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LGBTQ Police
Officers
The
presence of LGBTQ officers in law enforcement has a
history of controversy. As times have changed, police
forces have adapted by adding LGBTQ divisions, officers
and committees within their ranks to account for
legislation established by governments to protect
individuals who previously had little or no voice when
it came to laws impacting their own communities.
Diversity in service and the elimination of
discrimination across the planet is led by many
individuals, staff, associations and others within the
global police community. Inclusivity, evolution,
acceptance, intersectionality, organizational values and
career advancement lead to proud cops and growing
acceptance. Nevertheless, many LGBTQ individuals
still face significant discrimination in the police
force.
LGBTQ Police Officers Facing Discrimination
UK Firefighters Clap Back at Homophobic
Comments
Gay
Firefighter Memoir: Alarm in the Firehouse
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
Gay UK Firefighter’s Heartwarming Coming
Out Story
Best Gay Romance Novels Featuring Firemen
and Paramedics
Charmaine McGuffey: First Woman and LGBTQ Sheriff in
Ohio
New York's LGBTQ Firefighters Share Their Coming Out
Stories
What it's Like to be a Gay Cop in New Jersey
Info: LGBTQ Athletes
Openly Gay Officers in Norfolk Police Dept
International EMS and
Firefighters Pride Alliance
LGBTQ Cops: Out and Proud in Central Florida
Info: LGBTQ Soldiers, Sailors and
Pilots
LGBTQ Fire and
Rescue
One of the
most rewarding parts of working in a public safety
profession is the camaraderie available among colleagues
and co-workers. Law enforcement, the fire service, emergency medicine,
and first responders are all professions that face
life-and-death situations on a daily basis. There is a
strong bond that develops quickly through experiencing
these events together. If you are a professional in one
of these vocations who also happens to be gay, it can be
difficult to connect with colleagues especially if you
are closeted or work in an atmosphere surrounded by
homophobia.
A gay firefighter faces many challenges in the fire
station work environment. Some of these challenges are
singular to gays, but many are shared with other
individuals who are labeled as different and excluded
from the group. It may be even more difficult for a gay
male firefighter than a gay female firefighter to gain
acceptance in his workplace, but both face challenges
with obtaining benefits for partners, getting hired, and
social issues within the group.
The atmosphere of the workplace itself can be difficult
for gays and their straight coworkers. Firefighters work
24 hours shifts and have communal showers and sleeping
quarters. Tension in the workplace is one of the most
common and emotionally disturbing challenges for the gay
firefighter. Sometimes other firefighters are unwilling
to accept a gay firefighter as a colleague and equal. In
a job like firefighting, it is very important for all
members of the team to act as a cohesive unit. If
coworkers cannot work with a gay firefighter, the whole
team suffers.
Kristin Crowley: Los Angeles's First Out, First Woman
Fire Chief
Info: LGBTQ Soldiers, Sailors and
Pilots
Police Used to Raid Gay Bars, Now They March in Pride
Parades
Baltimore City Fire Department’s First LGBTQ Liaison
GOAL: Gay Officers
Action League
NYC Pride Parade Bans Police: Gay Officers Disheartened
LGBTQ Stories: New York City Fire Department
Info: LGBTQ Athletes
Let the Cops March at Pride
Coming Out From Behind the Badge
Wisconsin Police Department
Fully Embraces Transgender Officer
We all wear
the same patch. We all wear the same badge.
As a member of
Wisconsin’s 54-officer Wisconsin State Park Police
Department, Dezjorn “DJ” Gauthier became the first out
transgender officer in the state in December 2022. The
park is located in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis.
“You know, being a transgender officer, nothing is
different,” Gauthier explained. “Walking these grounds
is the same as any officer that is down here.” He spoke
during the Wisconsin State Fair, which ends August 13.
The grounds have their own police force that deploys
multiple officers daily to deal with the events on the
property instead of paying an outside security agency.
