Surprising News From The White House

Today, at the annual LGBT Pride celebration at the White House, President Obama gave some astounding news.

Last year, the President promised the LGBT community he'd make sure the Affordable Care Act was implemented to insure no one could be denied health insurance based on their sexual orientation OR gender identity. He didn't disappoint. Now he's taking on another challenge for the LGBT community, this time within the work place.

He announced plans to sign an executive order protecting all Federal workers from gender identity discrimination. This order is designed to help protect transgender workers. Previously this month, he announced plans to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Federal employees are already protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Together, these orders will insure all LGBT Federal employees and contractors are protected from discrimination for being who they are.

While these most recent executive orders for transgender persons are a big step forward, they apply only to Federal employees, and there is still a lot of work to be done around the country to insure everyone is treated equally. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, only 37% of Americans live in an area of the U.S. that protects employees on the basis of gender identity. However, these orders by President Obama have set a good example for (hopefully) the rest of the country to follow.

Obama had called on Congress to pass federal legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but they would not. So the President decided to issue executive orders instead.

“The majority of Fortune 500 companies already have nondiscrimination policies to protect their employees because it’s the right thing to do and because many say it helps to retain and attract the best talent,” Obama said. “And I agree. So if Congress won’t act, I will.”

Pride 2014!

Earlier this month I attended my second LGBT Pride festival here in my town. It's not nearly as big of an event as places like Seattle, Toronto, Portland etc. but it was still tons of fun!

I get why some people in the LGBT community don't think Pride should still exist. In this day and age, it shouldn't matter what orientation you are, everyone should just be the same. There shouldn't still be a need for Pride festivals, but since the fight for equality is still happening, Pride still means a great deal to a lot of people. It's a time where you can celebrate the ability to be you without the threat of jail time or being put to death for your orientation. Considering there is still a lot of places in the world where that is legal, it's a relief to those who are in a place that celebrates Pride because they don't need to worry about those threats.

That being said, I highly recommend going to a Pride festival if you have the chance. Whether you are part of the LGBT community or an ally, they are a lot of fun. There is access to all kinds of information and services not to mention there's usually fun activities for the kids, performances, and even a parade. You can meet all kinds of new people and learn new things. Plus there's just something about Pride that is comforting to be around.

I wore a shirt to Pride that said "100% Asexual, 100% Out, 100% Proud". I had people stop me to ask about asexuality, tell me they knew someone that was asexual, and even one young lady tell me she was asexual too! It was great to help spread visibility and educate people.

So if you have the chance, grab some friends like I did and go experience a Pride festival. You won't regret it! =)

Coming Out At 73

I know in the past I've done a few posts mixing LGBT news with WWE wrestling. I'm sorry to those of you this bothers, but I'm about to do it again. Frankly, this story means too much to me not to post about it.

This past Thursday on the WWE Network reality show "Legends House", wrestling legend and Hall-Of-Famer, Pat Patterson, came out for the first time publicly in a tearful confession to his fellow legends.

What made me want to post about this story wasn't the fact that it involves wrestling, but because of the circumstance surrounding Patterson's coming out and what we can learn from it. What really stood out to me is the fact that Pat Patterson is 73 years old and has been in the closet for over 50 years. He also had a partner for 40 years that hardly anyone knew about. That is a long time to hide a fairly big part of yourself away.

What we should all take from this story is that it is NEVER too late to show the world your true self. Your right to feel secure in your own skin in public does not have an expiration date. Coming out, whether to yourself or to others, isn't something that you only get to do before a certain age. Whether you are 18 or 88, you always have the right to say "This is ME and I'm gonna be happy".

If you are struggling with accepting yourself or with the idea of coming out, remember there is no deadline. You don't need to rush yourself. You have your whole lifetime to find out who you really are.  

I've included a link to an article giving more details on Pat's coming out. Even if you have no idea who he is, I highly encourage you to read the article and watch the video clip.

http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2014/06/13/wwe-legend-pat-patterson-comes-out-gay

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

-George Eliot