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Although nationwide marriage equality only began with the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision, divorce among LGBTQ couples does happen. Divorce between any couple is one of the most painful transitions confronted in a lifetime; but with LGBTQ couples, this process can be particularly challenging.

Of all the transitions confronted throughout a lifetime, testing positive for HIV/AIDS is one of the most earth-shaking. The Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2015, nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. had to face this news. Of these newly-diagnosed individuals, gay and bisexual men received 82 percent of positive results. This does not necessarily indicate that men who have sex with men constitute 82 percent of new infections; they may be disapportionate to the rate of infection because they are more likely to get tested.

A ceremony took place on June 28 at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), honoring lawyers who fought North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (HB2), as well as transgender teen Gavin Grimm. All honorees were recognized for serving the LGBTQ community, both nationally and within the DOJ.

My mother has a certain term for people like John Love, Jr. The interdisciplinary artist is her truest definition of a “character.” Eccentric, brilliant and endlessly complex, Love creates his own evolving characters within his work.

One night only on July 21, Paula Poundstone visits the Levine Center for the Arts’ Knight Theater, 430 S. Tryon St., to perform her unforgettable stand-up comedy. Poundstone has served up decades of hilarity through radio, television and writing, but says stand-up is her truest medium.

America’s newest museum, Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pa. does something quite revolutionary: It recognizes the LGBTQ community as having played a part of that revolution. It does so with several exhibits.

Within the first few months of the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gave a subtle wound to the American LGBTQ community. Two HHS nationwide surveys — the “National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants” and the “Annual Program Performance Report for Centers for Independent Living” — removed questions identifying respondents’ sexual orientation and gender identity.

Together for 35 years, truly through sickness and in health, Cyteria Knight, 60, and Susan Miller, 58, have seen more than their share of challenges. Knight’s stroke early this year initiated a long journey toward recovery, and even more trials with mounting medical bills and ineffectual bureaucratic “aid” programs.

This Pride month, qnotes pays homage to one figure whose life and accomplishments set a golden precedent for the capabilities of LGBTQ people everywhere. Alan Turing, renowned scientist of many trades and proud gay man, died on June 7, 1954.

The local incarnation of the national Equality March for Unity and Pride movement took place on June 11 and consisted of hundreds upon hundreds of Charlotteans supporting minority rights. Washington, D.C.’s central Equality March amassed thousands of protestors from all across the country.

Merchant and Ivory. These two legendary names emblazoned on a movie poster or trailer instantly lit fires of anticipation inside cinephiles of the 1980s and early 1990s, myself included. This label was always good news, for it heralded a new offering in the works by the master producer/director team: Ismail Merchant and James Ivory — think “A Room With A View,” “Maurice,” “Howard’s End,” “The Remains Of The Day.”

For many people, animal companionship is more than having a pet. Those with disabilities, whether physical or mental, often benefit from service and assistance animals. In the LGBTQ community, mental illness and psychiatric disability are common due to the pressures of stigma, discrimination and outright violence.

Though the motto “Adopt, Don’t Shop!” can oversimplify a complex issue, at the root it is meant to encourage potential pet owners to do their research. True, not all breeders are evil or inhumane. Yet, choosing to buy a pet has a cost, both financially and morally.

On Oct. 14, 1979, over 100,000 people (including this author) took part in the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Since then, LGBT people and our allies marched on Washington in 1987, 1993, 2000 and 2009.

Step onto any gay beach — from Miami’s Haulover to Asbury Park’s 5th Ave. to Will Rogers Beach in Los Angeles — and you’ll bear witness to a veritable catwalk of loosey-goosey board shorts, fitted trunks and skintight Speedo-like swimwear. While anything goes on the summer’s sandy shores — especially if the area is clothing optional (better pack those dark lenses!) — this year’s styles continue last year’s thighs-the-limit trend with a twist: button-closure shorts with waist-specific sizing. Here we cultivate some of the more stimulating designs for 2017 with a smattering of tradition tossed in for good measure.

Forget taboo — the cartoonish gay man playing dress-up with straight women has become the fashion world’s most wearisome cliché. Now qnotes’ summer style issue introduces some of the real-life figures breaking ground in a rapidly diversifying industry.

We’ve all seen “leathermen” at Pride events. They boldly display their sexuality through provocative outfits that reveal just enough to tantalize the mind. It isn’t just men — women in leather are positively mouth-watering. And transgender or queer people in leather? They can tie me up anytime.

After nine months of preparation, the seventh annual Out! Raleigh festival faced an unfortunate closure due to extreme weather. High-speed winds in the early afternoon of May 6 blew down vendors’ tents and threatened injury to attendees. Organizers decided to cancel the festival on Saturday, which was scheduled for 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at 2 p.m.

Residents of the Charlotte area have seen their city change in countless ways over the past few years, and none more dramatically than the city’s real estate landscape. In particular, the Plaza Midwood area — revealed in the 2010 U.S. Census for the 28205 zip code as the area most friendly to and populated by the LGBTQ community in the Carolinas — has been the setting of what is arguably one of the most rapid and expansive real estate development trends in recent history.

The property has sat on Independence Blvd., abandoned for years. To look at it now, boarded up and graffitied, you wouldn’t think it was once considered a feat of engineering, ahead of its time, and a point of pride for the denizens of East Charlotte in North Carolina.