While officers can work 12-14 hours during hectic times,
such as the State Fair, Gauthier appreciates the
challenges and opportunities of working with the public.
“The folks that we encounter, right? We want to be the
face of the same folks that are here on the ground,” he
said.
Ken Pileggi, chief of the Wisconsin State Park Police,
encouraged Gauthier to become a police officer after
seeing his work as a public safety officer. “The
rookie is doing outstanding. The rookie has natural
leadership abilities,” Pileggi said. “I saw so much
potential in him that we decided — in talking with him —
we sponsored him for the Milwaukee Area Technical
College recruit academy to have him become a police
officer after the 720-hour basic academy (training).”
Gauthier says he’s proud to be on the force, and his
colleagues feel the same about him. “He’s an
integral part of that team, so we’re very lucky to have
him,” State Park Police inspector John Flannery said.
Pleggi added, “We all wear the same patch. We all wear
the same badge. He’s part of that while yet still
advancing his transgender identity and bringing a better
understanding not only just for our staff but for
fairgoers as well.”
Aside from being a positive representation as a police
officer, Gauthier hopes to show others that transgender
people exist in all areas of life. It is vital for him
for people to know that “We are here, that we do exist,
and that there are employment areas that completely
accept us with open arms,” he said.
[Source: Christopher Wiggins, Advocate, August 20223]
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
NJ Transgender Detective Makes State Law
Enforcement History
Openly Gay Officers in Norfolk Police Dept
Gay UK Firefighter’s Heartwarming Coming
Out Story
International EMS and
Firefighters Pride Alliance
LGBTQ Cops: Out and Proud in Central Florida
Let Cops March at Pride Events
What Special Challenges Are Faced by Gay
Firefighters?
Transgender Firefighter Brooke Guinan: NYC Pride Parade
Grand Marshal
LGBTQ Firefighter Anaré Holmes: Saving Lives and
Building Community
Transgender Paramedic Abused and Spit On
Fire Department Closet: Being Gay in Bunker Gear
Info: LGBTQ
Soldiers,
Sailors and Pilots
Kevin Mallison:
First Openly Gay Firefighter
Alarm in
the Firehouse: A Memoir of America’s First Openly Gay
Professional Firefighter
In the early 1980s, Kevin joined the Key West Fire
Department. His dream of being a professional
firefighter had come true. He hadn’t imagined how being
gay would threaten his fellow firefighters. Kevin became
the target of fierce and unrelenting homophobic assaults
intended to force him out of the department.
In his
newly published book,
Alarm
in the Firehouse: A Memoir of America’s First Openly Gay
Professional Firefighter, Mallison relates his
experiences. His story highlights the importance
of upholding personal values and having a sense of humor
when facing adversity.
Against a
backdrop of the emerging AIDS epidemic, Kevin relays a
narrative of conflict, resilience, and triumph over his
several years as America’s first openly gay professional
firefighter. This honest account invites the reader to
contemplate the nature of masculinity and consider what
it means to be one of America’s Bravest.
Gay
Firefighter Memoir: Alarm in the Firehouse
Responders for Pride
International EMS &
Firefighters Pride Alliance
Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters
Calendar
911 Lone Star: Racist Woman Calls Fire
Dept
Passionate Plea For and Against Police at
Pride Events
LGBTQ Firefighter Is Putting Out Fires And Stereotypes
History of LGBTQ in Policing
LGBTQ Group Is Changing NYPD From Within
Gay UK Firefighter: Nick Couch
It Still Matters
to Be Openly LGBTQ
Just
Witness Current Events...
“Why do you have to bring up the LGBTQ thing?” ...
“Marriage equality is the law of the land; now what else
do you want?” ... These kinds of comments,
which I had heard often when I first entered the race
for San Diego County Sheriff, come from non-LGBTQ and
LGBTQ individuals.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s presidential run as an openly
LGBTQ candidate and his sudden rise in some polls led to
a Time magazine cover with his husband titled “First
Family,” basically asking: Is America ready to elect an
openly gay man as US president?
