State senator who fought Arizona bill comes out

Nice story here about Ariz. state Sen. Steve Gallardo, who decided that after the recent debate in Arizona he should come out publicly. Gallardo, a Phoenix Democrat, is running for a U.S. House seat, and he's relatively young, 45. So who knows, he could be someone to watch out for as a national gay political leader.

We've discussed many times how important it is for public figures to come out to provide positive role models for gay youth. I would say that goes double for people of color. So way to go, Sen. Gallardo!

http://news.yahoo.com/state-senator-fought-recent … ction.html
By BearinFW | 03/05/2014 10:39 PM | 3 comments
Comments are disabled for this blog post.
  • Hey Art. "People of color" is just a catch-all term for people who aren't white. Gallardo is Latino. I mean that it's especially important for there to be black and Hispanic gay role models, as for the most part, in the minds of minority communities, gay = white.
    BearinFW 03/06/2014 07:04 PM
  • Coming out has a positive impact on society and in particular on young people who are experiencing confusion over their sexual preference. I'm not sure that color has much to do with it other than the fact that the African-American community and the Catholic Hispanic community in the United States have held strong anti-gay opinions in the past. I think this intolerance is probably changing just as it is in the population at large.
    rjzip 03/06/2014 10:54 AM
  • ''People of color'' - me be I'm far far away, maybe I'm simply unaware, but one day someone should try to explain this 'color' issue I've so many times read about in dd. Looking at the picture I even couldn't tell what color he is supposed to be (not that this matters as I see it), but as 'latinos' are considered a different race (I learned in school there is no such (scientific) thing as human races), one might expect a different color (I AM a botanist, of course);
    back to our common fight: it is indeed always good to have lots of public figures that provide positive role models, and as times can march backwards, too (look at Spain now and the intended new laws on abortion act), it is of immense importance to have as much gay and out politicians as there can. Next generations should always have more oportunities! The rights must be secured ... you can't take them for granted.

    (After reading this again, don't get me wrong please, bearinfw, this is really a question I have, it's not intended against you or anyone in dd, ok?)
    art4you 03/06/2014 09:09 AM