Dear Friends,

The Fourth of July—following closely on Pride Month—always reminds me how fragile our liberties are.  And never have I had a keener sense of our fragilities then I do today.  But it seems to me that the Constitution is still reasonably intact, and that wisdom and justice still abide in the land—except where they don’t, of course (most notably at SCOTUS).

When I was a young gay man, testing the limits of my freedoms, I probably thought I could trust others to keep me safe.  If I was ever that naïve, I’ve certainly outgrown it.  It’s not that I thought everyone had my best interests at heart.  I just assumed that MLK’s famous moral arc was bending in the direction of justice for all.  And I believed it was.  No doubt it will again, but that is obviously not it’s direction today.

The recent decision by the Court to gut women’s reproductive freedoms reminded me of the debt of gratitude gay men owe gay women for their support during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis.  Without that lesbian activism, the death toll would be even higher.  I guess I’m saying I’m well aware that a vicious attack on women deserves a vigorous response from men.

I’ve spoken before about my poor record as an activist.  I know I’m not alone in that department.  But it no longer seems enough to vote thoughtfully in every election and to be publicly out as much as possible.  I will continue to write stories with strong LGBTQ+ characters who demand respect because they are quality humans, not because some court said they are okay.

But there is so much more that needs doing.  Citizenship makes demands of us.  And never more than right now.  And I’m not sure exactly what I can do.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.  As always, I thank you for joining me on this journey.

Bruce

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