My Coming Out Story

Recently I have been watching and reading stories about young and well mature men and women coming out of the closet and finally accepting who they are, but what has been more alarming is the stories of young people who have their whole life a head of them taking the option of ending their life because of all the hate that seems to be about.

Now most of these stories have been coming out of the US but I have read a few that have come from our own backyard, yes down here in Australia and it just saddens me to think that this is the only way they can finally end painful suffering they have gone through because of these narrow minded people who continue to make their life a living hell through their bullying and berating tactics.

What I don't understand is how very little any government is not willing to step in and try to help end this sufferring. Yes we do have Sydney Mardi Gras this year, which aims to try and say to the whole community in a whole that we are here, we are queer and we are proud, but for me this is not the case this year because the organisers and committee of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (formerly New Mardi Gras after the collapse just a little over 10 years ago) decided to change the event name from Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival to Sydney Mardi Gras!

This to me is a bit of a slap in the face the organiser dropped what is essentially a parade and a campaign for awareness and civil rights movement for the GLBTQI community. this to me would help fuel some hate campaigners because they, in my belief, would try to drown out the support most of the community have given to the GLBTQI community for years.

I know it seems like I am ranting, in which I am about the lack of support or even recognition of these problems by governments and organisations, yet there have been some progress in certain areas to change and make same sex relationships recognised under certain laws, but it is essentially not enough. More has to be done.

The problem is what? How do we try to rectify these matters of bullying and harrasment and if anything how can we support the victim and punish the offender in a matter that would help them change their ways and if that doesn't work, how do we make sure that the offender does not make the same offense again with a new or in some case the same victim?

There are options, in which Mother Moster aka Lady Gaga has tried with President Barack Obama in trying to convince the president to introduce law for the introduction of tougher discrimination laws within the USA, but here in our own country such discrimination laws are state based legislation and if anything they either have big gaps or wholes in which victims of same sex bullying or harrasment will fall through and be let down by an undersighted problem.

The question is now, how to we change it to ensure no one falls through these gaps? Well again that is a good question as it does depend on whether state governments are willing to take the time and effort to support and make change, but this again take in most cases to much time!