happily stuck in Ithaca

New York City

2007-11-10T15:26:00.000-05:00

For those few people that are still checking this site out (all five of you), I've owed this post for an awful long time.

I've resigned from Ithaca's Common Council and have relocated to New York City with my partner. I can hear you now, "Happily stuck in Ithaca, indeed!" I miss Ithaca very much, but sometimes love catches you off guard and you have to roll with it. It is the first time my cat and I have lived with anyone in years. Co-habitation is going well and I adore our neighborhood, Morningside Heights. We are a short 1 train ride to most anything on the west side of Manhattan. The transition was much smoother than I thought it�d be, I don't feel like country-mouse-in-the-city. I do miss running into people that I know on the street, however.

I've taken a job working with an elected official who is a champion of progressive causes in New York City. I share so many of his positions, and I love the work that I do here.

I appreciate all the support I've gotten writing this blog over the years. I'll leave it up for a little while, until I figure out what to do with it.

Ithaca, Cortland, Binghamton Dating Survey

2007-06-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

I was asked to post this request for participants in a study looking at "dating" among gay and bisexual men/women in the Ithaca/Cortland/Binghamton area.

Take a look, and help a grad student finish his thesis.

I am currently conducting a survey to collect information on the dating methods used by homosexual/bisexual men and women (all age groups) in the Ithaca, Cortland, and Binghamton area. The survey is part of a larger research project being conducted by myself as part of my graduate research thesis in Social Sciences, which focuses on how society affects the dating practices/methods of homosexual/bisexual men and women.

This quick 10-question survey can be found by visiting http://bbarile.survey.sgizmo.com

Thank You, Governor Spitzer!

2007-04-27T09:50:00.000-04:00

Today, Governor Eliot Spitzer fulfilled his commitment to the LGBT community and announced that he is introducing a marriage equality program bill in the New York State Legislature. He is the first Governor in the country to take such a proactive step.

Please find out how you can support this effort by visiting the Empire State Pride Agenda web site, and thank the Governor for his leadership.

[Update: Just in case anyone's curious about New York State polling, the wind seems to be at Spitzer's back for this one. A recent poll shows over 60% of New Yorkers support marriage equality. Perhaps this will demonstrate that "strong and right" will prevail and get some of these waffling Dems off the fence.]

Getting married, sort of...

2007-04-03T15:58:00.000-04:00

On the heels of my editorial in the Ithaca College student newspaper, a neighbor sent me a sweet email in support of the piece and asking for some advice on how to best get the word out about their decision not to marry until gay and lesbian couples had the same right.

They have decided to have a ceremony but to recreate their legal protections by contracts and other agreements the same way that same-sex couples are currently forced to do in New York State. I encouraged them to write about it, and they have... In the form of a blog.

No matter what you think about their position, I think you'll find the blog interesting. They plan on writing about the hoops they have to jump through from their perspective of having access to the easy way... but choosing the not-so-easy way. They've also posted some research and historical information that is worth a look.

So I wanted to give them a shout out, and I hope that visitors of happily stuck in ithaca will visit and support these incredible straight allies!

[Getting married, sort of...]

Same-Sex Marriage Guest Viewpoint

2007-03-22T09:56:00.000-04:00

I was flattered when the opinion editor of The Ithacan, Ithaca College's student newspaper (and one of my favorite news sources), invited me to submit a guest viewpoint about same-sex marriage. It was published today.

As I was writing, I realized that my first draft was an uninspired timeline of events from the perspective of someone in Ithaca. And I realized I wanted to write something that not just anyone could read on Wikipedia.

My second shot tried to get at some of the basic issues and centered on the same-sex marriage debate that could soon begin in Albany. An aide to Governor Spitzer (Sean Patrick Maloney, the out candidate for Attorney General) indicated that a bill legalizing gay marriage may come as early as this year.

I wanted to help frame that future conversation and what is at stake. I can't wait to see how the dialogue goes when someone who has access to the press and bully pulpit of the highest statewide office is actually on the side of fairness and equality.