In light of the social and legal progress that
transgender, lesbians, gays and bisexuals have achieved
in recent years, many tend to think that a person’s
sexual orientation no longer matters (our society is
still grappling with the gender identity movement). I
can see why some people question the necessity for
public officials, professional athletes entertainers,
etc., to say that they are LGBTQ. Aren’t we, after all,
living in a post-LGBTQ world? Except for Qatar. Does it
really matter? I think it still does.
It Still Matters to Be Openly LGBTQ
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
Gay Female Highway Patrol Officer Awarded $2.6M by Jury
Wisconsin Police Department Fully Embraces Transgender
Officer
Passionate Plea For and Against Police at
Pride Events
LGBTQ Firefighter Is Putting Out Fires And Stereotypes
Kristin Crowley: Los Angeles's First Out, First Woman
Fire Chief
History of LGBTQ in Policing
International EMS &
Firefighters Pride Alliance
LGBTQ Group Is Changing NYPD From Within
Gay UK Firefighter: Nick Couch
That’s why when I am asked about my sexual orientation
or comments are made regarding LGBTQ issues, I
unhesitatingly say that I am gay. I think that it still
matters because in addition to the questioning comments
that I have received, I’ve gotten many more emails,
phone calls and remarks from individuals, young and old,
who said that my letting them know that I am an openly
gay male gave them some inspiration for their own
personal struggle with sexual or gender identity.
I’ve had conversations with individuals who say that my
public acknowledgment of being gay in a very
conservative profession has helped them on their journey
of coming out. I’ve had several parents of gay and
transgender kids ask me how to deal with their child’s
situation. I’d like to think that my openness will
influence LGBTQ teenagers, especially those
contemplating suicide, to see that that our society is
progressing toward greater acceptance and equality, even
with today’s turbulent politics. I want to remind them
that things will get better because we and our allies
won’t forget the battles, the lives lost and the pain
suffered that has resulted in a more inclusive society.
As for my own profession, I would have to say that law
enforcement still has a way to go with its homophobia
and transphobia. I know that there are closeted law
enforcement officials today uncomfortable with coming
out at work because they believe that doing so would be
detrimental to their career. There is hope, however.
During my public service, I encountered several LGBTQ
youths who’ve told me that they’ve never considered a
career in law enforcement because they didn’t think that
they could be gay or transgender and be a police
officer. They now think differently. I hope that they
will join the ranks of law enforcement so they can help
change the culture from within.
Responders for Pride
Memphis Fire Chief: Gina Sweat
Sexy Australian
Firefighters and Their Pets
911 Lone Star: Racist Woman Calls Fire
Dept
LGBTQ Group Is Changing NYPD From Within
Gay UK Firefighter: Nick Couch
Electing qualified, principled members of our community
to public office is important because homophobia and
transphobia continue to exist in the United States.
Right here in San Diego County, we have a congressman,
Darrell Issa, who has consistently gotten an “F” rating
from the Human Rights Campaign for opposing both
marriage equality and laws that protect the LGBTQ
community from discrimination in employment and housing.
Issa has even supported constitutional amendments
banning same-sex marriage and defining marriage as
between one man and one woman. On the national front, we
had a president who had banned transgender people from
serving in the military, essentially saying that they
are divisive and a financial drain on the country.
In the 35 years that I served in law enforcement, being
gay has informed both the way in which I’ve treated my
co-workers and the way in which I have approached the
general public. Being gay has made me more resilient,
more accepting, more compassionate, more cognizant of
the worth that can be found in everyone I come across.
So yes, while being gay is not a qualification for
public office, it matters because it is a part of my
character. It matters because I want LGBTQ people to be
seen for more than just a caricature of who we are, that
we are seen as real people: mothers, fathers, sons and
daughters, students, military veterans, athletes,
workers in all fields and professions.
