NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY 2009

In the PFLAG manual there are included several public policy statements which detail PFLAG's official position on several important issues. This is a vital part of the ADVOCACY which PFLAG provides. Among the issues are:

• Adolescent Sexual Health
• Boy Scouts of America
• Comprehensive Health and Sex Education
• Employment Non-Discrimination Act
• Family Values
• Human Sexuality
• Legalized Discrimination and
• NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY

If you would like to read any or all of those statements please go to their web site at www.PFLAG.org or let me know and I'll get them to you. Regarding NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY (Sunday, October 11, 2009) PFLAG encourages us to participate wherever and whenever possible. Do you want to?

The annual observance began on October 11, 1988, exactly one year after the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. (The first one was held October 14, 1979.)

Isn't it time for Butler County to join in the event! Starting slowly, with low horizons, we can gather together in some way to acknowledge our gay and "out" lives. It's a time not only for GLBTQ persons but also for Straight Allies to come out into the open. Parents, Families and Friends of GLBTQs often face as much discrimination and prejudice as their loved ones. PFLAG's great strength is the role that Straight Allies of GLBTQs play in creating bridges of understanding.

There are so many things we could do. Here are some suggestions from the Human Rights Committee:

• Come Out to Family, Friends and Co-Workers
• Host a Guest Speaker
• Sponsor a GLBT-Themed Lecture and/or Discussion Series
• Set Up an Information Table
• Hold a Speak-Out or Rally
• Come Out to Your Elected Officials
• Show Your Support Through Fashion
• Run a Visibility Ad
• Hold an Interfaith Service
• Hold a Queer Prom, Dance or Party

Check out their web site http://www.hrc.org/issues for all their great ideas.

I've participated in just one such observance and it was quite powerful for me. The group had constructed a portable closet which was placed in a public space (a park in this instance). Everyone was invited to have their name announced and then walk through the closet door in a grand entry style to the applause and admiration of the crowd. It was a lot of fun.

It was important to every age. To those who had been out for as long as they could remember and to those who had just come to terms with their sexuality, as well as to those who finally lowered their barriers to a loved one who had come out. It was a chance to say out loud, with pride and support, what we each carry with us every moment of our lives.

That may not be the way we would like to do it. That's the beauty of it: we get to decide if and how we'd like to provide that observance for one another. Our options are wide open --as open as the closets we've left.

If you are able to come to the October 1st meeting (7 - 8:30 PM at the Butler Public Library) we will make a decision what we'd like to do -- IF we'd like to do it. Keeping in mind that we would have only 10 days to organize it, think what we could pull together that would not require a budget or too much publicity. There are always the years to come to get more involved with this important day for us.

Let's make it meaningful and fun, lighthearted and intentional! As always, please leave a comment, a suggestion, a question, an idea, a concern. See you on the 1st !

Peace, Joe Tomlinson