The Advocate January/February 2023

Hi there! As CEO of equalpride, the publisher of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus magazines, and producer of the Advocate Channel, I wanted to acknowledge the whirlwind our community has experienced over the past few months. We’ve had dramatic highs, like the election of hundreds of LGBTQ+ politicians and the freeing of Brittney Griner — all covered in this issue of The Advocate. We’ve also had horrific lows, like the massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Not long after that tragedy, Michael Kelley, equalpride’s chairman (above right), and I were lucky enough to be in Washington, D.C. to commiserate over and celebrate 2022, when we witnessed President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act, a monumental law that will protect us from right-wing incursions on our relationships. It’s been…

I WAS IN COLORADO when a gunman opened fire in the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs. I was with my family north of Denver for an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, about 100 miles north of the carnage. Between editing and posting stories the day that followed the shooting, my family and I headed to Denver to visit friends at an outdoor holiday market. It was surreal watching people giggle over hot chocolate just hours after another mass shooting had riven Colorado, home to Columbine, Aurora, and so many other unnecessary scenes of domestic terrorism. For many of the people at that wholesome Christmas gathering, Club Q felt far away, literally and figuratively; I thought how many of the straight and cisgender people there don’t have to…

At the end of every year, The Advocate chooses a group of individuals who represent the best of us; people who epitomize determination, fortitude, and giving back. Featured in our November/December issue, our People of the Year for 2022 included our cover stars — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and What We Do in the Shadow’s Harvey Guillen — along with folks like children’s book author Maia Kobabe, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Beyoncé. Included in that list and in attendance at The Advocate’s People of the Year luncheon — held at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles — were lesbian actresses Amanda Bearse and Dot-Marie Jones. Both women have inspired many with their bravery and both appeared in the history-making Bros film this year. RuPaul’s Drag Race star…

The glitterati gathered at New York’s Nebula nightclub this past November to celebrate the 2022 Out100 — Out magazine’s oldest and grandest tradition compiling the year’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ people. Out (The Advocate’s sister publication from equalpride) utilizes the Out100 to showcase the artists, creatives, policymakers, gamechangers, and heroes making the world a better place. And to celebrate, many honorees and friends attended the annual event. One of the evening’s most stunningly dressed honorees was queer poet Aurielle Marie, who arrived in a gown gifted to her for the event by Grammy-winning bisexual singer Lizzo (which the star wore at the 2019 American Music Awards)! Other Out100 honorees who made an appearance included trans Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider; dancer, body-positive influencer, model, and host of CBS’s Come Dance…

“TODAY’S A GOOD DAY,” Biden said as he stepped before the audience outside the White House. He recalled when he first came out for marriage equality 10 years ago, when he was vice president. “I want to thank all of you for being here today,” he told those in attendance, citing Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Biden praised those who pushed through the legislation, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin, Susan Collins, Chuck Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, and others, and out U.S. Reps. David Cicilline and Sharice Davids as well as allies like U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and especially outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The president said he was thinking of Richard and Mildred Loving, whose case won the right to interracial marriage…

Richard M. Fierro says he’s not a hero. In interviews, he says his actions on November 19, 2022, at the Club Q queer nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., were just to protect his family. But not many people would grab a gunman by the back of their body armor and pull them down to the ground, then take their gun and pistol whip them with it, ending an assault in minutes. Along with the help of a few other patrons, the army veteran, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, held the suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, down while police arrived. Fierro and his wife, Jessica, and daughter, Kassandra, were not only witnesses to the attack — his daughter’s boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, was one of the five people killed. Now Fierro is…