[Source: Dave Myers, 33-year veteran of the San Diego
County Sheriff’s Department, Times of San Diego, Nov
2022]
It Still Matters to Be Openly LGBTQ
Gay UK Firefighter’s Heartwarming Coming
Out Story
Gay
Firefighter Memoir: Alarm in the Firehouse
Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters
Calendar
Gay Female Highway Patrol Officer Awarded $2.6M by Jury
Wisconsin Police Department Fully Embraces Transgender
Officer
Passionate Plea For and Against Police at
Pride Events
LGBTQ Firefighter Is Putting Out Fires And Stereotypes
Kristin Crowley: Los Angeles's First Out, First Woman
Fire Chief
History of LGBTQ in Policing
NJ Transgender Detective Makes
State Law Enforcement History
A 36-year-old trans man in New Jersey is making history
as the state’s first out transgender law enforcement
officer.
Detective Connor Johnson, an investigator with the
Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, didn’t always want
to work in criminal justice. Since finding his calling,
he has spoken out to share his story, the Asbury Park
Pressreports. “I wasn’t the guy that grew up wanting to
be a cop,” he said. “My family didn’t have cops in the
family. I’m the first law enforcement officer in my
family.”
A former Prosecutor’s Office’s Trial Support Fugitive
Unit member, Johnson now works in the Prosecutor’s
Office’s High Tech Bureau, part of the Internet Crimes
Unit and Crime Against Children Task Force. His previous
positions included working for the Morristown Bureau of
Police, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the
Morris County public safety dispatch.
He is also a designated LGBTQ Law Enforcement Liaison,
working with peers across the county and throughout New
Jersey to educate them on a requirement in the state for
law enforcement officials to treat transgender people
with dignity and respect, according to the Asbury Park
Press. “Without the education, we can’t create
understanding. Without understanding, there’s no
acceptance,” Johnson said. “I had to educate myself on
who I was. How am I going to expect somebody who isn’t
trans to understand if they’re not educated on it as
well?”
The paper reports that Johnson has an appeal to others
in law enforcement around the country. “Just treat
transgender people with respect,” he said. “If(someone
asks you to use their name, and it’s not what is on
their license, just use their name. It’s no different
than if my name was Christopher and I asked you to call
me Chris.” He added, “And educate yourself a little bit
about how people feel about pronouns, about why it’s
important.”
[Source:
Christopher Wiggins, Advocate, February 2023]
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
Wisconsin Police Department Fully Embraces Transgender
Officer
Passionate Plea For and Against Police at
Pride Events
LGBTQ Firefighter Is Putting Out Fires And Stereotypes
Kristin Crowley: Los Angeles's First Out, First Woman
Fire Chief
History of LGBTQ in Policing
International EMS &
Firefighters Pride Alliance
LGBTQ Group Is Changing NYPD From Within
Gay UK Firefighter: Nick Couch
LGBTQ Pioneer: Charlie Cochran
I'm proud to be a New York City
police officer. I'm equally
proud to be gay.
Charles
Henry “Charlie” Cochrane Jr., a sergeant of the New York
Police Department and the first out gay person on the
force, founded the Gay Officers Action League
Charles Henry "Charlie" Cochrane, Jr. (1943-2008) was an
American law enforcement officer and sergeant with the
New York City Police Department. Following his delivery
of public testimony on anti-discrimination legislation
pending before the New York City Council, Cochrane
became the first openly gay officer of the NYPD. He
later helped to form the Gay Officers Action League
(GOAL).
Cochrane joined the New York City Police Department in
1967. For the first 10 years of his time on the
force, Cochrane kept his homosexuality a secret, known
only to a limited circle of friends. He first came out
to his patrol partner in 1977, gradually becoming less
fearful over time, until by the early 1980s he believed
that "hundreds of guys and women in the department" were
aware of his sexual orientation. Cochrane became a
member of the NYPD's Manhattan South Task Force, rising
to the rank of sergeant.
