Thank you, too, for your concerns and thoughts. I’m sorry I had to edit your last comment. I believe there might be better, more productive ways to express your opinion of Mr. Urbaniak.

Matt Comer

Thanks so much for your comment on the website. We appreciate reader concerns and do our best to address them as they come along.

Mr. Urbaniak was forthright with us when he asked if he could publish a small series of his writings. He told us of his conviction for indecent liberties with a minor and has also offered us a piece that details the psychological treatment he has undergone as a result of his sex offense. We are considering publishing the piece after his short-run column ends in April.

We’ve made every attempt to inform readers of his convictions and be transparent. In my editor’s note following each of his published writings, we state, “Joe Urbaniak was sentenced in 1995 to 20 years imprisonment for indecent liberties with a child and crime against nature.”

Many of Urbaniak’s infractions stem from receiving non-sexual, LGBT-themed newspapers, magazines and books, which N.C. prison officials banned and said violated state law. Urbaniak is the plaintiff in a pending lawsuit seeking to allow LGBT prisoners to receive newspapers such as Q-Notes and magazines such as The Advocate. I cannot speak to the forgery infractions.

My associate editor and I jointly came to the conclusion to allow the publication of his writings after reading them and seeing, despite the wrongs of the messenger, a valuable message and lessons within them. Regardless of his crimes, Urbaniak, like many gay men, as well as transgender individuals, in U.S. prisons, face extreme circumstances of discrimination, harassment, physical and mental abuse, disparate and discriminatory treatment from security and prison officials and, sometimes, as in Urbaniak’s most recent column, rape. Unfortunately, physical injury and fatalities are also a concern.

We do not believe that simply giving a voice to this very important, often ignored issue automatically implies that we “endorse” anything about Urbaniak’s crimes. Does empathizing with LGBT prisoners and seeing to their safety mean that we wipe clean their criminal record? No. But it does mean that we can raise conversation and thought.

We recognized early that some readers might have a distaste and outright disgust for Urbaniak’s crimes. I, myself, am an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse — I understand the disgust. But, regardless of his crimes, Urbaniak is still human, and should be treated humanely. We hope that his stories can spark thought and conversation about what the LGBT community is or is not doing to support their LGBT brothers and sisters who find themselves on the other side of the law. It’s not a popular subject, that’s for sure, but we believe it is an important one.

I hope that I’ve sufficiently explained our decision-making and thought process on this issue. In the future, please do not hesitate to call, email, or continue to post your thoughts openly at Q-Notes.com.

Thank you so much,

Matt Comer

–
Matthew M.H. Comer
Editor, QNotes
Carolinas’ multimedia LGBT news source

ph: 704-531-9988, ext. 208
fx: 704-531-1361
mo: 336-391-9528

Em: editor@q-notes.com
Web: http://www.q-notes.com

PO Box 221841
Charlotte, NC 28222

Urbaniak is no victim. Pleases stop publishing his writings. What kind of message are we sending to the GLBT community and our allies that read Q-Notes? It gives the appearance that Q-Notes is endorsing a pedophile and that the GLBT community is including him in our fight for acceptance.