An overview of the exhibit hall for the PrideLife Expo

Harmony NC - LGBT+ Allied Chamber of Commerce held its annual trade show, the PrideLife Expo, at the Raleigh Convention Center on Saturday, April 13th. Exhibitors included a variety of services: business, finance, professional, personal, health and healthcare. I think that healthcare was the largest category.

Wikipedia lists 47 active national LGBTQ+ organizations, that does not include religious (29 Christian, 11 Jewish, 9 Muslim), or 12 Medical. Student organizations are local to a specific campus. That seems too fractured when trying to present a unified front on anything. It also does not include state or local organizations. How can we get or reject legislation at any level or counter the extreme media coverage by the Republican Party that casts us as evil.

Before I retired 30 years ago, I was a member of the National Lesbian Gay Journalists Association. We got a small group of the national leaders at that time together for the first time at a gathering at the National Press Club. Since I’m out of the loop, such efforts still may be happening. I hope so.

The big news is from the Pope, who has announced the blessing of same-sex couples. This is not gay marriage. It is an acknowledgement that LGTQ+ people are humans to be accepted within the Roman Catholic church and should not be condemned. He hedged on whether homosexuality is still considered a sin. This is a major step, and it is one that has upset a lot of bishops.

Unfortunately, most of the news has been about the continuing war against the transgender community. It’s a big battle in the schools, in GOP politics, and access to health care. The religious right continues to promote the idea there are only male and female genders and that it is not possible to transition. Gender identity and gender expression range across a wide gambit of personality characteristics. It’s not just a question of genitalia, which seems to be the obsession of the bigots.