I'm Doing It Again

I'm doing it again. I'm Coming Out. Coming out as a Gay Man. Today Always makes me a weepy weepy soul. I woke up this morning, blaring THE SONG and danced around while getting ready. I put on my best gay outfit, striped-chic, and even kissed my kids Good Morning! (My kids, Don Miggy and Empress, are my two gay rabbits. Today they were very annoyed that I kissed them, as they were having a rough and tumble argument over whose turn it was to top)

Anyway, today's blog wasn't supposed to be rabbit-erotica.

In the 8 years since I've come out, I've had great moments as a homosexual. I could write all the cheesy and sappy stuff about coming out, and the stories and the work, and the fear of it all, and I no doubt will do that by the end of this post. But first some good things have come of it. My favorite homosexual moments:

The Primary election of 2002 was the first race I got involved in. A woman who had been Chairman of the Democratic Party for many years, and a life long politico in New Mexico was running for Lt. Governor in the Democratic Primary. She ran against a very conservative Democrat who wasn't good on Choice or Gay issues, so of course I supported Diane Denish. She was fabulous, and has been a friend ever since.
A few days after she won the Primary Election was the Albuquerque Pride Festival, and I asked her if she was going to be in the parade. She said, "I'll be in the parade if you'll ride with me!" \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I was astonished, excited, and overjoyed, my first Gay Pride and I was going to ride in the car with the future Lt. Governor of NM!\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I showed up in a purple and white sarong, a white tank top, and purple hair and eye make-up, for the parade on that hot NM summer day. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>As Diane's husband and I were walking to the registration table to get our number for the car, we passed 3 Drag queens, the first I'd ever seen. I, in all my baby-gayness said; well at least here I'm no the freak in the crowd. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Herb Denish stopped dead in his tracks, turned around to grab my shoulders, and said sternly: "you are not a freak, you have never been a freak, and you will never be a freak. You don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise, you are a beautiful person, and god made you the way he wanted to make you, on purpose. You hold your head up high don't ever think that way about yourself again, be proud. Understood?" \n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>I swallowed hard, said yes sir, and continued walking.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Later that night it occurred to me life wasn't going to be as hard as I had always thought. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I would be successful, and happy, and I knew that to be true because of those words of encouragement from a heterosexual man, who was a successful businessman and politico in New Mexico .\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>In 2003, after the Governor and Lt. Governor had been elected, we had had a legislative session that was productive and successful; we had passed an Amendment to the Human rights Act, adding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to the legislation. \n",1]
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A few days after she won the Primary Election was the Albuquerque Pride Festival, and I asked her if she was going to be in the parade. She said, "I'll be in the parade if you'll ride with me!" I was astonished, excited, and overjoyed, my first Gay Pride and I was going to ride in the car with the future Lt. Governor of NM! I showed up in a purple and white sarong, a white tank top, and purple hair and eye make-up, for the parade on that hot NM summer day. As Diane's husband and I were walking to the registration table to get our number for the car, we passed 3 Drag queens, the first I'd ever seen. I, in all my baby-gayness said; well at least here I'm no the freak in the crowd. Herb Denish stopped dead in his tracks, turned around to grab my shoulders, and said sternly: "you are not a freak, you have never been a freak, and you will never be a freak. You don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise, you are a beautiful person, and god made you the way he wanted to make you, on purpose. You hold your head up high don't ever think that way about yourself again, be proud. Understood?"
I swallowed hard, said yes sir, and continued walking. Later that night it occurred to me life wasn't going to be as hard as I had always thought. I would be successful, and happy, and I knew that to be true because of those words of encouragement from a heterosexual man, who was a successful businessman and politico in New Mexico .


