Join the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland & Pride Foundation of Maryland on April 28, 2018 from 4:30-6:30 PM (forum will begin promptly at 4:30 PM, so please arrive early) for an important conversation with the Democratic candidates for Governor of Maryland in the 2018 election. Moderator: Anthony McCarthy The discussion topics will be: -Continued Discrimination Against LGBTQ People in Maryland -Economic Insecurity and Housing Insecurity -LGBTQ Health and Healthcare in Maryland -Criminal Justice and Baltimore’s Federal Consent Decree -Youth in Maryland’s Education System The candidates will be taking questions from the community […]
LGBTQ Families and the Law
Jonathan Lane of JD Lane Law gets many questions about polyamory and the law as a lawyer who represents clients with diverse sexual practices and identities in Maryland and DC. In this workshop he will address a wide range of topics, including the following: Is polyamory legal? What can I do to protect the rights my partner and I have during our relationship? How can I protect myself in case we break up? Can my kids be taken away from me because I’m poly? Why should I consider hiring an LGBTQ-friendly lawyer? In addition to these questions and many more […]
Is North Korea Gay-friendly?
With the North Korea situation being in front of the news, the answer to that question is simple: No. But it gives us an opportunity as a community to look at how the US and our community are dealing with other nations and their LGBT policies. The best examples from the last few years are in the Middle East, Africa, and Chechnya.
Goals for the Upcoming New Year
Okay, someone has to say it. We’ve survived the first year of the Trump administration, but it has done damage to both the country’s reputation and our community. And if you feel that way, 2018 is your year to correct that path.
EDITORIAL: #MeToo & the Perils of Shooting First
AS WE WRITE THIS, DOUG JONES has defeated Roy Moore in a special senate election in Alabama and Time magazine has named “The Silence Breakers,” the women who have brought to glaring light work[pace sexual harassment, especially by men with power. Both of these events could be a harbinger of a long overdue social and political awakening. However, given our society’s difficulty with rational discussions about sex, we fear there a moral panic may be the outcome. As Masha Gessen recently wrote in the New Yorker, citing the work of pioneering feminist scholar Gayle Rubin, we seem to be in […]
Baltimore Theatre Shines
Ladies and gentlemen, look upon this man sitting on his meager pallet of straw, this unfortunate man who, for the amusement of all of you here, has foregone physical nourishment for 40 days … this Hunger Artist, who without dispute the greatest practioner of his craft the world over has sat in this very cage in this mighty hall and has not taken even the slightest morsel of sustenance. So, states the impresario of A Hunger Artist, and if one needed any more evidence that the Baltimore theatre scene is vibrant and exploding, there was Baltimore Theatre Project’s limited performance […]
Consent • Shades of Gray
Claims of sexual harassment fill the airwaves and are sending famous heads tumbling every day. So what should be an operative definition of consent? A simple “no” won’t do: so many sexual encounters begin with a “no” and turn into a consensual situation. That’s the nature of seduction, and women like seduction. It’s very on-point that the acclaimed new gay film Call Me By Your Name comes out in the midst of this and even women think it’s beautiful. The characters don’t turn to each other and say “Is it okay if I touch your penis?” No romantic movie ever […]
Human-Rights Blackout
Much has been made of the lack of attention to human rights by President Trump on his recent excursion to Asia. This, by and of itself, represents the US giving up the mantel on this subject since we first gained prominence on the issue during the Jimmy Carter administration in the 1970s. We were the international leader for this proud cause, and president after president – regardless of being a Democrat or a Republican – raised it on foreign trips. We are told that Trump mentioned the topic of human rights only in passing to the president of the Philippines […]
With Pence a Lapdog, is a Trump Impeachment Even Worse?
Is it not obvious by now who is controlling President Donald Trump and his anti-LGBT crusade? Vice President Mike Pence, who made a national name for himself as governor of Indiana by pushing “religious-liberty” laws to allow citizens to ignore LGBT rights for religious reasons. That’s not to mention anti-trans legislation he supported, and his backing of conversion therapy– all of which Pence sees as his contribution to the moral fiber of America, and his legacy.
What a Difference a Year Makes
A year ago this week, I set out with a band of fierce and determined woman, gay and straight, to tackle the steep hills of Pittsburgh and canvas for Hillary Clinton for president. We were tireless and optimistic, even as the yards stretched out before us outside in the Pittsburgh suburbs blanketed with Trump-Pence signs and random doors (of identified democratic-leaning voters) slammed in our faces.