Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 — and who was assassinated less than a year later — is a symbol of sacrifice and inspiration for generations of LGBTQs when National Coming Out Day is commemorated each October 11.

His messages on the importance of coming out of the closet resonate today because they are still relevant. Too many closets are still padlocked shut out of fear, ignorance and the very real threat of violence, being tossed out of your parent’s house, or losing your job and lack of public accommodation if you’re gender non-conforming in many states around the country. If everyone who is LGBT came out of the closet, discrimination would have ended long ago.

Lt. Dan Choi spoke at Cal State Northridge Tuesday night for National Coming Out Day. Wow. Wow. Wow. His speech took us from the Triangle of Death in Iraq to his parents’ home in Orange County, California and back again, through his falling in love for the first time at age 27 to his split with his Southern Baptist parents; heart wrenching stories, witty asides, skillful humor and pop culture references, and more . . .

Tuesday October 11 was National Coming Out Day, and on his way to speak at Cal State University Northridge, Lt. Dan Choi stopped by Occupy LA. While he was there he ran into activist friends and when lunch arrived he jumped to help carry pans of food to the tented cafeteria. Lt. Choi was asked to do a livestream broadcast with his friend and fellow activist Arturo, and gave several spontaneous interviews.

Happy National Coming Out Day 2011. More closet doors are being kicked open each day, with more of our neighbors, work colleagues and other people in our society saying they know someone who is LGBT. If you’re Tweeting today, use the hashtag #CountMeOut. This message from the National Black Justice Coalition highlights how the religious, [...]