In 2003, after the Governor and Lt. Governor had been elected, we had had a legislative session that was productive and successful; we had passed an Amendment to the Human rights Act, adding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to the legislation.
\u003c/span\>It was no longer legal in New Mexico to fire someone for being queer.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>We decided to celebrate, I was a board member for the Statewide GLBT rights organization and we had a huge party. \u003cspan\> \n\u003c/span\>I dressed up as Super Woman, lasso of truth and everything, to "dispense civil rights" to all attendees.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>The civil rights came in the form of buttons that identified ourselves as gay, bi, lesbian, trans, queer, or even straight allies, the idea being that we could proudly be clear about who were without penalty. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Many members of the progressive community came to this event, including the Labor Union I had worked with previously.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>These bit, butch men all saw me in full drag, Superwoman in the flesh, and were proud of me! They loved it! I still have that picture, no you can't see it!!! \n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>These are a couple of my most memorable homosexual moments.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>I've been lucky, my parents, all four, are very supportive, my grandparents are all very supportive.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>My baby sister is defensive of me in public, and had a great time at ABQ Pride this year. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>My friends range from highly elected officials to guys at the bar and every where in between, they are all good friends. The kind who accept me because of who I am, not in spite of that fact. \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>I will be stopping many times today, throughout my day to pray. I will pray that our lives are continuously made more successful and survivable as queer people. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I will pray that that teenager, who works up the courage to come out to his parents tonight, will be received with warm hugs from him Mom, and teary "I'm proud of you" speeches from his father. \n",1]
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It was no longer legal in New Mexico to fire someone for being queer. We decided to celebrate, I was a board member for the Statewide GLBT rights organization and we had a huge party. I dressed up as Super Woman, lasso of truth and everything, to "dispense civil rights" to all attendees. The civil rights came in the form of buttons that identified ourselves as gay, bi, lesbian, trans, queer, or even straight allies, the idea being that we could proudly be clear about who were without penalty. Many members of the progressive community came to this event, including the Labor Union I had worked with previously. These bit, butch men all saw me in full drag, Superwoman in the flesh, and were proud of me! They loved it! I still have that picture, no you can't see it!!!

These are a couple of my most memorable homosexual moments.
I've been lucky, my parents, all four, are very supportive, my grandparents are all very supportive. My baby sister is defensive of me in public, and had a great time at ABQ Pride this year. My friends range from highly elected officials to guys at the bar and every where in between, they are all good friends. The kind who accept me because of who I am, not in spite of that fact.

I will be stopping many times today, throughout my day to pray. I will pray that our lives are continuously made more successful and survivable as queer people. I will pray that that teenager, who works up the courage to come out to his parents tonight, will be received with warm hugs from him Mom, and teary "I'm proud of you" speeches from his father.
\u003c/span\>I pray that those pre-teens who are wondering why they are more attracted to their dads friends than they are their moms, or are more interested in watching their old brothers friends play basketball, than actually playing with them, grow into themselves, and into the confidence to accept what that may mean. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I pray for those little girls right now who are playing ball on the playground, because they aren't afraid to get their dresses dirty and wish their moms hadn't made them wear dresses to school anyway. \n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>I pray that next year on National Coming Out Day, the GSA in Farmington is celebrating their one year anniversary. \u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>I pray that the people who accepted me with open arms, loving hearts and gentle camaraderie over the years are blessed with rewards, and that more people everyday become one of those "straight allies," those whom we need so much. \n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>So come out today! And Tomorrow! And the Next day! Be Proud, Be Bold, Be Fabulous!\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>(And Be careful, glitter in your eyes is a \u003ci\>painful\u003c/i\> thing!!!!)\n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\u003cspan\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\u003c/span\>-- \u003cbr\>Marshall Martinez\u003cbr\>(505)363-0152\u003cbr\>1617 Gold Ave SE Apt J\u003cbr\>Albuquerque, NM 87106 \n\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0]
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I pray that those pre-teens who are wondering why they are more attracted to their dads friends than they are their moms, or are more interested in watching their old brothers friends play basketball, than actually playing with them, grow into themselves, and into the confidence to accept what that may mean. I pray for those little girls right now who are playing ball on the playground, because they aren't afraid to get their dresses dirty and wish their moms hadn't made them wear dresses to school anyway. I pray that next year on National Coming Out Day, the GSA in Farmington is celebrating their one year anniversary.

I pray that the people who accepted me with open arms, loving hearts and gentle camaraderie over the years are blessed with rewards, and that more people everyday become one of those "straight allies," those whom we need so much.

So come out today! And Tomorrow! And the Next day! Be Proud, Be Bold, Be Fabulous! (And Be careful, glitter in your eyes is a painful thing!!!!)