In 1981, the New York City Council announced plans to
conduct hearings leading towards a ban on discrimination
against gay citizens in the city. Cochrane believed it
important for gay residents from a wide range of
occupations to participate in the process and in the
first week of November met with a group of nine friends
and acquaintances who knew of his sexuality to discuss
possible repercussions that he might suffer in the event
that he himself gave public testimony on the matter.
Deciding to move forward with the process, Cochrane met
with his parents and came out as gay for the first time.
Police Used to Raid Gay Bars, Now They March in Pride
Parades
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
Baltimore City Fire Department’s First LGBTQ Liaison
GOAL: Gay Officers Action League
Responders for Pride
NYC Pride Parade Bans Police: Gay Officers Disheartened
LGBTQ Stories: New York City Fire Department
Let the Cops March at Pride
Coming Out From Behind the Badge
Cochrane wrote a letter to NYPD Police Commissioner
Robert J. McGuire in November 1981, informing him of his
intent to testify before the City Council on the matter,
which he did at the witness table in front of the
council five days later. In reading his prepared
statement before the council, Cochrane thereby became
the first New York City Police Department member to
publicly announce his homosexuality.
Cochrane followed Pat Burns, first vice president of the
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association to the witness stand,
having heard Burns declare that he knew of no gay New
York City police officers, and that he was opposed to
the NYPD hiring homosexuals to the force.
Cochrane dramatically contradicted Burns' assertion,
stating that he was "very proud of being a New York City
policeman" and "equally proud of being gay." Cochrane
further testified that gays were not cruel, wicked,
cursed, sick, or possessed by demons. "I've always been
gay", Cochrane declared to a slightly stunned council
chamber, which erupted after a short pause into a
raucous standing cheer from Cochrane's assembled
supporters.
A news
story that quoted journalist Andy Humm reported:
"He gets up and says, I'm proud to be a New York City
police officer. And then he says, I'm equally
proud to be gay. And the City Hall Chamber almost
fell out."
Responders for Pride
Gay UK Firefighter’s Heartwarming Coming
Out Story
Passionate Plea For and Against Police at
Pride Events
LGBTQ Firefighter Is Putting Out Fires And Stereotypes
History of LGBTQ in Policing
LGBTQ Group Is Changing NYPD From Within
Gay UK Firefighter: Nick Couch
Kristin Crowley: Los Angeles's First Out, First Woman
Fire Chief
Info: LGBTQ Soldiers, Sailors and
Pilots
Despite Cochrane's testimony, the New York City Council
defeated this 1981 anti-discrimination proposal, leaving
Cochrane largely unprotected by law to deal with any
discriminatory consequences of his action. He
found the reaction surprisingly positive, noting in an
interview by The New York Times that he had received
about 15 letters from other NYPD officers in the two
weeks after his testimony, almost all of which were
positive, and had a positive discussion with a fellow
officer who was black about stereotypes and prejudice.
Cochrane remarked at the time: "Everyone I talked to
within the department felt I probably would meet a lot
of negative response, but I could not believe the
support."
The most hurtful reaction to Cochrane was a severing of
personal relations by the officer who had originally
persuaded Cochrane to join the police force following
the public revelation of his sexuality. The dire
warnings of other officers who had offered Cochrane
advice before his testimony that by doing so he would be
committing career suicide did not come to fruition.
Cochrane died of cancer in 2008 in Pompano Beach,
Florida. He was 64 years old at the time of his death.
In June 2016, Cochrane's courageous 1981 testimony was
honored with New York City street signs marking "Charles
H. Cochrane Way", with the new signs unveiled at
Washington Place and Sixth Avenue. At the unveiling
ceremony NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill paid
tribute to Cochrane's fortitude, noting "Charlie had
come out as a gay cop during a time when gay cops were
afraid of losing their jobs and of being physically
harmed." He added that "through the efforts of Charlie,
this is now a very different New York City than it was
35 years ago and it's a very different NYPD."
Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters
Calendar
NJ Transgender Detective Makes State Law
Enforcement History
Transgender Paramedic Abused and Spit On
Let Cops March at Pride Events
Fire Department Closet: Being Gay in Bunker Gear
LGBTQ Police Officers Facing Discrimination
911 Lone Star: Racist Woman Calls Fire
Dept
Best Gay Romance Novels Featuring Firemen
and Paramedics
Charmaine McGuffey: First Woman and LGBTQ Sheriff in
Ohio
Info: LGBTQ Athletes
What Special Challenges Are Faced by Gay
Firefighters?
Transgender Firefighter Brooke Guinan: NYC Pride Parade
Grand Marshal
LGBTQ Firefighter Anaré Holmes: Saving Lives and
Building Community
New York's LGBTQ Firefighters Share Their Coming Out
Stories
What it's Like to be a Gay Cop in New Jersey
Memphis Fire Chief: Gina Sweat
Sexy Australian
Firefighters and Their Pets
Hero of Sept 11: Father Mychal Judge
Mychal
Fallon Judge (1933-2001), was a gay American Franciscan
friar and Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to
the New York City Fire Department. While serving in that
capacity he was killed, becoming one of 2977 fatalities
of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
On September 11, 2001, upon learning that the World
Trade Center had been hit by the first of two jetliners,
Judge rushed to the site. He was met by Rudolph
Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City, who asked him to
pray for the city and its victims. Judge prayed over
bodies lying on the streets, then entered the lobby of
the World Trade Center North Tower, where an emergency
command post had been organized. There he continued
offering aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured,
and the dead. Judge died when debris from the
South Tower was ejected into the lobby of the North
Tower during the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Shortly after his death, Judge's body was found and
carried out of the North Tower by four firefighters and
a policeman shortly before it collapsed at 10:28 a.m.
This act was photographed by Reuters photographer
Shannon Stapleton, and became one of the most famous
photographs taken during the attacks.
Gay
Firefighter Memoir: Alarm in the Firehouse
911 Lone Star: Racist Woman Calls Fire
Dept
Police Used to Raid Gay Bars, Now They March in Pride
Parades
LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley is LA Pride Parade Grand
Marshal
Baltimore City Fire Department’s First LGBTQ Liaison
GOAL: Gay Officers Action League
Responders for Pride
NYC Pride Parade Bans Police: Gay Officers Disheartened
LGBTQ Stories: New York City Fire Department
Let the Cops March at Pride
Coming Out From Behind the Badge
International EMS &
Firefighters Pride Alliance
Following his death, a few of Judge's friends and
associates revealed that Judge was gay. According to
Fire Department Commissioner Thomas Von Essen: "I
actually knew about his homosexuality when I was in the
Uniformed Firefighters Association. I kept the secret,
but then he told me when I became commissioner five
years ago. He and I often laughed about it, because we
knew how difficult it would have been for the other
firemen to accept it as easily as I had. I just thought
he was a phenomenal, warm, sincere man, and the fact
that he was gay just had nothing to do with anything."
Judge was a long-term member of Dignity, a Catholic
LGBTQ activist organization that advocates for change in
the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. In
1986, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith issued an encyclical, On the Pastoral Care of
Homosexual Persons, which declared homosexuality to be a
"strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral
evil." In response, many bishops, including John
Cardinal O'Connor, banned Dignity from diocesan churches
under their control. Judge then welcomed Dignity's AIDS
ministry to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, which
is under the control of the Franciscan friars, thereby
partially circumventing the cardinal's ban of Dignity.
Judge disagreed with official Catholic teaching
regarding homosexuality. Judge often asked, "Is there so
much love in the world that we can afford to
discriminate against any kind of love?"
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Let the Cops March at Pride
Gay UK Firefighter’s Heartwarming Coming
Out Story
What Special Challenges Are Faced by Gay
Firefighters?
