Diversity Rules Magazine

Jim Koury is a seeker of personal truth, and desires to empower oth- ers to find their own personal truth, whatever it may be. He is also an ac vist who is not afraid to speak his mind, and ruffle some feath- ers, if necessary. His main objec ve is to get people to think and think for themselves. He espouses Aristotle's mantra, "It is the mark of an edu- cated mind to entertain a thought without accep ng it." Jim does not force his views on others but just puts them out there for folks to think about and discard if they wish. Welcome to the May issue of Diversity Rules Maga- zine. This issue is par cularly special and very mean- ingful for me since it marks the 15th anniversary of Diversity Rules Magazine. Diversity Rules Magazine was conceived in 2006 be- cause there was no gay voice in the Central New York area at the me. I wanted to create a publica on that offered some sort of reassurance to closeted gay, bi and transgender individuals that there were others like them and that they did not have to feel alone and abandoned in a somewhat conserva ve part of upstate New York. Since its incep on in 2006, it has undergone many changes and itera ons. It began as a bi-monthly pub- lica on serving what was once known as the Central Leatherstocking Region of New York, now coined "Central New York." It was ini ally distributed to lo- ca ons within Broome, Chenango, Madison, Mont- gomery, Oneida, Otsego, and Schoharie Coun es, as well as Delaware County. Its original mission was to focus on issues of sexual iden ty, gender, race rela- ons, diversity, and equality. Diversity Rules Magazine eventually grew and was distributed to loca ons beyond the coun es men- oned above and eventually was being read through- out New York State and available at over 150 loca- ons. It was the largest gay publica on serving the state. A posi on I did not take lightly. Due to personal and economic circumstances, the magazine went into hiatus for a bit in 2009. It re- emerged as a subscrip on only print and digital publica on in 2013. There were some other bumpy patches which has resulted in its current form in the digital realm. With this beginning of Diversity Rules Magazine's 16th year, I am again mulling over some changes. The magazine's format and focus may undergo a re- design, along with a renewed focus to get Diversity Rules Magazine back in print as a subscrip on-based publica on once again. Much has changed since that very first issue back in 2006. Our na on has seen exponen al changes in how queer Americans are perceived and treated. Marriage equality is now the law of the land due to a historic decision by the Supreme Court, with job protec ons also guaranteed in yet another landmark ruling of the court. However, since the advent of the despicable Trump Administra on, the court now has been transformed into a majority conserva ve court. Future landmark decisions coming from it seem rather hard to imagine now. The change will need to come by elec ng poli cians who support equality for all, and change state and federal laws to protect our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. While we have much to celebrate with Trump's defeat, there is yet a lot of work to do to correct the transgressions against our community wrought by such a reprehensible man and his GOP minions. My Two Cents - Con't on page 20 My Two Cents A Message From The Editor James R. Koury, Editor/Publisher Diversity Rules Magazine | May 2021 | 3

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