[The Ithacan: LGBT advocates should raise voices for rights]

Advocate names Ithaca one of 10 best places for gays to live

2007-03-15T16:17:00.000-04:00

Ithaca was included on the top 10 list of places to live for gay and lesbian people by The Advocate, a leading magazine for the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community.

The article is in the March 27 edition that hit stands Wednesday and looks at quality of life factors such as schools, retirement options and community integration. The piece aimed to show that it's not just urban enclaves that are welcoming to the gay community anymore but a much broader list of places. With Ferndale, Mich. on the list and Santa Fe, N.M., it's clear a city doesn't have to be a major population center to be a great place for gays to live.

[Ithaca Journal: Magazine names Ithaca one of 10 best cities for gays to live]
[The Advocate: excerpt of "Where we live" article]

2nd Annual Rainbow Brunch Hosted by the Gay Straight Alliance @ IHS

2007-02-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

The Ithaca High School Gay Straight Alliance is hosting the Second Annual Rainbow Brunch on Saturday, March 3rd from 10 AM to 1 PM in the High School Cafeteria.

The brunch is a great opportunity to network and meet people from all aspects of the Ithaca LGBT community. Adults, high schoolers, and college students will all be coming together to mingle, make friends, and support the students of the Ithaca High GSA who want to attend the True Colors LGBT leadership conference in Connecticut this spring. Admission is $5, and there will be entertainment and lots of yummy food!

LGBT Dems host mixer

2007-01-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

The LGBT Democratic Club of Tompkins County is sponsoring a Post-Holiday Mixer at Ithaca Common Ground on Sunday, January 21, at 7 PM. All registered Democrats in Tompkins County are welcome to join us for an informal evening.

The LGBT Dems recently completed their participation in the 2006 election season and are ready to get organized for 2007. Volunteers from our Club have worked on local, state, and national election campaigns, and some of us are members of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee. We'd love to hear your take on the recent elections, your prognosis for the future now that the Dems are in control of Congress, and hear about any LGBT issues which you think should be addressed through the electoral process.

[LGBT Dems of Tompkins County]

HOMOcoming 2006

2006-10-24T16:27:00.000-04:00

What: HOMOcoming '06, CALL OF THE WILD
Costume dance party with special performances by DJ Double A, and Key Elements. Hors d'oeuvre, music, dancing, face paint, wild costume accessories for the first 25 people, lots of fun, and much more.

When: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28th, from 9:00PM to 1:00AM.

Where: WSH Memorial Room

Tickets: $3 at the door

100% of the profits will go to STAP (Southern Tier AIDS Program) to help them provide effective and innovative HIV and HCV prevention education, outreach services to individuals and communities, and comprehensive and caring services to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Back in the blogging saddle

2006-09-25T19:10:00.000-04:00

My apologies to anyone who has come here in the last month-and-a-half and found the same post staring back at you. (And my thanks if you kept coming back to look in spite of it.) I've sat down to write something a bunch of times and I only feel the weight of all the things I could share (and where should I start?). A LOT has happened in that time.

The first was that I finally got a vacation. It has been about two years since I have had a real vacation. In the beginning of August my business partners and I closed shop for two weeks. The second of those weeks I spent in Provincetown, Mass with my mother and her husband. It was a lovely week, we lucked out with the weather. During the day, Mom and Tony and I would go on whale watches, or check out drag kickball fundraisers, sightsee on the cape, and shop. And at night, usually shortly after dinner, I'd go back into town and take in shows, movies, and the vibrant nightlife.

For the past few years, Tony had been struggling with cancer, and his health was much worse than we had anticipated it would be when we made the travel plans months earlier. We managed to be as inclusive as possible, but Provincetown is not the easiest place to navigate with a wheelchair. We had arrived on Sunday and were doing fine until Thursday when Tony said he wasn�t feeling well and asked if we would mind going home early. We stayed one last night and managed to get on the road Friday morning. But, just about the time we got off the cape, Tony passed away in the front seat of the SUV.

He died two months to the day after he and mom were married.

