Never before has it been so vital for LGBT Veterans to take a stance and Come
Out. With the introduction of Rep. Meehan's (D-MA) Military Readiness Enhancement Act into the House (109thC HR 1059),
America stands a chance to end sexuality based discrimination in the United States Uniformed Services. Equally vital is the
task of raising LGBT awareness within the VA system. Many of our VA clinicians have little-to-no training concerning LGBT issues.
For the sake of those who serve now, as well as those have served in the past, now is the time that we must stand united. The
time to Come Out is now. You say that your boss and your bartender already know you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,
but do they know that you are also a US Uniformed Service Veteran? Please join us for National Veterans Coming Out Day!
Read the NVCOD blog to keep track of the news, info, links and more.
If you have a LiveJournal, friend us to watch
through your own LJ!
National Veterans Coming Out Day 2005 was just the KICK-OFF for LGBT Veterans
Month - 11 October through 11 November. Yes, we know, that's 32 days, but the 11th-11th means that our "month" starts
on National Coming Out Day and goes all the way through Veterans Day - the two most important days for LGBT folks and for
veterans respectively -- and we're BOTH! This campaign is not just for 2005; it's ongoing, because ever day of every
year, there are new LGBT veterans! Go on and register or submit your bio, because there is still plenty of time to be featured
here on the site. Let Americans know that you served honorably, while sacrificing so much more.
Are you straight and negatively affected by "Don't Ask Don't Tell" -- were you in a position where you were
forced to discharge an outstanding service member solely because of their sexuality, or were you frustrated by how you saw
LGBT troops being treated? Were you wrongly accused, harassed or attacked because someone suspected you were not straight?
Tell us your story. America needs to hear how straights are also badly affected by this obsolete law.
I am still in service, can I do anything?
Do NOT endanger your career! If you feel like you can't finish your contract,
whether for harassment issues, problems living in the closet, etc. - PLEASE contact SLDN
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. They are a team of very highly skilled lawyers who focus specifically on your
needs. AVER is not a provider of legal counsel, and we cannot give you any legal advice -- for that please contact SLDN. National
Veterans Coming Out Day is an event for veterans who are no longer in service.
IF you will be out of the service prior to 11 Oct 2005, please feel free to contact us about joining in this important effort.
We are doing this not only to raise awareness about ourselves within the VA system and publicly across the nation, but equally
as important if not more so - we are standing up, raising our voices and Coming Out for those of you who cannot yet do so
- those of you who still must serve in silence.
IF you exit the service after 11 Oct 2005, don't worry,
this is not a one time event. We plan to continue this important event for years to come because we know that there will always
be new veterans, and a need for LGBT Veterans to make their presence known. Other VSO's like the VVA and KWVA are still around
decades later, still advocating for their Veterans. When the ban is lifted, AVER will not dissolve any more than those other
VSO's have dissolved.
I am just one person. What can I do?
Write to your
Representative and to your Senators. Do any of the clinicians
at your VA hospital or local CBOC have LGBT sensitivity training? Do you feel like your physician or social worker
will judge you if you Come Out, or if you are already out - do you feel judged based on your sexuality? Are you a
Trans-veteran worried about access to hormone therapy in the face of VA budget cuts? Write to all of your Congressmen,
and tell them how important it is for clinicians to be educated on issues that affect you and 1 million other veterans,
and how important it is to support funding for the VA budget. To help those who still serve in silence, if you know
that your US House Rep. is already one of the co-sponsors of HR 1059 (check our action alerts
page), please write a letter to thank them. If they are not yet a co-sponsor of HR 1059, please send them a letter
explaining in your own words why supporting this bill is so important. Whenever you contact any of your Congressmen,
be sure they know you are one of their voting constituents.
Make a donation! We are a volunteer non-profit organization
trying to stretch ourselves across a very wide but thin desk. Travel to lobby, travel to get the word out, booths
at Pride events, telephone calls all across the country, advertising for newspapers/magazines/internet, posters for
community centers and bars, etc. -- it all costs money. Any donation you can make to help fund our efforts will be
guaranteed a good home because we are a volunteer organization -- no employees, no salaries -- all work.
Become a Corporate NVCOD Sponsor! We always welcome corporate grants and
sponsorship. We know you will likely need project expense projections. Please direct corporate inquiries to the NVCOD
Committee Chair Marie Bohusch.
Make an in-kind donation! We know that not everyone
is interested in donating cash. Not everyone has the time to spend reviewing business plans and such, and we do need
a lot of things such as advertising and promotions that could fall under in-kind donations. If you would like to contribute
in this way, please contact our treasurer to find out what documentation we
require from you. Remember - in-kind donations are tax deductible!
Join AVER! There is strength in numbers. You don't
have to be a veteran to join AVER, you don't even have to be queer. All you need is $25 as an individual or $50 for
a business membership, resonance with our missions, and the wish to help us realize our goals. Amongst else, membership
in AVER includes the national newsletter 'The Forward Observer', as well as periodic discounts for events such as
our yearly Military Ball.
Get your gear on! That's right, through the next 6 months, AVER
will be adding more and more gear to our Cafepress.com store so that you can be ready to strut your stuff when October
arrives.
Have to work on 11 Oct and can't wear a bold t-shirt? Try a nice nonchalant
coffee mug that won't clash with your business casual or that classy suit.
Do you like to make a statement wherever you drive? Put an NVCOD sticker
on your bumper and give your tailgaters something worth reading!
