Starting at noon on October 5th and ending one week later on October 12th, students at colleges and high schools across the country will write messages of love and equality on sidewalks using chalk. The timing is meant to coincide with Coming Out Day, which is October 11th.The students at Drew University started a tradition of writing messages of equality and love to LGBT individuals. Jen Dugan has taken on spreading this tradition to other schools, creating the 1st Annual Nationwide You-Are-Loved Chalk Message Project.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about helping protect marriage equality has been the state by state battles. The LGBT community at large has human resources available, but many of us can’t just get on a plane and fly to Washington, Maine or California to help our brothers and sisters.

Protect Maine Equality has come up with a wonderful way for all LGBT people in the U.S. – and I suppose even abroad, to help fight against those that oppose full civil equality – virtual phone bank!

David is a 20 year old blogger and vlogger who has decided not to flee the Mormon church, but instead work to inspire change within his faith. I’ve used a lot of analogies to describe David, such as “David and Goliath” or a “Rosa Parks” figure refusing to give up his seat on the metaphoric bus. But when you pull away all the grandeur that I’ve bestowed upon him, you’re still left with a remarkable young man. In this episode, we discussed David’s life growing up in the Mormon church, his coming out while a member of the Mormon church and his questto remain in the Mormon church.

“The View From Here” conference, hosted by Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, is being held September 18 – 20, 2009 in Salt Lake City. That’s this weekend for my Utah friends that haven’t registered.

Some of the speakers and the lineup at the conference include:

- Clay Essig
- Sarah Jordan
- Joan & Bill Atkinson
- D. Michael Quinn
- (more after the jump)

Candice Metzler lost her job after deciding to transition from man to woman. Her employer was initially fine with the transition, but after clients began taking their business elsewhere after learning of Candice’s transition, the struggling company felt it had no choice but to let Candice go.

Unemployment didn’t take long to scar Candice’s life, leaving her homeless and forcing her to rely on the friends that remained in her life after her coming out.

When he took the stage, I expected him to immediately dive into a persuasive case for his cause. Instead, the audience was treated to stories from the life of a man who has become a legend in the LGBT activist movement. His opening line was “For those of you who expected Emile Hirsch, I am sorry to disappoint you. But I just want to say, I really was that hot.”

Clearly, I am talking about Cleve Jones. Friend of Harvey Milk, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and currently an organizer for the National Equality March planned for October 11th in Washington, D.C.

Even a summary of Allyson Robinson’s life and work within the LGBT community would fill a book. Allyson is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a pastor with a Masters in divinity, the Associate Director of Diversity for the Human Rights Campaign, a wife and a mother. Allyson is also transgender. In this episode of Closet Talk, we discussed Allyson’s life before coming out/transitioning and her life now.

Recently, we were asked by our friends over at Queers United to help spread the word asking folks to write to Dr. Phil and demand accurate and positive information regarding LGBT individuals. I can’t read Dr. Phil’s mind nor can I read the minds of those at Queers United, but I can read my own as well as the scientific and psychological literature on this topic. The word is that the Dr. Phil show is planning two new episodes, “Teen Experimenting With Bisexuality?” and “Struggling With Sexual Identity?”

Just because those of us who blog like to think we know everything, doesn’t mean we do – so here’s your chance to help me learn a thing or two. My guest this week on Closet Talk will be Allyson Robinson, Association Director of Diversity for HRC. We will be discussion Allyson’s transition process and I’ll be getting a lot of questions about the transcommunity answered for myself.

John Paul Sharp isn’t your average gay man – instead, he’s an extremely talented musician and writer (based upon my own experience listening to his music and reading a story he wrote). Come to think of it, maybe he is your average gay man.

His life echos that of many of us. We leave home, go to the Gay Holy Land (San Francisco) and find ourselves abusing methamphetamine and having anonymous sex.

But, John Paul made it out. He returned to college and recently showed his first play, My Big Phat Gay Musical, at the Vintage Theatre with great success, and he doesn’t plan on stopping there.