Last year New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a measure meant to reduce the number of people arrested for marijuana possession after they’ve been detained under the New York City Police Department’s so-called stop-and-frisk policy. According to the article, “Cuomo…said today at a news conference in Albany that he wants legislators to decriminalize possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana that’s in public view. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he supported the change. About 94 percent of the more than 50,000 arrests last year in the state for 25 or fewer grams of marijuana were in New York City, and 82 percent of those arrested were black or Hispanic, the governor said.” Where were these clowns when I needed them? Apparently the governor released no statistics at all regarding the remaining 18%, who just might belong to another minority: gay men wearing leggings, smoky gray eyeliner, and a full mane of freshly crimped, ginger tresses. I feel compelled, after twenty-five years, to break my silence and share the heartbreaking story of how a young, guileless gay man was arrested for buying the equivalent of one joint and thrown in the slammer for three days and left for dead. This was an […]
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