Ever since I was a kid in Queens, N.Y., dressing up in homemade costumes and using a pillowcase as a candy bag, Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays. Sometimes we would dress up twice and double-dip by roaming a different part of the neighborhood. We would do our best to dodge the ''bad kids'' armed with shaving cream and eggs and we always had a good time.
As an adult, Halloween became for me, as it has for so many of us, my ''Queer Christmas.'' My first dance, with the girl who was soon became my first kiss and then my first girlfriend, was at a college Halloween party. I was a ninja, she the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz. The song? Dead or Alive, ''You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).'' Surrounded by a bunch of hetero college students it all seemed a bit surreal, but it was my first public ''coming out.'' ...more
My father, however, must have known fear's upside, if only instinctively, as his application could've used some fine-tuning. For a good scare, he would have my older brother and sister and me play a mandatory game of his own concocting: "lights-out."
All the lights in the house would be turned out. He would hide. We were ordered to find him. Upon finding him, he would jump up screaming, scaring the bejeezus out of us. Well, mostly out of me, as I was about 5, while the siblings were in high school. ...more
At least, that's the lesson I learned years ago, the last time I dressed up for Halloween.
Unlike most people I know, I don't have strong memories of Halloween as a major holiday. It was, of course, a night of copious and free candy, as well as a trip to Granny's for popcorn balls -- popcorn stirred in heated caramel then formed into fist-sized globes and wrapped in aluminum foil to be eaten later like an apple from a dentist's personal hell -- but most of that candy came directly from my parents or other nearby relatives. ...more
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington BladeFlanked by defense officials and members of Congress, President Obama on Wednesday signed into law an LGBT hate crimes measure as part of a major defense bill.
Obama signed the measure, known as the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Authorization Act. The law makes illegal hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, among other categories, and allows the Justice Department to assist in the prosecution of such crimes.
"After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help prot ...
By AMY CAVANAUGH, Washington BladeAbout two dozen activists and parents of LGBT people gathered from 12-2 p.m. Wednesday in front of the White House for a demonstration organized by the Equality Forum to mark today's signing of the Matthew Shepard Amendment.
They carried large signs with photos of LGBT hate crime victims, including Harvey Milk.
Susan Wheeler, whose son Jim Wheeler committed suicide after sustained harassment in high school, called the hate crimes bill "a wonderful, hallmark piece of legislation." Wheeler came to D.C. from Lebanon, Pa. for the signing.
“Jim was teased and harassed in high school," ...
BANGOR, Maine (AP)Maine Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday urged residents to vote against repealing the state's same-sex marriage law while acknowledging his past opposition to gay marriage.
With one week remaining before a vote, Baldacci said he once preferred civil unions to gay marriages.
"I came to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage," said Baldacci, who signed the bill recognizing same-sex marriages after the Legislature passed it last May.
When he ran for re-election in 2006, the Democratic governor defended actions the state h ...
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