New Member Introduction

Hello everyone!

I have been a long time lurker (~1 year) here, just reading posts, laughing at jokes, soaking up advice, etc. I came out about a year ago to everyone I knew. I told my dad and he took it very well. He was shocked, because I am in no way a gay stereotype. I told my aunt next so that my dad had someone to talk to about it, and I knew my aunt would be good at reinforcing a positive outlook on the situation. I told a few of my close friends next and swore them to secrecy for the following few days. I then told my sister and told her to let my mother know as well (mom was in Vegas on vacation and we weren't on speaking terms at the time). I then told a few more close friends, and released the others from their oath of secrecy. Then it just spread naturally through word of mouth (I kinda counted on it) and my whole workplace soon knew that I was gay. I re-activated my Facebook from middleschool, cleaned up my friend list, and adjusted my sexual preference section. Then all my HS friends knew as well. I have not had a SINGLE bad reaction or bashing due to my coming out, and I'm very happy that all my friends and family were open-minded and accepting. I now wear a rainbow pride bracelet and a rainbow dog tag necklace to "tag" myself in public.

I guess I should say, I first had an idea in 5th grade when I looked at my classmate and found his hairstyle "cute". This FREAKED the hell out of me. Later in 6th grade, I thought about a male friend in an erotic way, and I was surprised that I actually liked the idea. From then on, I went through all the typical stages of grief, got depressed, got over it and ignored it, and finally desired a romance to the point where I had to come out and tell the truth.

I'm mostly over all the emotions of being closeted and coming out, but I do still worry about the negative image people may see me in once they find out that I'm gay. I'm not one to be a victim, and I'm usually armed with a weapon at all times when out in public. I just dread the thought of having to defend myself against a violent homophobe. That's really the only lingering fear that still remains in my head.

I just wanted to give everyone a "Hello" and introduce myself before jumping in and posting. It's about time I joined! Lots of good info here, and I felt like a leech always lurking and not giving back. Hahaha

 

Hi and welcome!

 

Arm yourself? With what: a gun? That's alien where I live lol
Welcome anyway

 

Thanks for the welcome wishes everyone! Such nice people on here!

I love the idea of posting my coming out story. I will do so shortly. Nothing really extraordinary happened to me while coming out, but I think a positive story is much more helpful then a negative story sometimes. I found both very useful when I was gathering strength, since the happy ones encouraged me and the negative ones prepared me for what could come.

Wells: Yes sometimes a gun, but more often I carry a Glock Model 78 field and fighting knife. It is similar to the Ka-Bar knife, but the Glock 78 is used by Austrian troops, has a Glock polymer handle and has a spring steel blade which I prefer over the Ka-Bar steel. Whether or not I carry the gun (Smith & Wesson Model 10-4) or the large Glock knife, I also always have a medium sized folding pocket knife with me concealed. In my state of Arizona, open carry of a gun is legal at 18 and concealed carry is legal at 21. The Glock knife, since it is not a "pocket knife" is considered a "deadly weapon" by statute and must be open carried by people 18-21. The fighting folding knife that I always have on me no matter what, is considered by statute a "pocket knife" and may be concealed by anyone 18 or older. I don't take my weapons into stores that don't allow them, because I am a law-abiding citizen and I don't like to patronize a business that won't allow me to defend my life against a criminal. As I mentioned above, I do wear my "tags" in public, and that carries the inherent risk of being attacked. Many of my other gay friends don't like weapons of any kind, and I see to it that when they are with me they are always protected from such filth as violent homophobes. :eusa_danc I'm sure many of the members here have heard of the "Pink Pistols" and know what their mission is. They encourage the learning and using of handguns by LGBT people to discourage violent crimes and assaults against us. I very much support the cause.

Dublin Boy, just to let you know, I did list you as the one who referred me to this site. I wasn't sure if there were any rewards for doing so, but just thinking off the top of my head while registering you were the only person I could remember quickly. It always seemed to me that you started good threads, and that motivated me in a way to register since I was always tempted to reply to them. Anyway, if you get a notification stating the above, that's why!

Thanks again guys! I will be shooting on over to the other sub-section to type out an enhanced, blow-by-blow coming out story. Hopefully it will help someone else decide to love what's inside and live like they were meant to be.