Don't forget to gear up before October
-- not everybody reads the club rags and not every town has an LGBT newspaper. There are plenty of other veterans
who may not hear about this important effort in time if they don't see you in your gear! There are likely some veterans
for whom it takes seeing another veteran who is Out to get the courage to Come Out too. Don't let them down. Get Out
there now!
Show your Veteran Pride! Pride season is just around
the corner. Have a booth at a Pride Fest? Know that thousands of folks, and probably hundreds of Veterans will walk
past whatever you have on display? Make sure to include information about NVCOD and wear your gear as well!
You aren't representing any organizations or selling anything at a Pride event,
but you definitely plan to see and be seen? Wear an NVCOD t-shirt. Don't worry, we'll put the web address on there
for you, so if somebody asks about it right after you take a big bite of funnel cake, you can just point. There's
nothing to remember except to wear it!
You say you are not a veteran, but your partner, friend or family member is?
Don't worry, we love you just the same, AND we need your support. We need all the civilian support we can get! Coming
Out publicly is a difficult thing for many people, but if they know that they friends and/or family are around them
-- it's not such a big deal. Support the veterans you love, get the word out about NVCOD, and get involved. You are
welcome to stand by our side!
Have a website of your own? Put one of the NVCOD banners
on your site, and link it back to us! Right click and save the image below on your own server then link it back to
this page, or copy the following html code and paste it in:
<a href="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/nvcod_anim.gif"
width="468" height="60" border="0" alt="Link to National Veterans Coming Out Day
page at www.AVER.us" title="Link to National Veterans Coming Out Day page at www.AVER.us"
/></a>
<a href="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/meal_card_anim.gif" width="468" height="60" border="0"
alt="Link to National Veterans Coming Out Day page at www.AVER.us" title="Link to National
Veterans Coming Out Day page at www.AVER.us" /></a>
<a href="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/" target="_blank"><img
src="http://www.aver.us/NVCOD/nvcod_closet.gif" width="468" height="60" border="0"
alt="Link to National Veterans Coming Out Day page at www.AVER.us" title="Link to National
Veterans Coming Out Day page at www.AVER.us" /></a>
So what do I do on
National Veterans Coming Out Day?
Enlist the help of your local LGBT community center! Don't know where to
find it? Check out gaylife.about.com
or lgbtcenters.org. Nothing is so important as getting
the message to the members of the community that need to see and hear it. Depending on where you live, anywhere from
a few dozen to several thousand people walk in and out of your local LGBT community center EVERY MONTH! Get your local
center to commit to including a highlight on NVCOD during local Coming Out Day activities, and make sure that veterans
find out about this important effort well ahead of time so that they can pitch in too! Remember - gathering NON-veteran
civilian support is just as important as getting veterans Out.
Wear or carry your NVCOD gear! Nothing
gets the message around to average folks quite like seeing the same familiar faces they see everyday, but bearing
a brand new message!
Write your own editorial! Send a letter to the editor
of your local LGBT newspaper about being a queer Veteran and the importance of Veterans Coming Out, and support for
legislation to end sexuality based discrimination in the US Uniformed Services. Remember to watch those deadlines!
Check out
your local AVER chapter's activities! AVER chapters are each planning different activities for NVCOD. Contact
them and find out the where, when and what, join in, and get involved!
HELP! There's no AVER chapter near me! AVER has created
the Tom Dooley chapter to help out our members at-large. Put together a rally, or an ice cream social, or whatever
fits your community, and get your local LGBT Veterans and supporters together where people will take notice. It only
takes five veterans to form a chapter. Contact our national membership chair
and get on your way to forming the newest AVER chapter!
Wait a minute! I am already committed to other Coming Out
Day activities! That's OK too. We are well aware that many people will be involved in many projects. This event
is not being held to overshadow any other Coming Out Day events; it is to happen in tandem with all other events.
We chose Oct 11th specifically because there are so many Coming Out projects already happening, that anyone can easily
add in the fact that they are a veteran when participating elsewhere. Please don't forsake other commitments for us.
Instead, check with your coordinators to find out if they mind you wearing any NVCOD gear or AVER gear. Like we said
above, your community may already know that you are queer, but for the sake of those who have served and those who
still do -- please do not be a Closet Veteran. COME OUT!
Life is good just like it is; I don't WANT to Come Out! We still need you!
Part of military indoctrination is teaching everyone to become "Colorblind", to be Colorblind to both skin
color and sex. Many Veterans (including LGBT Veterans) exit the military and slide into their own groove, working at
their job, being happy with their life and possibly families too, minding their own business. You see it in straight
WWII Veterans, you see it in countless LGBT Veterans. That is what the military teaches will lead to success, and many
Veterans have found ongoing success in this quiet sort of neighborly life. Likewise, you are the exact Veterans that
we need to Come Out. While many of us do enjoy living actively involved and Out in large LGBT communities, society needs
to see their neighbors, friends and family who have never looked any different than themselves in a sudden new light,
even if only for one day. Feel free to slide right back into your groove on Oct 12th. When your neighbors see you
do that, they will realize that you are the same exact neighbor they have known for 20 years. Real tangible change across
the country will begin to snowball when people in towns that don't have Gay Pride parades or festivals find out that
their "OK neighbors" are different than themselves -- and still "OK neighbors." If you really
have known them for 20 years, they might just reply, "I know." If you are willing to take the risk, please
join us and Come Out -- even if it's only for one day.
