Peter's Place

There is nothing more important to #PRIDE than the Truth and that means even when it may not be very convenient. The #LGBTQ+ community is uniquely situated to handle this quandary because, after the self-realization of identifying as LGBTQIA2S++, one is then faced with perhaps the greatest inconvenient truth of all: the great, big LGBTQ closet. It's quite unfortunate that I've seen a rise in other such inconvenient truths (and no, not that  Inconvenient Truth ) since my return to the social web after a hiatus of a few years while I cared for, and then lost my mother as she battled breast cancer for the fourth time. We have come so far in the past 50 years yet have much further to go, especially as a community. I believe that is because we have been fighting for equality when in fact we should be demanding equity and justice . One needn't look far from the gayborhoods to see the self-harm that staying in the closet does to us. And that's why today, on this 32nd anniversa...

It's official: I've officially just been registered as a homeless person in CT's Coordinated Access Network (CAN) for homeless persons. I am not one who has an easy time asking for help but right now, I need all the help I can get. I would truly appreciate any amount of money you can spare to help me get back on my feet. I can accept funds via the following methods: PayPal CashApp Google Pay  (send to my email address pcfrank73@gmail.com) Zelle (bank transfers) via pcfrank73@gmail.com or 914-417-9579. Venmo Amazon  (I can always use gift cards for Amazon to get things I need, such as clothing, food, household supplies, etc.) I had been staying with the relative of a friend for the past few months, ever since I had to move out of my mother's apartment when she lost her fourth battle against breast cancer. Unfortunately, we both now are homeless and instead of expressing to me what was going on constructively, this person chose to pick a fight with me, as you c...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: PETER C. FRANK +1-914-417-9579 PCFRANK73@GMAIL.COM Who: A group of citizens concerned about Chick-fil-A's policies and practices What: LGBTQ Equality & Animal Rights Demo When: Saturday, February 11th, 10am - 1pm How: Politely distribute literature to prospective customers Where: Chick-fil-A West Hartford, 509 New Park Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06107 Chick-fil-A has a history of opposing LGBTQ equality . Actively denigrating a segment of our population can make it easier for them to turn a blind eye to the farm factories providing most of their food, which employ inhumane practices that are cruel to the animals they raise. Despite promises to the contrary, Chick-fil-A continues to donate millions of dollars to anti-LGBTQ organizations through its foundation and continues to source products from farm factories. The protest, spearheaded by LGBTQ rights activist Peter C. Frank , has the support of organizations s...

It's not often that I write movie or book reviews, and for good reason: I struggle to come up with meaningful insight that portrays the essence of the medium, and my thoughts and feelings about it, without giving away any spoilers. I was asked to review a new, independent film made by friends of a friend, and I reluctantly agreed. It has taken me over two weeks to put my thoughts together because I honestly didn't know where to start. The film completely blew me away, in pretty much every aspect. There is just so much I want to say about it ... but I found it difficult to start because I didn't know which of the myriad thoughts floating around in my mind should be brought up first. I also worried about how I could do justice to such an important work of art that does what all great artistic masterpieces do best: provoke and trigger public discourse. To review the film, I was given a private link where it is hosted on a password-protected server—and no, I'm not giv...

In honor of National Coming Out Day , I'm going to re-tell my own, personal coming out story. But before I do so, there are a few things we must address. First, coming out is not an event. Rather, it is a process. It is something that anyone who is part of the LGBTQQIAA2S ( please don't ask me what that means ) spectrum goes through every moment of our lives, once the process has started. For some, the process never goes very far; they live their entire lives in the closet. But that's another issue for another day. It is a process that must be repeated every time an LGBTQQIAA2S (oh screw it, I'll just use the universal "gay" to refer to this spectrum—that acronym is just too damned difficult to type) person meets someone. It is repeated every time we approach a new situation, a new person, a new location, a new job, a new...well, you get the idea. For some, the process may get easier over time. For others, it may become more difficult. For still othe...

In 1985, +Bernie Sanders , then mayor of the City of Burlington , Vermont, granted protections to its citizens, including LGBTQ persons . This bold move was deemed to be political suicide and the end of his career in politics. But it wasn't the first time Sanders has supported LGBTQ rights. His 1970 letter advocating the repeal of laws against "deviant behavior" implies support for marriage equality Sanders's support for civil rights and of LGBTQ communities extends to the beginning of his career . Unlike others, he never had to "evolve" on his positions to support basic human and civil rights; it has been a part of his basic code of morals and philosophies from the moment his work in activism , civil rights , social justice , and ultimately, his career in politics , began. There are few individuals even in our own community who were fighting for LGBTQ equality in 1970 -- the risk for prosecution of homosexuality and imprisonment was far ...

Post by Peter C. Equality Frank .

Over the past few months, I have carefully been considering the 2013 New York City mayoral race and examining the candidates who are seeking office. I reserved making a decision about whom I would support until I had invested enough time to examine and try to work with all of the candidates. Most importantly to me as an LGBTQ-rights activist, NYC Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn has stood out among the candidates as standing by the LGBTQ community, and I believe that she will continue to do so. Not many know about this but Quinn has laid out a plan for LGBTQ residents of NYC : Establish a Mayor’s Office of HIV/AIDS Policy Ensure That No Young Person in New York Has to Spend the Night on the Streets Build New York City’s First LGBT Senior Housing Community Make Sure City Agencies Effectively Serve all LGBT New Yorkers Redouble Efforts to Combat Hate Crimes and Promote Tolerance Quinn's plan and support for the LGBTQ community, laid out in more detail on her web site...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE On Saturday, July 14, 2012, a fundraiser was held to assist with efforts to raise the nearly $5,000 in funds needed to pay for various NYC permits required to stage  Bronx   Pride  2012 , an LGBT  pride  festival, celebration, and rally that will be held on  Saturday, July 21, 2012  at  Crotona Park  in The  Bronx  from  noon until 6 pm . Donations to help pay the NYC permit fees are being accepted on the Eventbrite page created for the  pride  event at  http://bronxpride2012.eventbrite.com/ . Additionally, orders for official  Bronx   Pride  2012 T-shirts, with personalization options, are being taken. All orders will be available for pick up at  Bronx   Pride  on Saturday. Due to the financial straits everyone is in, we will only be producing T-shirts for people who order them in advance, through Eventbrite. More importantly, attendees at the fun...