We couldn't have anticipated when we left Rochester that this would have happened. Friday afternoon was a blur of police, emergency responders, funeral home directors, and cell phones ringing. Unfortunately, I learned what to do when someone passes away on a car trip. I hope never to have to use that knowledge again.

I had never been that close to Tony. Though his struggle with cancer had mellowed him out quite a bit. And he and I had absolutely bonded on this trip. We were laughing, and by the last day, I was ordering his food for him. Sometimes, I would even harass the waiters and waitresses for him. (This was a favorite pastime of his.) I am thankful that I got that time, this vacation, with him.

Now, of course, my main concern was being there for Mom and supporting her through what would be a tough period of transition. I stayed in Rochester as long as I could, came back to work for a few days, and then went back to Rochester for another half-week so that Mom would have some company. She�s a strong one, and had a lot of support in Rochester, but I just wanted to be there for her.

Coming back to Ithaca after three weeks of being away from the office took its toll physically. I got whatever stomach flu was going around and was in bed for another three days, trying to drag myself to the office whenever I could. I'm really only now catching up on all of the things that went undone those three weeks.

[Did I mention that I also gave up coffee during those four weeks? Actually, I started my detox after we came back early from Provincetown... having gorged myself on frozen coffee drinks for the week... I decided that I had to break the cycle of mid-morning caffeine withdrawal headaches and the roller coaster energy cycle I had been on. I am very happy to say I've transitioned to the occasional decaf coffee and that green tea is my beverage of choice now. Next stop, herbal!]

I've been back to Rochester a few times since late August. Lori and I went over Labor Day weekend to stay and see a Rochester Red Wings game. While the game was historic (the first no-hitter at the Red Wings stadium), it was also the most boring. Better luck next season, I guess.

So I guess that was all just to say that I have focused the last few months on my family and myself. And hopefully, with that explanation out of the way, I'll be posting on my semi-regular basis again.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Ithaca College also makes LGBT-friendly list

2006-08-08T11:15:00.000-04:00

The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, which I previously noted includes Cornell University among its gay-friendly campuses, also recognizes Ithaca's other higher education gem... Ithaca College.

"The LGBT center at Ithaca College was specifically cited for the depth and breadth of services and events we offer to the campus community," says Lis Maurer, coordinator of the Ithaca College Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Education, Outreach, and Services. "We are both an academic center and a social center. We provide a variety of services that includes professional development opportunities, classroom presentations, one-on-one consultations, speakers, workshops, and collaborations with other departments."

Congrats to Ithaca College!

[The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students]

Spitzer: It�s not about semantics

2006-07-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

Spineless politicians could take a lesson from Eliot Spitzer's performance during last night�s debate with rival Tom Suozzi. When asked about same-sex marriage, the answers went something like this:

Suozzi believes that gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else but draws the line at calling it marriage. (Apparently, his religion leads him to that position.)

Spitzer, on the other hand, boldly proclaimed his support for marriage. He reiterated his vow to introduce legislation to make same-sex marriage legal. When pressed by Suozzi that their difference of position was simply a matter of semantics, Spitzer looked right at Suozzi and said:

"Semantics is not what this is about � this is about equality."

If only all of our fair-minded elected officials spoke with such clarity and conviction.

[Watch the debate]
[Spitzer for Governor 2006]
[New York Times (reg. req�d): Sole Debate for Spitzer and Suozzi Is Fiery]

CU one of top 100 LGBT-friendly campuses

2006-07-11T16:41:00.000-04:00

Cornell has been selected as one of the 100 best campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students (LGBT) and will be featured as such in "The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students," set for release Aug. 1.

"This book acknowledges the time and effort put forth by colleges and universities working to create a welcoming, safe college experience for all students," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus PrideNet and author of the guide. "The top 100 colleges and universities profiled in 'The Advocate College Guide' lead the way for the rest of higher education to be LGBT-friendly. These campuses take to heart the value of supporting all students ... what better way for a campus to come out as LGBT-friendly?"

Individual campus profiles in the guide include information on size, tuition, admission application deadlines, gay-affirmative policies, events, LGBT student groups, and resources and housing for LGBT students.

