Red Emma’s

As communities are boldly rising to challenge capitalism, white supremacy, and authoritarianism, _Be Gay, Do Crime: Everyday Acts of Queer Resistance and Rebellion _is your ultimate guide to LGBTQ+ resilience and rebellion. Packed with daily snapshots of radical queer history, this book celebrates the bold, the brave, and the beautifully defiant moments that have shaped the fight for justice.

Ever wonder why the Stonewall protests became an uprising or what the earliest acts of queer resistance looked like? How about the ways queer communities have organized against oppression across the globe? Be Gay, Do Crime dives into these stories and so many more—from fierce acts of resistance to joyful victories—bringing to life the rich, diverse history of LGBTQ+ liberation.

By situating readers within a larger pattern of struggle, these everyday acts counter the erasure of queer people from history and serve as a reminder that our struggles are part of a broader fight against systemic violence and dehumanization.

But, this isn’t just a history book; it’s a rallying cry. Flip to any page, soak up some inspiration, and join the legacy of resistance.

Zane McNeill has an MA from Central European University and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He is the editor of Y'all Means All: The Emerging Voices Queering Appalachia (PM Press, 2022 and co-editor of Deviant Hollers: Queering Appalachian Ecologies for a Sustainable Future (University of Kentucky Press, 2024) and Be Gay, Do Crime: Everyday Acts of Queer Resistance and Rebellion (PM Press, 2025).

Riley Clare Valentine holds a PhD in political science from Louisiana State University. Their work focuses on care ethics critique of neoliberalism as well as analyses of political rhetoric.

Mx. Lee Blinder (they/them) is a proud openly nonbinary, transgender, and queer Marylander, and the founding Executive Director of Trans Maryland. They chair the Maryland Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs. Mx. Blinder is also a member of the Maryland Judiciary's LGBTQ Family Law Workgroup. Some of their passions include prison abolition work, trans joy, dancing their heart out and cooking plants. They have worked in service to their community for over 29 years, helping launch the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) at Montgomery Blair High School in 1996. They enjoy spending time with their adopted senior animal companions, their cat Basil Pasta Marinara, and their dog Cupcake.

M Pease, M.S. (they/them) is a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park. They serve as Director of Research and Assessment at Trans Maryland where they lead research projects on the experiences of trans people in Maryland (https://transmaryland.org/2025briefs) and support research-based advocacy efforts to support gender diverse communities across the state. M also serves as Vice Chair of the Maryland Commission for LGBTQIA+ Affairs. They conduct intersectional community-based research and advocacy around race, gender, and sexuality, specifically highlighting how systems and experiences of oppression contribute to disparities as well as how we can collectively work to elevate experiences of love, joy, and creativity in marginalized communities.

Charlotte Persephone Hoffman (they/she) has served as Policy Director of Trans Maryland since November 2024. Charlotte previously served as Senior Policy Counsel at the National Center for Transgender Equality; Legal Director and Policy Director of FreeState Justice; and Maryland state lead and board member for the Nonbinary and Intersex Recognition Project. Charlotte has also worked in-house advising the nation’s leading digital accessibility services firm on trends in accessibility litigation; practiced antitrust law in New York City; and published broadly on a number of subjects, including law and social justice, gender, and popular culture, as well as intersections of the three. Through an unlikely turn of events, Charlotte also serves as the First Vice President of the Maryland State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors, despite being neither a mortician nor a funeral director. They hold a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, as well as an LL.M. from the McGill University Institute of Comparative Law.

Avatara Smith-Carrington (they/them) currently serves as Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the nation’s first and foremost civil rights legal organization. Avatara uses litigation, policy, and public education strategies to enforce the United States Constitution’s promise of equal protection for all, and to eliminate barriers that prevent Black people in America from realizing their basic civil and human rights. As part of this work, Avatara conceptualized and authored LDF’s amicus brief in United States v. Skrmetti and contributed to LDF’s briefs in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services and L.M. v. Town of Middleborough.

Prior to joining LDF, Avatara was a Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal. Their past casework includes serving as lead counsel in Anderson v. Crouch (f/k/a/ “Fain v. Crouch”), a federal lawsuit securing summary judgment and enjoining the exclusion of gender-confirming surgical care in West Virginia’s Medicaid program; as well as counsel in L.W. v. Skrmetti, Campos v. Cohen, B.P.J. v. West Virginia Board of Education, and The Diversity Center v. Trump. As the former Tyron Garner Memorial Law Fellow at Lambda, Avatara led on the matter In re Anderson an administrative action that led to the removal of the exclusion of coverage for gender-confirming care from a Colorado group health plan with 33,000 members and more than 350 participating groups.

Avatara serves on the board of the National Homeless Law Center and the Kairos Fellowship.