Trying to figure out where you really stand on LGBT issues, or any issue for that matter, is a vexing process.
You say on 60 Minutes, for example, that marriage equality is settled law, yet every name you have mentioned as a possible nominee to the Supreme Court views our community as perverted and deserving of no rights to anything except perhaps to conversion therapy paid for with funds diverted from HIV treatment programs.
David von Storch — File photo
Your Cabinet choices almost to a man (there are a few women — Senator Mitch McConnell’s wife was a smarmy homage to that shining example of cooperation and character that now presides over the U.S. Senate) abhor according any rights to our community or respecting those rights we have fought for far too long to achieve. So while you’re busy tweeting the nonsense that has earned you the distinction as the most unpopular incoming President in modern U.S. history, your Cabinet will no doubt be creating and implementing policies that are likely at every corner to attack us, marginalize us and and demean who we are as human beings. As such I don’t believe anything you say, except for some reason I can’t quite explain, I do believe that your 3 a.m. tweets reflect the inner-workings of your third-grade bully’s soul.
So, while I could go on and on pleading for you to stand up for what you’ve said about those LGBT rights you believe are fair and just, I won’t bother. You’ve shown us who you are by the company that you keep. You are no friend of ours, Mr. Trump, and anyone who says otherwise is buying the orange fool’s gold that you are peddling in the form of $26 cocktails at your new Trump Hotel in my hometown.
Every single day when I get out of bed, I will do my best not to get distracted by your childish prattling and insidious gas lighting. At times my better angels will try to find something positive in the words you read from the TelePrompTer that Kellyanne Conway so artfully crafts. Yet while you and the Republicans in control of Congress drink from that false cup of mandate that makes you drunk with power and hubris, the seeds of our discontent have been firmly sown.
I do have just one request. Please don’t come to Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Shaw, NE, SW, SE or anywhere adjacent. We will try to be civil but it’s a really big ask. When you go out, I’d recommend Georgetown. It’s not Mar a Largo, but it’s the best we can offer.
Enjoy your stay in our town. We are ever-hopeful that in no time you will return full-time to your gilded tower of excess in New York in whose escalators you descended from the heavens to burnish your brand and somehow, through no fault of your own, landed in the most powerful seat in the land.
Welcome to D.C.!
David von Storch
President, UA Companies
VIDA Fitness, Bang Salon, Capitol City Brewing Co. @davidvons
The opinions expressed in these letters are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations and this magazine, its staff and contributors.
The New York City chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans -- the nation’s largest LGBTQ conservative group -- will host a Pride Month event at Trump Tower later this month, despite former President Donald Trump’s refusal to officially recognize June as Pride Month during his administration.
The "Pride Right" party promises a night of "patriotism and Pride," with a list of yet-to-be-announced guest speakers.
Scheduled for Saturday, June 28, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., the soirée will feature an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, and a chance to socialize or network with other LGBTQ conservatives. Tickets cost $175 per person, or $150 for "dues-paying members" of the group.
In a tense House hearing, a pair of congressional Democrats blasted Pentagon officials for stripping gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship, accusing the military of erasing LGBTQ history. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), an out gay Democrat, directly confronted Navy Secretary John Phelan over the decision during the June 11 Armed Services Committee meeting.
"I just wanted to take a moment to talk about a veteran who served on a submarine as a diving officer during the Korean War," Sorensen said, referring to Milk's biography before actually naming him.
"Right now, more than ever, we need global solidarity. And WorldPride is probably the closest thing we have to a visible manifestation of the unity we have across borders," says Ymania Brown, one of the co-presidents of InterPride, the international umbrella organization of Pride organizers.
"The goal for us at InterPride and for WorldPride is for our members and everyone who comes to WorldPride in Washington, to walk away knowing that we are not alone," she continues. "That our struggles, while unique in different countries and different regions, are shared. And as a result of that shared struggle, our victories, and the successes we have in changing laws for our people, are collective."
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.