I AM GAY

In preparation for National Coming Out Day, I just wanted everyone to know that I AM GAY and proud.  The coming out process is exactly that -- it is a process filled with several "coming out"s, not a specific event frozen in time.  One can come out to family in a single event, or at work or here or there.  However, I come out each time my partner and I are out in public -- he gets asked, "Is that your Dad?"  Do we change the subject or tell the truth of who we are to each other.  Each time we encounter a situation where our sexuality is either unknown or questioned, we make the conscious decision  whether or not to "come out."  I have been "out" to myself, my family, my church(s) and more for more years than I care to think about, but new opportunities to come out arise frequently if not every day.  So, today I take this opportunity to say for NCOD -- I AM GAY!