[Cornell Chronicle: Cornell selected among 100 best campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students]
[Cornell LGBT Resource Center]
[Campus PrideNet]

Maloney's Site Gets a Facelift

2006-07-09T22:29:00.000-04:00

Check it out here.

Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell... Just Hate

2006-07-07T15:18:00.000-04:00

Senator John McCain, when asked recently about Don�t Ask Don�t Tell, noted that "military leaders support the ban,� and indicated that he would support a change only if deemed appropriate by the armed forces.

Well, the NEED for able bodies seems underscored by a Southern Law Poverty Center report released today that claims recruiters are under such pressure that they are letting all kinds of hate group members enlist. The number of enlisted hate group members is estimated to be in the thousands and growing. Meanwhile, capable and talented gay and lesbian servicemembers are still being kicked out of the armed services.

In fact, since 1993, more than 11,000 men and women have been dismissed under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," including more than 800 with skills deemed 'mission- critical' by the Pentagon.

"We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator as saying in a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem."

�A problem?� That might be the understatement of the year.

The report said that neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance, whose founder, William Pierce, wrote "The Turner Diaries," the novel that was the inspiration and blueprint for Timothy J. McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, sought to enroll followers in the Army to get training for a race war.

The groups are being abetted, the report said, by pressure on recruiters, particularly for the Army, to meet quotas that are more difficult to reach because of the growing unpopularity of the war in Iraq.

Doesn�t a ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military seem foolish when we�re in such dire straits that we�d rather have racists and bigots serve before gays and lesbians?

[Southern Law Poverty Center Report]
[New York Times (reg. req'd): Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts]

Gay Marriage Decision

2006-07-06T09:43:00.000-04:00

As widely thought, New York's highest court has released their ruling on Same-Sex marriage this morning. I am sad to report, the court has not found a constitutional right to marry in this state and feel that legalizing same-sex marriage is best left to the legislature.

One of the justices in the minority said they feel strongly that this decision will be regarded as a misstep along the road to full equality. I feel the same.

[New York Times (reg. req'd): N.Y. Court Sidesteps Gay Marriage]

The Wedding

2006-06-18T12:07:00.000-04:00

As excited as I was about being a marriage officer, I have to admit that with everything else going on in my life I haven�t really been able to prioritize performing marriages above my business and the time I spend doing Council work. In fact, until a week ago today, I had yet to perform a ceremony.

Those wheels started turning nearly a month and a half ago when towards the end of a chat with my mother, I asked, �So, anything else going on?�

�Tony and I are getting married,� she said. Tony is her boyfriend of nearly 11 years and my mother is the queen of dropping huge information like this as though she was telling you what rerun of a particularly boring show she was watching on television.

In monotone she added, �We�re going to Vegas.� For her and Tony, this isn�t shorthand for a typical shotgun wedding. They genuinely love that city and vacation there nearly every year. They have threatened a move to Nevada just as soon as they can �tie up loose ends� in Rochester.

Taking the institution more lightly than Federal Marriage Amendment supporting right-wingers might like, I said, �Well, I can�t provide an Elvis impersonator but your son is now a marriage official if you want to get married a little closer to home.�

She only said, �Oh, that�s neat,� so I dropped it. Two days later, though, she called me back to say that she and Tony wanted to take me up on my offer to perform their ceremony.

Mom�s excitement seemed to grow by the day, and what was supposed to be a five-person affair (bride, groom, two witnesses, and me) became a 45-person celebration with full reception. My role expanded to pseudo wedding planner, being asked to scope a site for a the ceremony, a place for the reception, write a more personalized service, and consult for relatives who had a hard time buying gifts. I did draw the line at cake research.

I worried all week about what the weather was going to be like. If you�re familiar at all with Ithaca weather, you know that clouds roll in and out on a dime (and that usually those clouds are dark and dripping). Weeks before, we had spied a place at Stewart Park along the water for the ceremony with no back-up plan for cover if it was rainy. Friends and family were sent mapquest directions to the park and would simply meet us at the spot to hear Mom and Tony exchange vows.

