Hello and welcome to a world where a gay man with the word “butt” in his last name is running for president and it is not a joke. Pete Buttigieg, who has been Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, is an absolute contender in a crowded Democratic field.

As I write this, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is on fire. It is a terrible loss to anyone who cares about history. Donald Trump’s response, however, was to tweet to try to tell French firefighters how to do their jobs. Trump probably sees the fire as a business opportunity. Maybe he dreams that the latest Trump Hotel will spring up in its place. 

Just in case it isn’t clear, Trump is a terrible person.

While scrolling through my Twitter feed, I stumbled upon a photo of Jonathan Van Ness walking hand in hand with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez through Capitol Hill. Van Ness, one of the stars of “Queer Eye,” was wearing a pink sweater and skirt, Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing New York, was wearing a magenta pantsuit. Someone had tweeted, “THIS is the future Democrats want.” My first thought: Oh, hell yes. That future cannot come soon enough.

Van Ness, who was joined by three of his “Queer Eye” co-stars, also visited Nancy Pelosi’s office. But they weren’t there just for photo ops. The “Queer Eye” guys were in D.C. advocating for the passage of The Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s annual Day of Silence is April 12, and you know what that means: Silence.

Well, sort of. The anti-LGBTQ right is always very vocal this time of year.

According to GLSEN, the Day of Silence “is a student-led national event where folks take a vow of silence to highlight the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ people at school.”

It sounds, well, pretty tame, to say the least. 

But to hear Linda Harvey tell it, the Day of Silence is a “weapon” in a “war on children.”