Opinion

Recent news about suicides and homophobic attacks has made clear that LGBT people are still living in a very hostile climate. That hostility is likely to accelerate as economic dislocation and changing demographics are used by extremists to fuel the search for scapegoats. Gay people have joined Muslims and Latinos as the most popular targets today.

So what we are doing to protect ourselves, individually and collectively?

I’d like to see National Coming Out Day become a much bigger celebration.

Coming Out Day (Oct. 11) was launched in 1988 to mark the first anniversary of the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, an event that brought a half million gays and supporters to the capital and featured the first showing of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Two recent criminal cases in Milwaukee renewed debate about Wisconsin’s hate crime statute.

One case involved the murder of Chanel Larkin, a transgender woman, whose assailant was charged with homicide but not with the hate crime penalty enhancer. The other was the case of Robert Anthony Malczewski, charged with reckless endangerment along with the hate crime penalty enhancer after admitting to police that he used a pellet gun to shoot at people he perceived as Mexicans.

I am looking over my smoothie into the eyes of a man I’ve just met, making small talk and finding the situation fascinating. I’ve agreed to meet him after reading his sentimental post on the Missed Connections page of Craigslist.com. Although I was not his target, I thought his message was sweet. I wanted to meet the man behind the words.

More than six million individuals have visited Missed Connections. Whether they’re looking for a good laugh or a shot at love, people of all ages and backgrounds frequent the site.

The Wisconsin Gazette ran a story on Oct. 7 profiling a few LGBT supporters of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.  The story highlighted Walker’s simultaneous alliance with some of the most rabidly anti-equality forces in the state.

On Sept. 14, Republican primary voters chose what may be the most extreme ticket for governor and lieutenant governor in recent Wisconsin history.

We already know that the gubernatorial nominee, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, will say and do anything to win an election. This includes taking positions against the LGBT community in order to satisfy his extreme right-wing base.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen a series of tragic student suicides all over the country. Many of them involved the bullying and harassment of young people because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Although this issue recently has gained national attention, the staggering rate of suicide among LGBT youth is not a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. Studies consistently show that LGBT youth are four times as likely to attempt suicide. The rate jumps to 8.4 times if they have been rejected by their families.

Fair Wisconsin, represented by Lambda Legal, recently announced our intervention in the latest challenge to domestic partnerships. We are committed to defending these critical protections for as long as it takes and we are confident the courts will ultimately decide in our favor. Domestic partnerships are not marriage.

But let me be clear: The filing of Wisconsin Family Action’s lawsuit just weeks before the mid-term elections is not a coincidence. It’s a calculated attempt to distract us from our work to protect our pro-fairness majorities and to elect a pro-fairness governor. If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that a mobilized LGBT and allied community directly impacts our ability to achieve equality.

Mexico is throwing the biggest fiesta in its history and the world is invited.

This year Mexico is celebrating its Bicentenario marking the 200th year of independence from Spain. The partying is expected to reach fever pitch on Sept. 16, Mexico’s Independence Day.