Then, we�d caravan to Za Za�s Cucina for a lovely Italian dinner and wine.

In the end, everything came together and the wedding went off as well or better than expected. After a cold morning, the sun started shining through the clouds to take the edge off of the breeze, Mom was absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress, all the guests found the park and seemed to genuinely enjoy the service, I got to see a bunch of my relatives that I didn�t know where coming (including my grandmother), lots of wonderful photographs were taken (which I�ll share if I ever see them), dinner was fantastic, and people seemed to have a great time.

The whole thing was over in an informal, yet emotion-filled, 4-1/2 hours. It was really as genuine and beautiful as any of those weddings that couples spend a year planning. And how cool that after 11 years, when Mom and Tony finally decided to formalize their relationship, that I could marry them.

Quote of the Day

2006-06-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

"As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we�ll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I�m really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we�ve never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship."

United States Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), arguing in favor of a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage.

Marriage Appeals to be Webcast Live

2006-05-17T11:45:00.000-04:00

Due to public interest, and the limited space available at Court of Appeals Hall, oral argument of four same-sex marriage appeals will be webcast live on Wednesday, May 31, 2006, beginning at 2:00 P.M. An archived version of the entire proceeding will remain on this website for several months.

The cases are Hernandez v Robles, Samuels v New York State Department of Health, Matter of Kane v Marsolais, and Seymour v Holcomb.

This is an historic time in the fight for LGBT equality and justice. After two years of litigation, a final decision from New York�s highest court on the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry could now be just weeks away.

[State of New York Court of Appeals]
[Empire State Pride Agenda]

School Board Election

2006-05-16T09:15:00.000-04:00

I'm not particularly proud to share this with you, but I have never voted in a School Board election in all my nearly 29 years. I have always felt somewhat removed from the day-to-day workings of the school district.

I did not attend school here, and I don't have any kids here. Until recently, that helped me justify never making the time to trudge up to South Hill Elementary and cast a ballot on the budget which makes up the largest proportion of our tax burden and those representatives that will make decisions that affect all of our futures, via the children the school graduates (or in some cases, doesn't graduate).

And this year my consciousness was raised even further when it became clear that the youth of color in the Ithaca City School District felt they were being treated unfairly. The youth approached Common Council to talk about their experiences, members of Council including myself addressed the School Board about the need to work together on some of these community-wide issues of race, and Council passed a resolution looking for joint conversation. All of this has led me to hope that we not only get a School Board who is sensitive to this important issue but is also interested in working collaboratively to do something about it.

I attended a school board candidate forum at Southside Community Center a few weeks ago. It was hosted by the Village at Ithaca, a non-profit whose mission is to ensure African American, Latino, and low income students have access to the resources they need to excel. More than reading their position pieces in the paper, I got a good sense for who was passionate about issues versus who might be posturing. I walked away with a clear sense of who I was going to vote for.

If you're looking for a recommendation, please consider voting for Stel Walton Whitehead, Beth Kunz, and Carol Warshawsky. While my decision is based on impressions from the candidate's forum, others have reached the same conclusion and I'd encourage you to read their comments as well.

Whatever you do, please vote today in the School Board elections.

[School Board Election Polling Places & Information]

Quote of the Day

2006-05-10T16:29:00.000-04:00

"I'm a cowboy fan/Not a Brokeback man"

Country singer Alan Jackson, slipping a cheap dig into his performance at a Houston concert by changing the words to an old Hank Williams Jr song. The new lyrics drew cheers from the crowd.

I would have expected more from the guy who wrote the very thoughtful and moving "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" in response to 9/11, while other country singers like Toby Keith were performing mostly disgusting 'America-will-kick-your-ass' type fare.

[Chron.com: Alan Jackson sets the mood]

Ithaca #8 smartest city to live in

2006-05-08T19:16:00.000-04:00

Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine released their '50 Smart Places to Live' list today. Ithaca is #8!

For its �50 Smart Cities� list, Kiplinger's Personal Finance wanted to find places that offered value for the dollar but also attractions for quality of life purposes. Those two factors allow people to make good choices when deciding where they want to live, according to the magazine.

