Tag: coming out

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Arizona state Senator Steve Gallardo comes out: “I’m Gay, I’m a Latino, and I’m a State Senator”

Arizona state Senator Steve Gallardo

Arizona state Senator Steve Gallardo, a 44 year old Democrat and the Senate minority whip, is currently running for Arizona Congressional District 7 seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Ed Pastor.

A week and a half after speaking out against SB-1062, Gallardo decided it was time to officially share who he fully is with the press.

“I’m gay, I’m a Latino, and I’m a senator. And it’s okay.” Gallardo told them. The Phoenix New Times reports Gallardo’s voice was “quivering with emotion.”

Gallardo called arguing against SB-1062 a “game changer” for his career and his life, while speaking with reporters today.

“After I stood up on the floor and argued against 1062, as I’ve done on many bills before, I sat down and said, ‘Wow. This bill affects me. It affects me directly.'”

“Seeing the people out there, protesting. I thought it’s time,” he says. “It’s time to let people know about me. And to send people a message. I’m more interested in letting people who struggle with this know that it’s okay.”

Gallardo also said he “couldn’t care less” if coming out affects his political aspirations. “This is about standing up and doing the right thing.”

You can follow Sen. Steve Gallardo on Facebook and Twitter.

(source)

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Former Miss Kentucky Djuan Trent comes out in blog post

Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, has come out on her blog as queer in response to last month’s court ruling that Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

“I am queer,” wrote Djuan Trent on in a recent post on her blog, Life in 27. She then reported hearing many antigay comments in the wake of the federal judge’s ruling. “What has prompted my writing today has been my questioning people’s constant assumption that a) I am hetero and b) I concur with their views,” she said.

It’s obvious to people who meet her that she’s black and a woman, she commented, “but sometimes, I forget to put the ‘QUEER’ stamp on my forehead on my way out the door in the mornings. So, on the mornings that I forget my stamp, I have realized that there is really no way for people to know that I disagree with their views or, even more so, to know that they are talking about me, unless I actually open my mouth and say it.”

In the end of the blog post, she expresses her gratitude for finally finding the courage to come out.

Thank you for giving me the courage to change my “they” to “we”, “them” to “us”, and “their” to “our.” You have given me the courage to speak up and speak out when I forget my “QUEER” stamp in the mornings. And I can only hope, that I might inspire someone else in that same way.

(via SheWired)

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Oprah looks back at the coming out of Mr. Universe champion Bob Paris

In the late ’80s,  Mr. Universe winner Bob Paris revealed his relationship with his partner at the time, Rod Jackson. In 1989, he and Rod appeared on OPRAH to talk about coming out.

It’s almost odd to watch the clip of the two men explaining “why come out?”  Imagine that question today.

Now, more than 25 years after coming out of the closet, the former bodybuilding champ shares his thoughts on the death threats he received after his announcement, the fate of his relationship with Rod and the country’s shifting perception of homosexuality.

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Ellen Page comes out at HRCF Las Vegas conference

At the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s inaugural Time to Thrive conference in Las Vegas, Ellen Page (Juno, X-Men: Days of Future Past) kicked off the weekend by coming out.

“I’m here today because I am gay and because maybe I can make a difference,” the Oscar-nominated actress said. “To help others have an easier and more hopeful time.”

“I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission. I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain … Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for giving me hope. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

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Quote of the day: Frank Bruni on gays in the locker room

Frank Bruni, writing an op-ed for the New York Times today, calls out the truth about gays in the locker room:

A news flash for every straight man out there: You’ve been naked in front of a gay man.

In fact you’ve been naked, over the course of your life, in front of many gay men, at least if you have more than a few years on you. And here you are — uninjured, uncorrupted, intact. The earth still spins. The sun rises and sets.

Maybe it was in gym class, long ago. Maybe at the health club more recently. Or maybe when you played sports at the high school level, the college level, later on. Whether we gay guys are one in 10 or one in 25, it’s a matter of chance: At some point, one of us was within eyeshot when you stripped down.

And you know what? He probably wasn’t checking you out. He certainly wasn’t beaming special gay-conversion gamma rays at you. That’s why you weren’t aware of his presence and didn’t immediately go out and buy a more expensive moisturizer and a disc of Judy Garland’s greatest hits. His purpose mirrored yours. He was changing clothes and showering. It’s a locker room, for heaven’s sake. Not last call at the Rawhide.

Addressing the coming out of University of Missouri All-American football player Michael Sam, Bruni goes on to dissect possible anxiety over having the “distraction” of an openly gay player in the NFL.

