Justice is served

 

Interview with Robert Miller

Lady Justice: Who are you?  Please describe yourself in 30 words or less.

Robert: I am a 48 year old gay leatherman and a long term HIV survivor, living happily ever after with my partner in rural Michigan.

Lady Justice: When and how did you first realize you were interested in leather/BDSM/fetish

Robert: The first time I saw it depicted in a film, I knew that all the "feelings" I had been having were real. The film showed a leather jacketed men playing pool at a leather bar, with Venus in Furs, by the Velvet Underground playing in the background. The submissive men all leave with the dominant man. Suddenly, I knew I was not alone, and the search began. 

Lady Justice: What are your hobbies?

Robert: I enjoy politics, entertaining, home life, literature, and fantasy baseball. These days, I especially enjoy everything is politics, although if my fantasy team gets hot, I can still win this year.

Lady Justice: What is your favorite quotation?

Robert: Barack Obama said, "We are the people we’ve been waiting for."

Lady Justice:  How long have you been involved in the leather community? 

Robert: For sex, it’s been 28 years). For community activism it’s been 8 years.

Lady Justice: Do you feel there is anything vital missing from today’s leather community?

Robert: No.

Lady Justice: What is your definition of a leatherman?  What are his responsibilities? 

Robert: I think a leatherman is anyone who likes kinky sex. His responsibilities are the same as all people – love thy neighbor, love thy self.

 

Lady Justice:  What keeps you passionate about the leather community? 

Robert: With the success of CLAW, the Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend, I get to work with lots of great leathermen and women all year long. There’s no shortage of passion!

Lady Justice: To what organizations do you belong?  Are you an officer of any of these groups?

Robert: I am the Chairman of CLAW, a federally registered national leather charity. I am an Associate of the Chicago Hellfire Club.

Lady Justice: What is your stance on "Old Guard" versus "New Guard" leather protocols and rules?

Robert: Different strokes for different folks.

Lady Justice: Do others, outside the leather community, know you’re into leather? If so. has that created any difficulties? 

Robert: Yes, but many don’t know I am into leather, as well. For those in the know, there are virtually no problems, and there are many great advantages. For those who don’t know, it can be a problem – especially trying to explain how I spend my time, without talking about the thousands of hours I put into CLAW every year.

Lady Justice: Do you stay updated on political topics like, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), or other important issues that affect the LGBT communities?  Which ones are important to you? 

Robert: Absolutely. I am a former cooperating attorney for Lambda Legal, and responsible for two favorable court decisions that established legal rights for the GLBT and HIV/AIDS communities. The most important thing for which we are fighting is gaining our right to marry. Everything else follows after the equal recognition of our relationships. It will be here sooner than we think! It is very exciting to be part of that movement.

Lady Justice: What is the last book you read that deals with leather, and the last book you read that is a non-leather topic?  Why did you choose those books? 

Robert: I read one novel a month with a book club I’ve been in for 11 years. Our last book was Trollope’s, Barchester Towers. It’s not a leather book, but there are some great boots in it, and of course, hints of sexual domination.

Lady Justice: Please tell us more about your role with CLAW.  And, how can a person become more involved if they want?

Robert: I am one of the CLAW founders, along with Dennis McMahon. I am the Chairman of the Board, and the primary organizer of the organization. We just distributed another $14,000 to some great charities, bringing our total to over $128,000 since we started. We are just beginning the work on CLAW 8, so it is a great time for new people to get involved. Join a magnificent team. Send me an email!

Lady Justice: Would you like to tell us more about any of your new endeavors?

Robert: I’m very excited about the success of CLAW Nation, which is a network of fund raising events that has raised over $25,000 so far this year. Events have been held in over 30 cities already, with many more to come. CLAW Nation is available to anyone in the leather community who wants to raise money for charity. You pick the date, location and charity. We work with Recon, the largest fetish personals site for men, to help get people to the event, and send you some T-Shirts and other prizes to help raise money.

I’m excited about the new CLAW Board of Directors that includes community leaders from Pittsburgh, Columbus, Detroit, Chicago and Kalamazoo. CLAW 8 is April 23-26, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio.

I’m also proud to announce the formation of the CLAW Endowment, a charitable trust that will ensure the future of CLAW Corporation as a leather community charity, hopefully, long after we’re all gone. I’m looking forward to helping the endowment grow. Leather. Endowment. Grow. Who wants to lend a hand?

Lady Justice: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us? 

Robert: On November 4th, vote for Barack Obama and the entire Democratic ticket. Between now and then, talk to your family and friends about how important it is to you, and to everyone on the planet. We cannot afford any more divisive politics, or any more Republicans. We are the people we’ve been waiting for!

Lady Justice: Where can we find you online?  Do you have e-mail, business information, or a web site you’d like to share with us?

Robert: I am bob@clawinfo.org.