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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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.

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.