Such an important story. I identify with much of it, but I would like to reinforce the important idea that LGBTQ acceptance has come nowhere close to being established in most parts of the United States.

That march didn’t reach you in the northwest, and marches today don’t reach people in northern Michigan where I live, in much of the rural South, or in the depths of the Bible Belt.

It’s perfectly fine to want to work for a world in which coming out is counterindicated because it reinforces heterosexism, but sadly I think we still live in a world in which coming out is hard and brave and necessary.

It’s also worth pointing out that it’s not always safe, and nobody should ever feel peer pressure to come out.

Thanks for a great story!