I arrived at Sarasota’s City Hall on Monday, May 21 at 5:30 p.m. to support the creation of a Domestic Partnership Registry for the city, but I decided to take a trip around the block before parking to see if red shirts (supporters of the registry) were gathering at any other access points. To my surprise, my instincts were right: A sea of red shirts were sitting at the tables outside one of the entrances — “my people” had arrived. My people aren’t gay or lesbian. They aren’t liberal or [...]

This week Step Out Sarasota‘s Vice-President Carroll Hunter asked me to join him on “The Black Almanac” on ABC-7 to discuss gay marriage with Dr. Ed James, the host of the show for over 40 years. Dr. James contacted Carroll because of his history with Florida Legal, Inc. (a fraternal organization of Gay & Lesbian Law Enforcement Professionals) and his trailblazing experience as an advocate and activist for the GLBTQ community. Recently, when the City of Venice unanimously voted to add non-discrimination clauses for LGBT people into their city charter, Carroll was there representing Step Out Sarasota and our community. [...]