A message from Gay Games Ambassador Brian Sims:
Friends, today is National Coming Out Day 2012 and there is SO MUCH to celebrate this year.
LGBT couples in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Washington D.C., Vermont & New Hampshire celebrated some amazing weddings and couples in California, Washington & Maryland moved steps closer to having their marriages recognized.
Soldiers and officers in the U.S. Armed Forces celebrated a year serving openly and proudly! We became Brigadier Generals, we became Marines, we fought in wars, and we kissed our loved ones when we got home. And it was hot 
We had one of our greatest years in sports! Every day we saw more of our straight teammates, coaches, owners, and fans stand up and show their support and pride for us. A LOT of us competed in the Olympics, and almost half of us medaled! We joined the ranks of professional boxing (Bring it!) and this year we even saw some of our strongest allies smack around a few of our craziest opponents (THANKS Kluwe & Ayanbadejo)!
In the last year, more out LGBT people than ever before were elected to public office, all over the nation. For the first time ever, voters in Florida, Nevada, and PENNSYLVANIA voted to send openly gay or lesbian legislators to the state capitol and a few others are about to! More of us than ever before are running for Congress and one of us is even running for the U.S. Senate (GO TAMMY!). We joined town & city councils, school boards, city committees, and state & federal courts.
This year, the highest ranking political, civil, & military official, in the world’s most powerful nation, came out in support of marriage equality! In fact, this year alone the President helped us to become Federal Judges, to live freer from discrimination, in healthier relationships and safer homes and jobs than any President in history. His only competition? Everything he did last year!
Yeah, this year has been a pretty incredible year for out, proud lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people all over the world. We won Gold Medals, Golden Globes and Gold Stars. We got married and had kids. We fought bravely for our nation and we fought proudly for representation. We rocked the airways, topped the charts, and kicked some ass!
So today is National Coming Out Day and if you’re already out: Hello, Welcome & THANK YOU! We had a great year, didn’t we?!?
AND IF YOU’RE NOT OUT, I’ve got a proposition for ya (no, not that kind)…
Here it is: COME OUT TO ME! That’s it.
You see, coming out doesn’t mean coming out to everyone, everywhere, instantly. It really just means coming out to yourself and if you’re ready, coming out to just one other person. I’m happy to be that person. Shoot me an email at brian@brianksims.com and come out to me. It’ll be great, I promise!
And if I’m not the right person…please go find them because, as you can see, there’s never been a better time to come out, and there’s never been a better country to do it in.
Come on, it’s great OUT here!
Brian
