Today is National Coming Out Day, a day when Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) people everywhere stand up to be counted, so to speak. It's also an opportunity to encourage people to live open and honest lives.
It's an important day for many girls who have GLBT parents. Quite a few girls who took New Moon's online political survey said gay rights is the political issue that most affects their lives:
“My parents are lesbian and they have been married for 22 years. However, to get registered, they had to go to Ontario because Colorado is against gay marriages.” -Girl, age 13-14
“My mom can't marry her life partner because of the laws that say gay people can't marry.” -Girl, age 11-12
“I live in Wisconsin, where a law is being voted on in November than would ban gay marriage. It would also ban a lot of LGBT rights. The law would be really hard on many gay and lesbian friends of my family, including some couples with children. It would mean that one member of a couple might not be able to visit the other in the hospital, inherit their property, or have decision-making power over their children--just because they can't legally be married!” -Girl, age 15-17
“My parents are Lesbian and when the government passed the law against same-sex marriage, it made me feel insecure!” -Girl, age 13-14
Sadly, according to the Human Rights Campaign, kids as young as 5 or 6 use "gay" as an insult:
That's one reason it's so important to New Moonies to make sure our magazine is a safe place for ALL girls, no matter what type of family they live in. We celebrated families of all kinds in our "We Are Family" issue (March/April 2005). Check it out! And please join us in commemorating National Coming Out Day today, and every October 11th.“By sixth, seventh and eighth grades, the words become all-purpose put-downs. While some children may barely even think about what these words mean when they use them, the children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents cannot help but think about them, as they are implicitly directed at the closest people in their lives.”
2 comments:
I'm sorry I was sick on coming out day and missed seeing you in that cool shirt!
Coming out day is not a cool day to be stuck in bed. :( I hope it went well for all those who were "out". :)
I think it's sad that instead of seeing what marriage is really meant to be, people are embracing a twisted, unnatural version of it that it was never intended to be. The only true marriage is one man, one woman, and when people say this, it's not because of hate or prejudice. It's because we know that people are turning their backs on the real truth and that they need to hear what God really wants for them. They need to seek him and live their lives by his standards rather than giving into sinful urges.
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