Since 1988 National Coming Out Day is acknowledged on October 11th which is the day that if you haven’t come out yet about your LGBTQ sexual orientation to your family, friends & colleagues it’s time to live as your authentic self & be counted. As Harvey Milk stated, “Burst down those closet doors once & for all, stand up & start to fight.”
So here we are in 2019 continuing the fight with the Trump administration trying to push our LGBTQ community back in the closet or worse erase our community completely. We need to pass the Equality Act now & provide comprehensive non-discrimination protections that will bring our laws into the 21st century. This week the US Supreme Court heard 3 cases of LGBTQ discrimination against our community. With Trump’s anti-LGBTQ Supreme Court appointees the outcome is iffy. Then we’re also dealing with a majority of LGBTQ K-12 students feeling unsafe at school as a result of their sexual orientation & more than one-third reported feeling unsafe because of how they express their gender. To reverse this trend in conjunction with National Coming Out Day the Family Acceptance Project has released a new series of posters that are designed to be used in public spaces to share key information from FAP’s peer-reviewed studies. Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director of the FAP stated, “The posters are key resources to help families & providers understand the critical need for family support & the impact that specific family accepting & rejecting behaviors have on risk & well-being for LGBTQ children & youth.”
For More Info..
LISTEN: 500+ Podcasts w/ LGBTQ Leaders & Celebrities
Hear Audio Chats w/ LGBTQ Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE
National Coming Out Day is an important opportunity to celebrate the power of visibility to change hearts and minds and how coming out can transform our lives and our movement. The tragic reality is that there are still far too many LGBTQ people across America and around the globe who are forced to live in fear. At a time when transgender people, especially transgender women of color, face an epidemic of violence, it is imperative we address this crisis at all levels of government and in every community. If you come out but cannot be safe, you are not free. The only way to triumph over fear is with love -- love of ourselves, our LGBTQ community and the diversity of communities and experiences that enrich our humanity. We must turn that love into action -- by living our truths and fighting for a world where every person is safe to live theirs.
ReplyDelete