I then rather rapidly began the process of claiming my "new" identity, which I very much wore on my sleeve and was encouraged to do.
Apparently, I was the last one to find out I was gay. I was surprised by her lack of surprise, and similarly, by the nonchalant reactions from my father and the rest of my family when I told them.
I came out first to my mother around when I turned 16, when we were standing in her closet (ironically enough). People in the process of transitioning, people whose parents had kicked them out of their homes, people who had not even a fraction of the resources available to me. I was immediately exposed to so many people from very diverse backgrounds, very different from my own. I had just come out, and found myself at a weekly BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth) meeting. I remember the first time I was in a gay space. And I realize that now is not the time to be silent, as uncomfortable as speaking out may make me feel, as disqualified as I perceive myself to be in relating a tragedy, the scale and scope of which I have (fortunately) never come close to experiencing in my own life. The cowed and the meek, who see the world's anguish and its wrong and dare not speak," an interpretation of a poem by Ralph Chaplin. But I am a gay man, and this is about me, it's about all of us.īut then I think back to the quote that my grandfather, a Jewish man committed to social justice, had on his business cards: "Mourn not the dead, but rather the apathetic throng. My instinct when asked to write about this tragedy was to say to myself: "Mine is not the voice that needs to be heard right now." Although I have experienced emotional trauma and sexual violence in my life, I have never been the victim of violent homophobia. I grew up with such relative privilege, in an affluent community where I was showered with nothing but love and support before, during, and after I came out. Tragedies like Orlando are often difficult for me to write about. embassies.īiden issued an executive order on Friday that required all federal agencies to evaluate the current state of diversity, equity and inclusion within their workforces and produce plans to address any issues.Gabriel Sands is a marketing manager at Refinery29. military and on flying rainbow Pride flags at U.S. He also reversed a Trump-era ban on transgender people openly serving in the U.S. He has ordered federal agencies to protect LGBTQ people under federal anti-discrimination laws. The new Orlando site will join other memorials, including the National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco and New York City's Stonewall Inn, a national monument commemorating what is seen as the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement following riots after police raided the gay bar in 1969.īiden has sought to reverse course from former President Donald Trump, who did not officially recognize Pride month. But civil rights activists said the massacre was also a hate crime targeting gay men and Latinos frequenting the club. In Florida, authorities branded the 2016 shooting an act of extremism by a 29-year-old U.S. "We must protect the gains we've made," he said. states do not have specific protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and their families. diplomacy and foreign assistance include LGBTQ rights.Īfter signing the legislation, Biden noted that half of U.S. On Friday, he named Jessica Stern, head of the New York-based human rights group OutRight Action International, to be a special envoy at the U.S. "Our presence this afternoon makes a very strong statement: Pride is back at the White House," Biden said, after being introduced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay, and a young transgender man, Ashton Mota.