2012 brought some historic changes within the gay community. Those of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) are feeling a little more like “Americans” as our God-given rights - which are guaranteed us by the U.S. Constitution – are slowly but surely given back to us.

Still – the media loves those who hate us and will print or air just about any hate-filled rhetoric that will boost their bottom line and keep the haters hating.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done

The words to this John Lennon song, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," have kept repeating over and over in my head the past few weeks. I just keep thinking: “And just what have I done?”

I’m not a big fan of the holiday season. I’m not a cynic. I just find it all overwhelming. I find buying presents for people because I have to and not because I want to, irritating. Spending time with family can be quite joyful, but it can also be stressful and wrought with emotions – good and bad.

The most recent massacre, the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, took the lives of 6- and 7-year-olds. It has shaken our nation to its core.

The enormity of this devastation is incalculable. There are the small coffins of the victims killed during a holiday season at a tender age. It is also the death of the safety of a Norman Rockwellian. We now know that none are safe.

The middle-aged woman, her wrinkled face twisted in rage, screamed words at us that made no sense. Her disheveled appearance was shocking enough, but the conditions she was living in were even more appalling.

Down the dark and dank hallway, we stopped to gaze at a grizzled old man, missing most of his teeth, who stared intently at a spot on a wall. It was bare. He was looking at nothing in particular and he appeared completely unaware of his whereabouts or the fact that a busload of college-preparatory high school seniors were standing nearby.