It's not only okay to be gay... It can be great to be gay!

No matter where on earth you live, no matter your race, your religion, your gender, your age, it is always okay to be gay. In fact it is much more than okay to be gay, it's often great to be gay.

This web site is my gift to everyone on the planet. It was created on the 10th anniversary of my own coming out, and at the dawn of this new Millennium.

My goal is to share with gay and straight people everywhere that it is always always, always okay to be gay. "The Truth About Gay People" is a book in progress. Every now and then I'll post another chapter. The goal is to help move the world from false and harmful beliefs to the liberating freedom of truth.


Here's the book's introduction - enjoy!


The day I heard one of the most powerful politicians in the country equate Gay and Lesbian Americans, to kleptomaniacs and alcoholics, I knew it was time for a book like this. I asked myself how someone who is well educated, aware of current events and who makes decisions that effects the lives of millions of people could be so ignorant about gay people. Then I realized that he was not alone. That there are thousands if not millions of people in this world who carry around a set of out dated ill formed beliefs and who if given the chance could come to see the truth.


There is a yearning for the truth. I have found my straight friends and coworkers fascinated and hanging on my every word when I dare to share my truth about being gay. They ask questions out of ignorance that to many a gay person seem silly. But they are the questions so many Americans are afraid to ask.


This book answers all the questions, the silly and the serious. If you are trying to understand someone who is gay this book will help. If you just want to know the truth about gay people here it is. If you fear you are gay, odds are you are gay and there's plenty in this book to help you come to terms with who you've always been. If your son or daughter told you they were gay then handed you this book, welcome to the club. Know that you are not alone. No one book can change the course of history or make the world a perfect place, but the truth is a powerful thing. When we start speaking the truth about gay people magical things can happen and the history of hate and shame can begin to change.


Before you read any further give yourself a pat on the back for having read this far and for being willing to hear the truth. Thank you for opening your mind as you open this book.

- Rick Reynolds, CCHT

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Gay People Don't Have Families.

"How can gay people respect family values, they don't have families?" If gay people don't have families then how did they come to exist? Are all gay people orphans? Most gay people come from traditional straight families.

Some traditional straight families abandon their gay children when the gay child comes out. Some gay people abandon their families when they come out. All this abandonment is born out of fear. The straight parents who can't come to terms with their child's homosexuality fears what they can't understand. The gay child who never comes out to his or her family fears how their parents might react and would rather abandon their parents then risk being abandoned.

But the truth is gay people don't change when you find out they are gay. Your gay son or daughter is the same person they have always been; you now just know for sure what you've probably always suspected. Many parents have been able to get over their own feelings of guilt, shame and homophobia to accept and even celebrate their gay children. Many gay and lesbian people have loving and supportive families. They are active members of the extended family helping raise children, support aging parents, and brighten every ones lives with their courage to be honest about who they really are.

Gay people also make families of their own. Many lesbians and gay men discover their sexual orientation after first attempting straight relationships that bring children into their lives. Many gay couples choose to have children, or adopt them. Some gay male couples pair up with lesbian couples to parent children and form families. The concept of family is as dear and special to gay people as it is to straight people. Gay families may look different but they can have all the love, and mutual support found in any straight family. They are also capable of all the same dysfunction found in any heterosexual family.

Gay people sometimes create families with people who are not blood relations. Gay couples sometimes choose to play parental roles in the lives of younger gay people. Lesbians and gay men are capable of friendships that are closer than many siblings are. Gay people, some of them rejected by their family of origin are capable of making their own extended family of friends who are friends for life.

Gay families don't always look like straight families but they exist. The new belief should you choose to accept it is:

Gay people have families.

2 comments:

daniel said...

Thanks for the posts. I am struggling with my children making thier own choices. They dont like it that I am gay and are not surrounded by people that support diversity. My daughter does not want me at her wedding when she has one, her boy friend has said that he would never visit again if i did actually find a partner, my son thinks its a phase i am going through. single and alone after raising my kids - i am left with very few bright points in my life.

Rick Reynolds, CCHT said...

Sometimes it just takes time. I've been shocked by how quickly views are changing in my part of the world. A new poll of the most conservative Americans found 47% willing to vote for a gay man as President of the United States. That was unthinkable not too long ago.

Keep the flow of unconditional love going to your children. They don't understand their own ignorance. Allow time for them to see your truth and really understand that your being honest about your sexual orientation doesn't change who you really are and the father you've always been.

May there be more and more bright spots in your life each and every day.