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Okay first off, I’m straight. I was born in 1979. I’m American.

Today I was looking at/reading/watching some things about Pride and the movement, I just want to say, we’ve come SO far, even in my lifetime.

I remember the aids crisis and how people were treated.

I remember when couples sued in Hawaii for same-sex marriage in 1991.

I remember when DOMA was passed.

I graduated high school in 1997. There were NO out people in my entire school.

I remember a friend when I was in Navy being surprised I knew he was gay and being worried that other people knew. I assured him nobody cared, but of course this was 1998 and he still could have got kicked out for it. (Because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell)

We’ve still got a long ways to go, but I’m glad for how far we’ve come. Two folks I knew in high school that have since come out of the closet are happily married and I’m so glad for them. Marriage equality is spreading. I think more and more young people just don’t care about anyone’s orientation and treat everyone the same.

I’m very glad that I’ve lived through this time and look forward to seeing what else comes our way.

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And I always say again to young men and women who are in that position [the closet] (And you know, I’m not for outing people, that’s not my game, it’s not what we should do). But I believe if you have a personal reason why it is and you figure it out, the moment you figure it out, you should come out of the closet. You should be proud of who you are, because the more of us who are out there shouting out loud: the easier it’s going to be to change the laws that need to be changed because they cannot deny people with voices. They can’t. And if you know someone in that position: help them. Help them. Don’t push them out of the closet, because god knows it’s not nice to be pushed out, but help them with the stuff they’re struggling with and let them know that it is okay. Because, you know, someone asked me last night … ‘Have you lost jobs or roles because of being openly gay’, and I said ‘If I have, I don’t care’. My father and mother told all us as children … no matter who you are, or what you are, or how you live your life, be the best that you can be at the job that you do because then nobody can deny you. They cannot deny you anything. So that’s what I say to kids: just always be good. Always be the best that you possibly be because then it’s harder for somebody to say ‘no’. And when they do say no, then you can go, ‘oh yeah? well fluuuhh you, i’m gonna prove you wrong and i’m gonna do it anyway.

John Barrowman, Phoenix Comicon 2014