GAYLETTER

Back in June, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to travel via the fabulous 1 train from my then-apartment in Washington Heights downtown to the LGBT Center. I boarded one of 3 Grindr-sponsored coach buses and rode down to DC with a bunch of LGBTQ+ activists to participate in, and document, the National Equality March. The temperature that day was a scorching 90 degrees and the sun was making her power known — but the energy on the Mall and throughout the march route was positively kinetic. And palpably so. But in the months separating then and now, it has become increasingly apparent that our country has a rampant gun violence problem. And this violence isn’t limited to those whom the stereotypes may suggest. It’s affecting Black and Brown lives. It’s affecting Queer lives. It’s affecting young lives — children’s lives. This weekend, there’s another march taking to the streets of our capital, the March for Our Lives. Gays Against Guns, one of the organizations sponsoring the march, will have a plaza in Pershing Park (next to the march route) that “will be open for all to gather in a safe space to take in the day’s events, share stories, and get to know other activists participating in March for Our Lives.” Gays Against Guns is also “staging voguing performances on the “NRA SASHAY AWAY” runway, a “tell us why you’re here” speakers’ corner, and a living memorial of gun violence victims through GAG’s signature “Human Beings” demonstration at 2pm.” There’s so much that shouldn’t be missed. Now is not the time to be complacent or overwhelmed by our current state. Fight for your — our — existence.  —Connor Atkins

When news first broke of the queer Chechens being rounded up, beaten, imprisoned and murdered, it was honestly hard to believe. When The New Yorker covered it a few weeks later, I admit that my passivity on the topic turned sour, meaning my initial denial became full-blown fear. A lot of you reading are probably thinking, “OK” — well that just makes you an asshole, which is fair! But seriously I read so many things on the internet everyday, when it comes to LGBTQ+ community news, I’m always apprehensive to believe what’s being reported. We used to be a community that operated solely by word of mouth, and I think my gay heart still honors that. I first met Adam Eli in the street at Pride, which I note because he’s now a go-to voice for contemporary LGBTQ+ activism. He sent me a note about Voices 4 Chechnya which “is a group of New Yorkers who are passionate about using their privilege as out Americans to bring about change around the world.” On Saturday, October 14, they will rally at Stonewall and march to Tr*mp Tower to help raise awareness and money for those LGBTQ+ people attempting to flee Chechyna’s murderous escapade. V4C hopes to procure humanitarian parole visas and allocate proper funds for so LGBTQ+ Chechen’s can resettle. “Every day queer Chechens are rounded up, abducted, tortured and killed. Over twenty Chechens have escaped and are living in safe houses in mainland Russia, with no way out. Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov has denied the existence gay people in Chechnya, and refers to them as subhuman, including the approval of familial honor killings.” As Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera taught us, we have to speak up to bring safety to our global community.  —Chris Stewart

The rainbow flag, which was designed by Gilbert Baker, whose life and legacy we honor in Issue 7, is going up permanently at the Stonewall National Monument. For those of you who may not know — which is totally okay, you learn something new everyday — Stonewall is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ liberation/rights movement. It’s only fitting that queer activists have succeeded in giving our community’s symbol of pride a home there. Also significant is that this is the first time that the rainbow flag has flown on federally funded land, “under the permanent stewardship of the National Park Service.” Cool, but what a contrast that our flag flies above federal ground for the first time less than a week after the US voted against a UN resolution condemning the death penalty for homosexuality. Michael Petrelis, the AIDS and LGBT activist who spearheaded this initiative, says, “It is a victory for our Community to have these symbolic colors flying majestically over our Stonewall, designated as a National Monument by President Obama, even as our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are under attack by the current regime in power…. As we gather today, we are reminded of another October 11, thirty years ago, when the names of our fallen comrades were symbolically celebrated on another national monument — the AIDS Quilt — during the reign of another President who waged an attack against us.” The other October 11 that Petrelis is referring to is that of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian Gay Rights. October 11 “also marks the annual National Coming Out Day, a day celebrating the idea that all members of the LGBTQ community should be able to live their lives openly, honestly, and with pride.” The flag is to be unveiled at noon via a nice ceremony, but it’ll remain flying with unwavering courage, so make that pilgrimage to Greenwich Village and see it when you can. The weather is supposed to remain gorgeous — just like you — throughout the week, so you really have no excuse, love.  —Connor Atkins