“Happy Harlem Holidays!! Finally arrived (layover in Vegas – won $9.50 in slots!), got us a tree, about to trim. Yeah, that kinda trim.”

“The phrase ‘mission accomplished’ has gotten a bad rap in recent years, but in this case, it certainly applies. When we set out to establish Lambda Rising in 1974, it was intended as a demonstration of the demand for gay and lesbian literature. We thought if we could show that there was a demand for our literature, that bookstores could be profitable selling it, we could encourage the writing and publishing of GLBT books, and sooner or later other bookstores would put those books on their own shelves and there would be less need for a specifically gay and lesbian bookstore. Today 35 years later, nearly every general bookstore carries GLBT books, often featuring them in special sections. The other part of our mission was to make good GLBT books and information available to anyone anywhere at a time when such items were very hard to find. Today, people almost anywhere can access GLBT information on the Internet.”

“In 1993 I voted for a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodation, housing and employment. That was 16 years ago. We overbaked that statute, for a couple of reasons. If I had to do it over again I would have changed some things. That statute is not worded the way it should be. I said I regretted the vote later because it included things like cross-dressing, and a variety of other people involved in behaviors that weren’t based on sexual orientation, just a preference for the way they dressed and behaved. So it was overly broad. So if you are a third-grade teacher and you are a man and you show up on Monday as Mr. Johnson and you show up on Tuesday as Mrs. Johnson, that is a little confusing to the kids. So I don’t like that.”