Kiplinger's readers determined the list should include factors such as cost of living, affordable housing, the area's landscape and climate, crime rate and access to quality health care, according to Kiplinger Associate Editor Sean O'Neill, who visited Ithaca in March to do reporting for the story.

[Ithaca Journal: Area makes list of top 10 �smart' cities in US]

[Kiplinger's Personal Finance: 50 Smart Places to Live]

Banning T-shirts and symbols

2006-04-22T13:48:00.000-04:00

While the public debate ensues about whether or not the Ithaca City School District was right to ban items bearing the confederate flag on school grounds, a court in San Francisco has ruled 2-1 that a high school can ban t-shirts with anti-gay statements.

"Being secure involves not only the freedom from physical assaults but from psychological attacks that cause young people to question their self-worth and their rightful place in society. The 'right to be let alone' has been recognized by the Supreme Court � as the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men," 9th Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt said.

[LA Times (reg. req'd): Court Rules Against Gay-Bashing T-Shirts]

FMA: Hillary's response

2006-04-11T17:43:00.000-04:00

Below is the response that you'll get from Hillary Clinton's office if you write expressing your opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment:

++
Dear Shane:

Thank you for writing to share with me your thoughts regarding the proposed marriage amendment to the Constitution. I have heard from many New Yorkers on this subject and, as always, welcome the comments of my constituents.

I do not support amending the Constitution to address this issue. The Constitution is a sacred document and should not be used to divide the American people. Please be assured that I am monitoring this situation very carefully.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Please check my website for updates on this and other important issues being debated before the United States Senate.

Sincerely yours,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
++

Aside to Senator Clinton: I understand why you've written the most generic and broadly-worded statement possible, but you may want to add something in there about how you're not only protecting the integrity of this 'sacred' document but real human beings who are being discriminated against.

Gay Rent vs. Not-as-Gay Chicago?

2006-04-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

Lori and I took our cutie patootie, Keelinn, shopping Saturday afternoon at the mall. In line at the food court, this 8-year-old asked us if she could watch Rent. I am inclined to say 'no' for the simple fact that I hated the movie, but Lori and I debated whether or not Rent was too adult a movie for an 8-year-old that acts more mature than most adults we know. Keelinn has recently started playing "Seasons of Love" on the piano (by ear!) and desperately wants to see the movie based on the play from which the song came.

Lori reminded me that we had already set a precedent by allowing her to watch Chicago. (You should hear this little girl belt out "Cell Block Tango.")

Anyway, so Keelinn absolutely adored Chicago, and she makes very clear distinctions between "art," "pretend," "imagination," and "real life." She put Chicago in the "art" category which basically means it is "just a story" and she wouldn't dream of repeating any of the naughty words in it.

But, back to the line at the food court.

Without prompting or asking for input, the woman in front of us turned around and said, "Ohhhh. I wouldn't let her see Rent. Rent is definitely more adult. There is a lot of homosexuality in it."

I guess my initial reaction was, "Who is this person who thinks it's OK to budge into our conversation?" and "Who is this person who thinks it's OK to make it sound like there is something wrong with being gay and that it is something kids should be shielded from?"

Granted, not every 8-year-old should be allowed to see Chicago, Rent, or any movie dealing with very adult themes and situation that they can't wrap their little heads around. But should being gay be considered one of those "adult issues"?

We had very little energy to confront or educate this woman. And Lori has thought of more than a handful of comebacks since that day. Needless to say, we're very OK with dealing with issues of "homosexuality" in our household. Shouldn't everyone be? I guess if you think that being gay is only about SEX and what gets done in the bedroom, then you will always consider it an "adult issue" that should be best avoided with children. And if you think about being gay in terms of LOVE and tolerance and who we choose to dedicate our lives to and build families around, then you will always think it's OK to talk openly and honestly with anyone about the issue... no matter their age.

I sure hope we get closer to consensus around that latter frame someday. The next time I'm in line at the food court, I may be less friendly or more quick-witted when someone tells me that my life is not appropriate to be discussed with, or depicted within the view of children.