As a teenager, I used to watch Bill Clinton's State of the Union address each year. My teenage self didn't much care about health care or welfare reform. The budget battles were over my head. Yet, each year I watched intently.
Why?
Because President Clinton would always throw in a few lines about how gay people shouldn't be discriminated against. He reliably said it, even if he didn't have the votes to make it happen. Some say he was just pandering.
But you know what? It saved my life. His was the only gay affirming message I ever heard. In those days, there was nothing like the Trevor Project or It Gets Better. I didn't know anyone who was gay. I was terrified of being gay.
My media exposure to gay people consisted of the movie “Philadelphia,” Pedro Zamora on MTV’s “The Real World”, and RuPaul. AIDS and drag queens didn’t exactly make me want to burst out of the closet. There were no programs in school and no support at home. Thoughts of suicide were my constant companion.
So, it meant a lot to hear the President of the United States stand before the nation and say something good about gay people. No one in my life ever said anything good about gay people. When Bill Clinton spoke, that was the only time I heard it. With no gay role models, I clung desperately to a simple hope — if the President thought it was OK, then maybe everything would be alright.
We all walk in different shoes. The hate directed at Clinton for DOMA is far removed from my experience. To have the President of the United States speak gay affirming messages was much more powerful than many realize. Bill Clinton was the first American President to do it. I know it changed the world because it changed my life.
No one is perfect, but Bill Clinton was good. His words gave this scared kid the courage to stand up and speak my truth.
Today I am a proud gay man. I’ll be just as proud to vote for Hillary Clinton next year.