In recent events in the news and on social media there have been
several discussions on gay rights and the freedom of speech. Republicans are crying that they can’t voice their opinion because
people like Miami Dolphins’ safety Don Jones tweeted “OMG”
and “Horrible” after the St. Louis Rams’ selected Michael Sam
during the seventh round of the NFL draft. The tweets have since
been deleted. He tweeted this about the kiss Sam and his boyfriend
shared after the news. He was since fined and ordered to go to sensitivity training.
So exactly where are we?
In all the years that I have been out in the gay community I’ve
covered people coming to El Paso and wanting to spread the word
about same-sex rights, the right to marry, and ending homophobia.
The word “fag” is still out there and let’s not forget that 40 percent
of homeless teens are gay. The landslide win of the mayor of El
Paso was strongly due to the fact that Rep. Steve Ortega was for
gay rights and the ballpark. Although we’ve come a long way,
we’re not even close. I do feel that gay pride is our way to say
loud and clear: “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.”
"Before I do this, thank you to all who tried to keep me up. But
hey, it didn't work. Bye.” These were the last words of Viviana
Aguire, a 14-year-old Ysleta High School freshman who committed suicide in January. It was thought she might be