In my human rights activism I have always included all humans. Since I came out in 1990, I have also included all of my LGBTQ siblings in any work I do for equality and liberation.

Before I continue, please know that I am in deep mourning over the massacre in Orlando. I am incredibly sad that 49 of my siblings were slaughtered. As I look within to see why I am more sad about this than other mass killings, like even all of the kids at Sandy Hook, I come back to thinking about all of these people from my community dancing with friends and loved ones in a space that is more than just a club. I haven’t been to Pulse but I have been to many gay bars. Especially in the time when I was just coming out and just feeling comfortable in my own skin. The gay bar, whichever one I was in, was my safety zone. No naval investigators, no bigots, no fear of violence. It was community.

All I want to do with this post is send love and tell all of our allies thank you. The amount of friends and family who have checked in with me blows my mind. I am grateful.

It looks like hate and intolerance is as strong as ever. We all need to speak out against it and love each other. I also need to remember that I can disagree with someone without demonizing them or showing hate or violence towards them.!

Thank you for reading