Baltimore OUTloud - LGBT- Gay - Lesbian - Transgender - News - Maryland - Baltimore OUTloud - An Independant Voice for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community

Nobody jumps willingly into a bad situation, but when a bad situation grows on one gradually, it can become tolerable. If you put a frog in a pot of cool water, the legend says, and slowly bring it to a boil, the frog will doze off and be cooked without ever knowing what happened. My friend Kermit insists that it is only a legend.

Many of us who get to work every day on LGBT issues are used to noticing everything that is wrong and the injustices in our state. I have to remember and acknowledge when people and businesses do the right thing!

Following on the heels of Howard County (HoCo), Baltimore County (BaCo) recently passed comprehensive protections for Gender Identity and Expression. As with HoCo, Gender Rights Maryland (GRMD) played an active role, along with others, in the passage of this bill. The Baltimore County effort was substantially different due to stiff opposition and greater media attention.

“Bullying” as a political issue has gained much traction in recent years, with suicides of GLBTQ youth paving the way for a campaign to protect youth. Such a campaign is a worthy endeavor, as bullying – aggressive behavior in which the Bully, through force or coercion, habitually targets a victim, who usually has less power than the Bully or who may be otherwise “different” from the bully – harms children.

When we celebrate Jackie Robinson Day in baseball each April —the anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ star breaking the color barrier—I always wonder if a gay ballplayer would summon up the courage of the late Hall of Famer who dealt with overt racism in baseball and in the U.S. and come out. We are still waiting for a gay athlete as strong as Robinson who would be willing to endure a potential barrage of taunts from teammates, opponents and fans.