A Road Trip to Love

“As a child of God, I am greater than anything that can happen to me.” ~ A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Since living in Los Angeles for 10 years and working in West Hollywood, LA’s gay neighborhood, I’ve known far too many people who have overdosed from drugs or alcohol or who have died by suicide. Just last night I was told that a young man I once worked with at a bar, who from the outside appeared to have it all, killed himself this week. He was handsome, charming, in good shape, and c

Dear Arizona Daily Star, My name is Chris Tompkins and I am a teacher in Los Angeles. I was born and raised in Tucson and my mom is a longtime reader of the Star. In addition to being a teacher, I am a writer and an LGBTQ advocate. One of my forms of advocacy is bringing awareness to language and the messages we use that can continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes of the LGBTQ community. My mom just sent me the Feb. 5 article written by Howard Fischer titled, “New school

Last week I had something happen to me that I haven’t experienced before. A young man sat at my bar. I immediately felt his energy and walked over. He seemed young, so I asked for his ID. He also seemed very nervous and uncomfortable. Something inside told me to make small talk to help put him at ease. His ID was from Colombia, so I joked with him about the recent Miss Universe pageant. I asked if he lived in Los Angeles or was just visiting. He said he was visiting his mothe

“Uncle Chris, is she your girlfriend?” Suddenly I was a teen again. I felt like I did before I was out of the closet and someone would bring up the word “gay.” I could feel the hair on my neck rise, the color burn into my cheeks and the knot in my stomach. How is it that I, who have been out of the closet for 10 years, who’s life is dedicated to LGBT advocacy work, an individual who mentors gay youth and prides himself on visibility, who was in fact visiting Arizona to give a