Gay Celebs. & the coming out question

[Thomas D]

So for the past few weeks two co-workers (Both Straight but supportive of gay rights)and I have had an on going debate about the topic of Gay celebrities. Specifically, if they have an obligation to publicly declare that they are not heterosexual.

My take: LGBT people are denied basic human rights in a large majority of the world today, And even here in the United States it's still legal in many states to fire or evict someone because of their sexual orientation. A lack of visibility can be pointed to as one of the reasons these problems persist in 2014. That taken with the fact that LGBT youth are 3 times more likely to attempt suicide begs out for those who can use their voices to make a difference to do so. But I will say I don't think people should be forced to come out. Just very strongly encouraged.

To quote Frank DeCaro: "When teenagers are no longer killing themselves because they think they're 'the only one' then you can be quiet about it. But until then you need to be F***** loud.

Their take: It's none of your business, It's a private matter. If they don't want to share that with people that's their right and you need to respect that. It's great that people like Ellen and Neil Patrick Harris have come out. But if other famous gay people want to stay in the closet that's up to them.

And so I'm handing off this exchange of Ideas to this wonderful political forum, with our barley Hetero majority. :-)

Question: Do LGBT celebrities have an obligation, to anyone, to come out publicly.

I will close with a quote from Harvey Milk that I'm sure many of you know:

"If a bullet should enter my brain, let it shatter every closet door."

[Thomas D]

Okay, 24 hours in and I'm getting buried in a landslide. Fair enough.

Let's go back in time. To February 24, 2004. The President of the United States addresses the Nation and says he supports amending the Constitution of the United States to single out gay people for discrimination 

If you're gay, and on that day you had a voice that could have brought attention to how awful that is, and you kept quiet. That to me is borderline unforgivable.

In a perfect world no one would have to come out. But we're not there yet. We will be someday. But until then, if you're a person of note, you really should come out.