Living in the closet

Gay rights has come a long way since I was a child during the 1960’s and 1970’s. So why when it is so widely accepted would anyone stay in the closet in 2021. Security is the biggest reason. If you are caught in a homosexual act in a Muslim country, you are either beheaded or thrown from the highest building in the city.

Why would a person in America stay in the closet in 2021? As for me, I am sixty and still haven’t come out of the closet. My closet is safe and comfortable. But why when it’s supposed to safe in America? People in my life and their remarks about homosexuality have left me uncomfortable. My landlord doesn’t believe in it. My sister doesn’t either even though I have come out to her. My son is very dead set against gay marriage so why bother? Because my mental health is being affected and I need to know that no matter what I am loved. Until then I just set in the closet afraid to say anything. Rejection is a key reason people stay in the closet.

In Denver several years back, a nine year old boy came out as gay to his classmates. The bullying was relentless, five days later the little boy hung himself. He thought it was safe to come out, his classmates told him what they thought. One little boy died as a result. What about his safety? Now a mother is without her son. People say a 9 year old boy doesn’t know he is gay at that age, I did. Why come out as gay when you…