National Coming Out Day 2012

You shouldn’t need a special day to “come out” and starting living your life as you were created to be, but just in case, October 11, 2012 is your next opportunity!  The first National Coming Out Day was declared in 1988 to commemorate the October 11, 1987 LGBT civil rights march in Washington DC.

I’ve written a great deal about coming out and won’t repeat the volumes I’ve already said about the importance of sharing who you are with those who care about you and those who work with you.  It continues to be the best way of changing the minds of hearts of those homophobic people out there who simply haven’t taken the time to know and understand LGBT people.  In law enforcement, we continue to struggle, but because more officers are coming out, we are making progress.

The officers in these videos have stepped up and share their stories with the intent of giving hope to young people that “it does get better.”  I think their message is equally valuable and meaningful for closeted LGBT law enforcement personnel.

And if these videos don’t inspire you enough to make this the year you come out, I offer the stories contained in our books as even more incentive.  Both books contain stories of successful “out” LGBT members of law enforcement.  They also both contain advice about how to come out.  In honor of National Coming Out Day, I offer the set to you with a discount applicable at the time of sale for orders made through our book store this month.  Simply enter the code NCOD2012 during check out to get 20% off the total purchase price of either the softcover or hardcover book set.  I’ll sign both books and send them out to you via 3-day USPS Priority Mail Service.

Finally, we are here to support you.  If you click on Coming Out at the top of his page, you can send us a note with any question you have.  We have a team of LGBT officers who are just waiting for you.  So what are you waiting for?