In a conscience-shaking conclusion to a two-year tragedy in which a long-bullied gay youth, Abel Cedeno, was prosecuted for manslaughter in the stabbing death of Matthew McCree, who charged at him in their Bronx classroom in late 2017, the 19-year-old has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. The sentence handed down reflects a failure at every level and in every sense of the word. Comment

Over the past several weeks, tragedy unfolded at the Bronx County Hall of Justice. That tragedy — the trial, closing statements, and conviction of gay teenager Abel Cedeno on first-degree manslaughter — compounded another tragedy that took place in September 2017, when the long-bullied youth stabbed classmate Matthew McCree to death, because, he has said repeatedly, he feared for his life in a classroom brawl in which the dead boy bounded to the front of the room to confront the defendant. Comment

Putting together this Pride issue brought up many emotions for me. The focus on history in wonderful and important pieces by David Carter, Duncan Osborne, and David Kennerley vividly and, at times, uncomfortably brought back memories of my own life as a gay man. The fears I had. The challenges I faced. The friends I lost. The accomplishments and pride I have nurtured. Comment

Building a coalition, like building a community, is about addition, not subtraction. It’s about multiplying, not dividing. Comments (2)

The attitudes and actions of an institution that Reclaim Pride was taking to task “appear to be rooted in transphobic, racist, and classist attitudes,” the group wrote in an open letter circulated last week. Comments (3)

In September 2017, as Bronx City Councilmember Fernando Cabrera — whose history of homophobic attacks on the LGBTQ community included a 2014 YouTube video he recorded in Uganda praising that country’s efforts to enact a draconian anti-sodomy statute that included severe prison sentences — faced a Democratic primary opponent, Gay City News noticed that his campaign website included an endorsement by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Comment