There’s been some chatter on Twitter about some gay people who believe that we shouldn’t have parades celebrating Gay Pride events. This touches on something that I’ve been saying personally for quite a while. Everyone must come out of the closet. Not just a few of us, but all of us. Only then will we be able to be taken seriously. By staying in the closet we are cowards. Cowards never win anything.

What other good things will come from a mass coming out? Imagine all the young ones, the 17, 18, and 19 year olds who feel utterly lost and alone. Think of the bullying they have to endure and they can’t go to anyone about it because the gay people in their lives are in the closet! If we all came out, and people saw just how really colorful life really is, then these kids would feel less like monsters, more like real people with real feelings, and they would likely know at least someone else who is just like them. Just imagine how quickly and easily a gay young man could come out of the closet if he knew that being gay was as acceptable as being straight and when he already knew at least 3 other people who were also gay. It could, and I hope for this, become so much of a non-issue that the entire idea of “Coming Out” evaporates. People are either straight, gay, or something in between.

The first step however is getting our rights, and to get those, we need to stand up and be seen.