A recent Enquirer story leaves out the fact that the Mormon church outlawed polygamy all the way back in 1890, prohibited black people from priesthood until 1978 and reportedly only overturned it once senior church members found out that the New Orleans Jazz would be moving to Salt Lake City.   

In 2003, Susan Haugh founded Dreams of Hope, “A Creative and Performing Arts Group For Queer Youth and Allies.” Haugh’s commitment is grounded in her experience as a music and dance teacher in Pittsburgh’s public schools. Haugh has been out lesbian since her teens.  

Cincinnati is full of gay people. Full. Of. Them. Gays and lesbians operate at every level on the community, from the bartenders at your favorite Clifton pub to doctors and lawyers in downtown firms. They cook your meals. They connect your calls. They tell you that you look fat in skinny jeans. It’s just like Fight Club, but with gays.  

Dear Maija, I'm a young professional man, and I have a best friend who is a woman. She's also a young professional, and we've known each other since high school when we were the only students in the smart classes who smoked weed. We often enjoy eating sushi and shopping for fixtures that are very geometric in their look, so things are good between us.  

Considering the last 40 years of the gay rights movement is complicated. American society has come a long way, as evidenced by the numerous states that recognize gay marriage, the increasing protections gays have secured through legislation and the increasing success of reality TV shows about designers. (Thanks for the exposure, capitalism!)  

Many people believe that gay and lesbian activism and our fight for GLBT equality began the night of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. But as early as 1895, a group of New York “androgynes” called the Cercle Hermaphrodites united “for defense against the world’s bitter persecution.”   

If its true that misery loves company, then you might think two groups of people used to being prejudged and scorned just for who they are might be more sympathetic to each other. Thats not the case for Cincinnatis black and gay communities, at least if you listen to Christopher Smitherman, president of the local NAACP chapter.  

Regarding Joe Wessels’ column “Cutting the Safety Net” (issue of April 8), I’d like to respond to his comment “handing out money over and over again to those who take and never think about changing themselves is flat-out criminal.”   

In a move that’s raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, the president of the NAACP’s Cincinnati chapter has given a board appointment to an arch-conservative legal activist who has a history of working on anti-gay rights causes.  

I want to thank Joe Wessels for his well written and much needed column on today's newspaper journalism ('Read All About It While You Can,' issue of Oct. 1). My wife and I have seen a continuing decline in the quality and abundance of good journalism in newspapers today.