Why YOU Should Come Out

Friday, June 5, 2009 5:03pm

So here's something I hope you guys will find interesting!


A poll released today by Gallup found that those who know someone gay are more likely to support same-sex marriage, while those who don't know anyone gay or lesbian overwhelming oppose gay marriage.

"While 57% of Americans oppose legalizing gay marriage, Americans who personally know someone who is gay or lesbian are almost evenly divided on the matter, with 49% in favor and 47% opposed. Among those who do not personally know anyone who is gay, 72% oppose legalized gay marriage while just 27% favor it."


Overall, only 58% of those polled say they have a friend, relative or co-worker who personally told them they are gay. If those 42% of Americans who THINK they don't know anyone gay, realize they DO, imagine the positive impact this would have, not just on gay marriage, but on the welfare of gays and lesbians in general:

"Of those who say they personally know someone who is gay or lesbian, 88% say they are comfortable around these individuals, compared to 64% of those who do not personally know someone who is gay or lesbian."

Post by Caitlin

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Gabby's Corner

Thursday, February 25, 2009 9:02am

We’ve been taking some beatings lately. We always do, but reading the headlines has been especially hard lately. This month:

• A senator publicly called us the biggest threat to homeland security.
• An Australian priest was dismissed for blessing 10 gay/lesbian unions in his extremely long career—oh yeah, and he was letting women take the pulpit.
• A bishop in Pennsylvania wants to close down Misericordia University’s Multicultural office because they had a gay rights advocate come speak to the students.
• North Carolina is attempting to put a ban on gay marriage up for popular vote—remember how that went in California?
• A Republican in Colorado lumped us in with murders and adulterers and said that if we don’t legalize their sin we can’t legalize ours.

And that’s not even the half of it. It seems like every time I turn on the news or look at my homepage, I see another loss that we’re suffering. I’ve been looking for some solace, and I found it somewhere I didn’t expect it: The Oscars.
Many of you will probably think that it’s silly of me to take any sort of comfort when watching a group that is completely out of touch with the rest of America, but I did. Amiss, all the recent hate speak and attempted encroachments on our unalienable human rights, the powers that be sent me two major victories in the form of Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn.

Their speeches touched me and gave me a hope that I have longed for. Perhaps, it is because they are living the dream—I want to stand right where they did and have the courage to say the things that they’ve said—but maybe it was the honesty of the things they’ve said.

Of course, not everyone will agree with me. India censored any mention of Black being gay from their broadcast. My father dismissed Sean Penn because of his wild past and made a crude joke about him being a method actor. A columnist for The Boston Herald called Dustin Lance Black “a pathetic martyr”—he obviously never grew up in an oppressive environment. A guy I went to high school with—he’s a truly great actor—decided that Milk could not be a story worth telling because San Francisco is such a liberal place and his position wasn’t essential enough to the country’s government. Nevertheless, I was filled with pride on Sunday night, and I am still moved by the beautiful things that were said.

Post by Gabby

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About PRIDE

PRIDE was established on campus in 1986 as the Gay and Lesbian Association to meet the needs of the LGBTIQA community. PRIDE is a UNCW student organization dedicated to the recognition of students, faculty, and staff who have individual and unique personalities and would like to discuss current social issues. We primarily deal with issues concerning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and allied (LGBTIQA) communities.

For our community members who identify as such, we are an open safe-haven, resource center, and activist organization. And we really like to talk!

We whole-heartedly believe in the power of words. And while all of our members are not as outspoken as others, we encourage the presence of all members at events so that we may all learn something from others.