tangentially veer into any topic I write about, or are blatant product pitches or just an overall bad fit.
LGBTQ students in rural schools are more likely to face bias and discrimination than those in urban and suburban ones, but their schools are also less likely to have LGBTQ-inclusive resources to support them. That’s [...]
I have always been intrigued by history. I love to look at how things came together over time, and how advances in knowledge, technology and society — for both good and ill — helped to [...]
