When the alt-pop band MUNA was writing their new song, "I Know a Place," the Orlando night club massacre rocked the country. That event gives the song a new urgency, and Time Magazine has referred to it as a kind of LGBTQ anthem.
This is a tenuous moment for the LGBTQ community. A report links the declining suicide rate with the passage of marriage equality, but the community is already reeling with the Trump administration's transgender order for schools, and concerned about other possible changes. A local grand jury will decide if an assault on a straight ally is a hate crime*, which has sparked discussion over what hate crimes are, and are not.
Our guests cover a wide range:
- Scott Fearing, executive director of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley
- Jim Eskildsen, straight ally who was a victim of an assault
- Paul Kingsley, straight ally who was a victim of an assault
- Rob Strauss, artistic director of the Rochester Gay Men's Chorus
- Katie Gavin, lead singer of MUNA
*Correction: Guests on this program indicated that the Victor assault case would not be classified as a hate crime. WXXI News spoke with an Ontario County assistant district attorney who said that while a grand jury has met about the case, no information has been released publicly, and there will be no word on an indictment until next week. Please visit wxxinews.org for more information as it becomes available.