Transgender Firefighter Brooke Guinan: NYC Pride Parade
Grand Marshal
LGBTQ Firefighter Anaré Holmes: Saving Lives and
Building Community
Fire Department Closet: Being Gay in Bunker Gear
Firehouse Forum:
LGBTQ Issues
Are there any openly gay firefighters in your
department?
--I'm sure this post will have some uneducated ignorant
responses to it, but that's okay. I've become use to
that over the years. I'm just curious if your department
has any openly gay ff's and, if so, is there or has
there been any issues come from that? I would like to
think, or at least hope, that in this day and age, with
the military (which I proudly served in) finally
realizing there is and always will be gay service
members and that they can do their jobs well, that the
fire service has evolved as well.
Yes, I am an openly gay firefighter and have been in
this business for going on 23 years. I'm a career
firefighter in a department with approx 140 personnel. I
am fortunate in that I work at a progressive department
with amazing people that have accepted me for who I am.
Yes, there are a few people in my department that may
not be totally comfortable with it, but they still treat
me with respect and I respect them. I do my job and do
it well and they know they can depend on me at any time
both at work and off work. I am happily partnered and,
contrary to popular belief, just because I am a gay male
doesn't mean I want you or that I will stare at you in
the showers. The ff's on my shift in particular know
they have nothing to worry about and never act weird in
front of me changing or anything like that. I'm guessing
that's some people's fear. My guys are a part of my life
just as I am a part of theirs. They have all met my
partner just as I have met their wives and they all
treat him with respect and have welcomed my partner as
part of their family. I'm fortunate to have good group
of intelligent, respectful, understanding, and accepting
people to work with.
So, I'm really curious as to how other openly gay
firefighters are perceived in their departments and if
there are any issues that have arisen from being open to
your coworkers. Before anyone responds that your
department doesn't have any gay ff's, I can pretty much
guarantee you that's not the case, which is why I'm
asking about "openly" gay ff's. I know I'm not the only
one in my department but I'm the only open one. I
actually feel bad for my other gay/bi coworkers that
feel they need to hide who they are, but that's not my
business. You have to handle that in your own way.
It's the 21st century and the days of discriminating,
demoralizing, or disrespecting people because of their
gender, race, sex, orientation, age, and religion is
just plain ignorant. Be safe out there and come home
alive. Much respect to all my fellow brothers and
sisters for doing what we do day in and day out!
UK Firefighters Clap Back at Homophobic
Comments
LGBTQ Police Officers Facing Discrimination
Charmaine McGuffey: First Woman and LGBTQ Sheriff in
Ohio
New York's LGBTQ Firefighters Share Their Coming Out
Stories
Let Cops March at Pride Events
NYC Pride Parade Bans Police: Gay Officers Disheartened
LGBTQ Stories: New York City Fire Department
Coming Out From Behind the Badge
What it's Like to be a Gay Cop in New Jersey
Memphis Fire Chief: Gina Sweat
Responders for Pride
Responses...
--Look seriously, who cares. The fears that some have
are built on misconceptions and are frankly stupid. I
couldn't begin to care less if you are gay, bi,
transsexual, lesbian, black, white, Hispanic, or any
other ethnicity, male, female, something in between, or
even from another planet, as long as you treat me with
respect, let me live as I choose, and when the job calls
us to duty, you are able to perform. To me it is that
simple. As long as what people do doesn't harm others, I
am a live-and-let-live type of guy.
--As long as when it comes time to get the job done,
they're right there to do what needs to be done, then
I'm fine. This just doesn't count for gays. That can go
for anyone; females, minorities, even other males for
that matter. As long as they can get the job done, I'm
fine with working with them.
--Who cares. I come from a Very Catholic and Very Irish
family. Everybody thought it was a sin when my cousin
married a black guy. It only took a few weeks for
everybody to come around and now he is just one of the
family and nobody really sees the color of his skin
anymore.
And that's the way I feel. I don't care who it is that
I'm working with, just so long as they can do the job
and act in an honorable manner.
[Source:
Firehouse Forum, Blog]
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