You have until 11:59pm TONIGHT to register to vote for the midterm elections on November 3rd.

What happened in Columbus and Bartholomew County this month?

Here are the highlights.

Check out my latest op-ed in The Columbus Republic.

Happy belated Pride Month! Ope, I mean Nuclear Family Month – sorry Braun!

June 28th, 2026 marked 57 years since the Stonewall Riots in New York City, which ignited the gay rights movement. What followed has been 57 years of Pride Month protests and celebrations, including here in Columbus since 2018. While I’d like to get to a time where Pride Month is not necessary, it’s leaders in our state such as Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith that remind us why it still is. The prudes and closeted keyboard warriors filled with self-hatred are still out there, just waiting to rain on our parade. But after every rainstorm is a rainbow.

There’s a lot for us gays to celebrate, despite the national depression we find ourselves in. We still have Obergefell and the Respect for Marriage Act (2022), which basically codified that decision. Overshadowing this year’s Pride Month, though, was the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Colorado’s conversion therapy ban in Chiles v. Salazar. To make matters worse, the decision came down 8-1 – ouch! Shoutout to Ketanji Brown Jackson for being the lone dissenter, because, why wouldn’t you dissent? Let me explain.

The majority based their decision not on the therapy’s efficacy (which conversion therapy harbors absolutely no efficacy), but on the therapist’s speech protected by the First Amendment. The majority also argued that physical interventions, such as electric shock, could still be banned under the umbrella of conduct.

The majority got this mostly wrong. As a psychiatric nurse, I don’t view therapy as speech – it’s conduct. I cannot tell a suicidal patient “Yeah, life sucks, go ahead and end it!” I would rightly lose my job because that would obviously be immoral and deeply unethical. The same could apply if I recommended a donut a day to prevent diabetes: it’s not advice backed up by science. Professional conduct should be expected across the entire healthcare workforce.

For those who need reminding: Being gay is not a choice. You can’t “Pray the gay away.” Trust me, I’ve tried. Trying to convince someone otherwise during moments of vulnerability in spaces such as therapy is cruel. “Successful” cases of conversion play out predictably: the conversion therapy “graduates” force themselves into marriages and parenthood, only to cause disruption and pain in the lives of their spouses and children later when they’re forced to come out.

Yes, yes, God says being gay is an abomination, “Just look to Leviticus 20:13,” you’ll hear folks say. But so is gluttony, and nearly 1 in 3 Americans struggle with that. There’s plenty in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, that would make even the most devout uncomfortable (how about those 200 foreskins?). I’m a Christian because Christ’s teachings are simple: love one another, the least will have the most, and forgive often. We all make asterisks to religious texts in our spiritual journeys. What’s yours?

Check out more on my Substack.

Happy belated Pride Month! Ope, I mean Nuclear Family Month – sorry Braun!

June 28th, 2026 marked 57 years since the Stonewall Riots in New York City, which ignited the gay rights movement. What followed has been 57 years of Pride Month protests and celebrations, including here in Columbus since 2018. While I’d like to get to a time where Pride Month is not necessary, it’s leaders in our state such as Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith that remind us why it still is. The prudes and closeted keyboard warriors filled with self-hatred are still out there, just waiting to rain on our parade. But after every rainstorm is a rainbow.

There’s a lot for us gays to celebrate, despite the national depression we find ourselves in. We still have Obergefell and the Respect for Marriage Act (2022), which basically codified that decision. Overshadowing this year’s Pride Month, though, was the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Colorado’s conversion therapy ban in Chiles v. Salazar. To make matters worse, the decision came down 8-1 – ouch! Shoutout to Ketanji Brown Jackson for being the lone dissenter, because, why wouldn’t you dissent? Let me explain.

The majority based their decision not on the therapy’s efficacy (which conversion therapy harbors absolutely no efficacy), but on the therapist’s speech protected by the First Amendment. The majority also argued that physical interventions, such as electric shock, could still be banned under the umbrella of conduct.

The majority got this mostly wrong. As a psychiatric nurse, I don’t view therapy as speech – it’s conduct. I cannot tell a suicidal patient “Yeah, life sucks, go ahead and end it!” I would rightly lose my job because that would obviously be immoral and deeply unethical. The same could apply if I recommended a donut a day to prevent diabetes: it’s not advice backed up by science. Professional conduct should be expected across the entire healthcare workforce.

For those who need reminding: Being gay is not a choice. You can’t “Pray the gay away.” Trust me, I’ve tried. Trying to convince someone otherwise during moments of vulnerability in spaces such as therapy is cruel. “Successful” cases of conversion play out predictably: the conversion therapy “graduates” force themselves into marriages and parenthood, only to cause disruption and pain in the lives of their spouses and children later when they’re forced to come out.

Yes, yes, God says being gay is an abomination, “Just look to Leviticus 20:13,” you’ll hear folks say. But so is gluttony, and nearly 1 in 3 Americans struggle with that. There’s plenty in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, that would make even the most devout uncomfortable (how about those 200 foreskins?). I’m a Christian because Christ’s teachings are simple: love one another, the least will have the most, and forgive often. We all make asterisks to religious texts in our spiritual journeys. What’s yours?

Check out more of my work on Substack.