Responding to one anonymous NFL assistant coach who claimed “There’s nothing more sensitive than the heartbeat of the locker room,” Bruni wonders aloud – “When did the locker room become such a delicate ecosystem? Is it inhabited by athletes or orchids?”

Go read the full essay by Bruni at NYTimes.com

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Pro-LGBT Athlete Ally issues statements on NFL draft prospect Michael Sam

Athlete Ally board members respond to University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam’s coming out:

“Michael has shown great courage in taking this step and not only do we support him, we are incredibly grateful. His decision to welcome us all into his world as he embarks upon a professional NFL career is an honorable one. This moment will resonate in a unique and important way for countless people, particularly LGBT youth,” said Super Bowl champion and human rights activist Brendon Ayanbadejo, who is a member of the Athlete Ally Board of Directors.

Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally said: “With Michael Sam’s brave step, he emboldens LGBT athletes and straight allies everywhere. We are in the midst of incredible transformation in American professional sports. In a very short period of time, athletics has gone from being known as ‘the last closet in America’ to being in a position to lead on this issue. This is the power of sports.”

Sam was named the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and expected to be a top draft pick for the NFL this May.

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Top NFL draft pick, Michael Sam of the University of Missouri, comes out as gay

Michael Sam, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior for the University of Missouri, had a stellar season for Missouri, which finished 12-2 and won the Cotton Bowl.

A first-team all-American, Sam was named defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference.

And now, Michael Sam has come out as gay in an interview with the New York Times.

His teammates voted him Missouri’s most valuable player, and he is expected to be a top draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft in May.

According to the New York Times, he came out to his team in an early pre-season team building exercise.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Sam, 24, is projected to be chosen in the early rounds of the N.F.L. draft in May, ordinarily an invitation to a prosperous professional career. He said he decided to come out publicly now because he sensed that rumors were circulating.

“I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it,” said Mr. Sam, who also spoke with ESPN on Sunday. “I just want to own my truth.”

In regards to possibly being the first openly gay player in the NFL, Sam says “I may be the first, but I won’t be the last.”

The NFL released a statement: “We admire Michael Sam’s honesty and courage. Michael is a football player. Any player with ability and determination can succeed in the NFL. We look forward towelcoming and supporting Michael Sam in 2014.”

More at the New York Times.

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College baseball player Chandler Whitney, boyfriend of Conner Mertens, comes out

College baseball player Chandler Whitney

After seeing the reaction to his boyfriend’s coming out (college football player Conner Mertens), Chandler Whitney decided he had the confidence and conviction to finally come out to his Walla Walla Community College baseball team when he returned to school from winter break.

Outsports.com has the story:

Last week when the baseball team gathered for the first practices of the new year, talk turned to stories from winter break. Because he’d spent much of the break with Mertens, Whitney felt the time was now. He stood up in front of the team, said he had contemplated whether to tell them a secret or not, and shared a “confession” he’d been holding back from them since they first met:

“I’m gay.”

The team broke into spontaneous applause. It took Whitney off-guard.

“Being where I am in eastern Washington, it’s not the response I expected. I’m in Walla Walla, there’s not a lot of open-mindedness on the surface.”

Congrats to Chandler Whitney! For your courage and conviction to be yourself. You inspire a LOT of young people out there.

Forward.

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Finland: Olympic swimmer comes out before Sochi games

Finnish Olympic swimmer Ari-Pekka Liukkonen has made history by becoming the first Finnish athlete to come out as gay while still active in his sport.

The winner of the bronze medal in the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay at the 2012 European Championships, he said he wanted to talk publicly about his sexuality close to the Sochi Olympic games to bring attention to Russia’s controversial anti-gay legislation.

From Finnish news site Yle.

“I wanted to start a broader discussion in connection with Sochi, because it’s sad that the legislation in Russia restricts the human rights of young people and others,” Liukkonen told Yle.

“It’s a really great feeling that I can finally be myself,” added Liukkonen.

Liukkonen added that he hopes his coming out will lead to a more open attitude about sexual orientation in sports and that eventually it will no longer be considered news. ”Homosexuality is the same kind of characteristic as whether a person has blue or brown eyes, or whether they are left- or right-handed,” he offered.

The swimmer came out to his family on an individual basis over the past couple of years and said their response was very supportive.

“My family has received the news positively, and everyone has supported me,” Liukkonen revealed, adding that they had already sensed that he’s gay.

Liukkonen has suffered from mycoplasma for the past two years, but is optimistic about competing in the 50 metre freestyle in the Rio Olympic games in 2016.