Stories of Pride: Love Calls Back

I’ve told the story before, but it bears repeating because I was one of the lucky ones, and I know it, and I remember it, every single time a person comes out.

When I said those words to my mother and father … I’m gay … I didn’t know how they’d be received. As far as I knew then, and I know differently now, there were no gay men or women in my family before me, so I didn’t know what my mom and dad would say.

Well, I knew what my mom would say, because moms always know, but it was my dad that was the unknown. And when I said those words, he said to me:

I love you very much.

Now, it took him a hot minute to get used to the idea, and we had discussions about LGBTQ rights ever since, but he chose the very best words possible for that moment and I will never forget them.

At this month’s Tony Awards, a new video from PFLAG and Verizon—entitled Love Calls Back—aired that tells the story of four LGBTQ people who came out to their family and were rejected. Only now the  straight [cisgender] family members realize that they handled the situation wrong, and it’s their turn to call their loved ones to tell them they love them:

I love that last message:

“It’s never too late to call back for love.”

LGBTQ Nation