"Terms and Conditions"

The gay community has so many subcultures and sub-communities. My family is only in a few of them so I would like to go over a few of the terms that are going to be most helpful in understanding my blog. In order to understand a lot of my posts, it is also important to understand some of the history of the LGBT+ community within the United States.

One of the broadest things to know is that LGBTQIA stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual.

• In November of 1993, President Clinton signs a military policy directive that prohibited openly gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the military, but also prohibits the harassment of "closeted" homosexuals. The policy was known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

• In September of 1996 President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage and defining marriage as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife".

• On October 6-7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young gay man, was tied to a fence and beaten near Laramie Wyoming. It was a hate crime and his attackers left him there to die. He was eventually found by a cyclist, who initially mistakes him for a scarecrow due to the amount of damage to his body. He later dies due to his injuries sustained in the beating.

• In September of 2011 the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed ending a ban on gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

• In May of 2012, Obama becomes the first sitting US president to publicly support the freedom for LGBTQ couples to marry.

• In September of 2012, the Democratic Party becomes the first major US political party in history to publicly support same-sex marriage on a national platform at the DNC.

These are just a few pieces of the long and complicated history of LGBTQ recognition and fight for acceptance in the United States. I chose these because people will say to me "your dad had a wife and four kids so he isn't gay, he's bi". It's important to note that only my dad can decide what his identification is and he identifies as a gay man. He grew up in Georgia in the 1960's when hate crimes, such as the crimes against Matthew Shepard, happened. He told me that he was scared of the possibility of being gay because those men were beaten up and discriminated against and couldn't find jobs. So my dad refused to admit that he was gay. He was comfortable coming out in 2003, and has still faced so much discrimination. It is important to note the struggles and oppression people of the LGBT community face.