An Inconvenient Youth

I'm smiling now. I smile every day when I think about the shifting political trends in this country toward GLBT equality.

With each passing poll (and there are more and more each year) attitudes toward marriage equality, gays in the military and even adoption keep improving. Several factors continue to be strong markers; religiosity, education and age. Of course it is not that simple, but I want to brag for a moment, that youth (the voters of tomorrow) are on our side.

I am only thirty-one years old, but when I came out at seventeen in 1994 things were very different than they are today. And just five years before that, things were very different than in 1994. Youth are coming out in record numbers. They are coming out sooner. They are coming out bigger. And they are coming out in ways that weren't even possible when I was in high school.

Above all, youth are coming out in a climate that is more ready for them, than any other generation before. We know that a combination of cultural awareness, visibility and access to the internet have all been factors. But something more is happening. There is an organic and beautiful force at work that is helping more workplaces, classrooms and houses of worship treat the issue of GLBT inclusion as a no brainer. I really feel we have hit the tipping point.

I am under no illusion that things are just fine, or that anti-GLBT discrimination, bullying, violence, or defamation is not occuring every day in America. But every day that we survive the experience of the world, our movement advances, and young people are among the group that is advancing the fastest.

The coolest thing about this is that it pisses off the religious right. They have been terrified for years that this would happen. They put every roadblock in place to ensure that it didn't occur...and they failed. There is no way they can put the toothpaste back in the tube now. Older voters are being replaced by younger voters and those voters overwhelmingly support GLBT equality.

Christian conservatives have worked hard to support youth movements like Campus Crusade for Christ and Battlecry but they cannot undo what has been created by a steadfast and tenacious GLBT movement. We are reaping the benefits of decades of work.

But we are not in the clear. We must continue to support GLBT youth serving organizations and protect questionning youth from predatory extremists who are more interested in fear than they are in the truth.

Let's keep up the good work.