Intro: The FYI for The LGBT.

A sweet, wonderful friend of mine recently told me that she has completed
the process of coming out to her parents. As I am with any friend who has
taken such a monumental step, I am very proud of this woman. I can only
hope that the burden and pain of the secret that she carried for years is
well on its way to disappearing.

I told my parents that I am Gay in November 1998, one month shy of my
seventeenth birthday. I've been thinking a lot lately about LGBT (that's
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered, just so ya know) laws and
desire for Equality. My friend's coming out got me thinking about progress
--where I was then, where she is now, and where we all go from here.

When I made the declaration that changed my life on that rainy day in '98,
life for an LGBT person was just a little different than it is now. Matthew
Shepard's death had taken place just weeks earlier; there was no federal
hate crime legislation. Marriage Equality had yet to be legalized in any
state or country. Although support for being openly Gay in the military
was on the rise, public opinion still favored "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

It's amazing to witness what transpires in the course of twelve years.

My next couple of blogs will take a look at what I have discovered from
researching LGBT Equality legislation, protections and discrimination in
legal form. One blog will include only World laws, and the other will
breakdown state/federal legislation. My sources will vary between the
surprisingly-accurate-on-this-subject Wikipedia and the Human Rights
Campaign. Although this information is easily accessible, many LGBT
folks do not seem to know where they can get married and where they
should use major caution when traveling. You should know this. And
if you're not an LGBT person but you're a supporter, you should know
this as well--it helps with perspective.

To my friend who took that bold, courageous step in her life by telling
her parents who she is: my thoughts are with you. Although many may
seem to be against 'us', know that there is an ever-growing mass of allies
who support and fight for us...and we're grateful.