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Friday, May 24, 2013
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Coming Out: HRC's long-running Coming Out Day and PFLAG's new Equality Campaign celebrated this week |
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| Coming Out: HRC's long-running Coming Out Day and PFLAG's new Equality Campaign celebrated this week | ||
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by Liz Meyer -
SGN Staff Writer It was a busy week for national Gay rights groups, as October 11 marked both the Human Right Campaign's National Coming Out Day, as well as the launch of PFLAG's "Straight for Equality" campaign. National Coming Out got its start in 1988, in celebration of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights one year earlier (Source: Wikipedia). The theme for National Coming Out Day 2007 is "Talk About It." Additionally, HRC is using this year's Coming Out Day to mark the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington and the unfurling of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall. On its website, HRC quotes Mark Shields, the director of the Coming Out Project, as saying, "Twenty years ago, as the AIDS crisis was raging, coming out was literally a matter of life and death," said Shields, director of HRC's Coming Out Project. "In many ways, we have come a very long way in a relatively short time, and yet that lesson still resonates deeply today. Coming out and living openly is the most important thing that Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and straight-supportive Americans can do to build lasting understanding and equality." PFLAG's new campaign coincided with its National Convention, which began on October 11 and will continue through the 14th. The Straight for Equality campaign centers around the idea that Straight America must speak out for its LGBT allies. "Straight for Equality empowers people who may not have GLBT family members but who nonetheless want to curb homophobia in their daily lives - from speaking up when hearing an anti-Gay joke to openly supporting equality in their workplaces to taking action to change anti-GLBT policies," states PFLAG's press release. A press conference fronted by Cyndi Lauper kicked off PFLAG's Washington, D.C. convention. Additionally, Dear Abby, the world's most widely-syndicated columnist will be the inaugural Straight for Equality honoree to recognize her "decades of work as a straight ally sending a message of fairness and inclusion to her readers" (source: PFLAG.org). New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly Gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained to the historical episcopate, will also be honored with the Flag Bearer Award. Additionally, GLAAD marked Coming Out Day with a public service announcement featuring T.R. Knight of Grey's Anatomy. In the spot, Knight tells viewers, "You have the power to make the difference, just by treating people with dignity and respect." |
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