9/11: Of Remembrance and Hope
Only a chance change of job kept me from being at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001. Shortly afterward, my spouse and I began to talk seriously about having a child.
Violence and Tragedy
In Memoriam: Laura Ann Carleton, an Ally Killed for Flying Pride Flag
A California shop owner, community leader, and mother of nine children was killed Friday by a man who objected to her flying a Pride flag outside her clothing store and then shot her.
Of Hate and Hope: Explaining the Pulse Massacre to My Son
I first wrote this in 2016, shortly after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 mostly Latine, LGBTQ young people. Seven years later, I am reposting it as a reminder to remember, to teach, and to act.
In Memoriam: the Nashville Shooting Victims
Another school shooting. Children and adults dead. The epidemic of gun violence continues. Here again are some resources on talking with children about shootings, something no parent should need, but that too many of us sadly do.
In Memoriam: Brianna Ghey
Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl in the U.K., was murdered last Saturday. Her death should remind us of the dire need to protect trans youth and all trans lives.
onePULSE Foundation’s Legacy Scholarship Applications Due 1/31
Applications for scholarships from the onePULSE Foundation, created to honor those killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, are due January 31. Any high school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student at an accredited institution is welcome to apply, LGBTQ or not.
After the Colorado Springs Shooting: Talking With Children About Gun Violence
As the LGBTQ community collectively reels from and responds to the mass shooting in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub yesterday, I want to offer a few resources for those of us whose children may have fears or questions about the tragedy.
9/11: In Memoriam
It is not coincidental that shortly after September 11, 2001, my spouse and I began to talk seriously about having a child. Reposting my 9/11 story today, as I often do on this date.
Two Weeks in America
A mass shooting that left six dead and two dozen injured. An unarmed Black man shot 60 times by police. Dozens of other shootings, many deadly. The loss of body autonomy for more than half our population. A white supremacist march in Boston. What can we do?
In the Wake of Tragedy, Again
This was going to be a very different column. Then 19 children and two adults were shot and killed by a gunman at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.