Praying for peace, preparing for battle

It is our turn to defend freedom

I am wondering, on a cold May morning in Washington, if I will see the Immigration and Customs Enforcement police make arrests here on 17th Street, a portion of which was renamed Frank Kameny Way in 2010 in honor of the gay rights pioneer.

Frank was my friend and colleague. He would have denounced what is going on in this country. I can hear him now: "This is not some Balkan principality where I have to show my papers!"

Speaking of which, Frank's correspondence and other writings are housed at the Library of Congress. Its first black and woman librarian, Carla Hayden, was fired by the president last week as another salvo in the culture war. Trump's spokesperson said Hayden had acquired books inappropriate for children. The LoC is a research library, not a children's library. A copy of every published book is sent there as part of the copyright process. Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter has also been fired.

Elon Musk, who owns AI startup xAI, has expressed support for the abolition of intellectual property laws. That would amount to legalized theft.

I helped Charles Francis get the Kameny Papers to LoC. I am worried about what might happen to them if Trump extends the culture war to questioning the library's holdings.

Frank Kameny's May 21 centennial fittingly occurs during World Pride. The work of freedom, equality and visibility that he pioneered is now up to us.

The need to raise our voices is more evident every day. This was illustrated by the arrest of Newark, NJ Mayor Ras Baraka by ICE police. He had joined protesters in objecting to ICE opening a detention facility in his city. Members of Congress who were there to conduct oversight were roughed up. Acting US Attorney and Trump lawyer Alina Habba lied about the incident in a statement calling the Democratic officials lawless. Arrests of the Congress members are being threatened.

I am tired of listening to ignorant and contemptuous agents of a convicted felon talk about law and order.

ICE should be abolished. The temptation to abuse is too great. When masked thugs mistreat members of Congress and arrest mayors in the name of national security, we have gone seriously astray.

Speaking of extremists wrapping themselves in the mantle of law and order, Trump has named Judge Jeanine Pirro of Fox News as Acting US Attorney for DC. As one example of Pirro's trademark fanaticism, last month she attacked Social Security benefits for orphaned children.

Journalist Adam Serwer says the cruelty is the point with the Trump administration. Trump aide Stephen Miller is now floating the idea of suspending the writ of habeas corpus to facilitate deportations of undocumented migrant workers.

President Lincoln famously suspended the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War. It means "you have the body" and is a bedrock legal principle that protects individuals from unlawful imprisonment. Trump and associates have decided to pretend we are at war as justification for their unconstitutional actions. To the extent that we are witnessing acts of war, the tracks lead to the White House.

War and people eager to wage it are too much with us. Thus it was fitting that Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost's first words as Pope Leo XIV were, "Peace be with all of you!"

A meme circulated on social media telling transphobes: "You are about to watch the whole world respect a chosen name. It is that easy."

Trump's first reaction to Leo's elevation was to celebrate the first American pope. But his MAGA crowd went on the attack after learning of Prevost's Twitter posts criticizing Trump, including on immigration. One factually challenged Trump supporter called the new pope "an anchor baby from Peru."

The pope did spend much of his career in Peru, and became a citizen of that country. He was also an ally of Pope Francis, whose tolerant instincts earned the wrath of the radical right.

The new pontiff graduated from Villanova University in 1977, a year before I did. I did not know him; but I join my fellow alums in celebrating the elevation of one of our own, even as I hope his social justice concerns will extend to the LGBTQ+ community.

One pundit noted that suddenly there is an American more famous worldwide than Trump. I am afraid this will only provoke Trump into accelerating his reckless actions to avoid being upstaged.

Alas, when His Holiness spoke of peace, it was a blessing, not an observation.

Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist at [email protected].
Copyright © 2025 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved.