Are there any gay nurses here?

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After this weekend's terrible act of violence against our community in Orlando Fl, it would be nice to open a dialogue for support and discussion. Feeling a little fragile today for the loss of our brothers and sisters and surprised to see no reference to it on this board today.

Ok, didn't really mean to sound quite as dumb as I apparently did. Yes, I know I can donate blood or money. It's more of a bigger picture thing.

I didn't think you sounded quite dumb. and trust me, I've been reading quite a few of those threads/posts on this site lately.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
All of the victims have been identified, and Yahoo has a small vignette of them. I cried reading through them.

Victim vignettes: All full of life, now remembered in death

I can't go through them...I'll be triggered. :no:

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
I completely disagree with that post. It should not have been made about nurses.

Seeing as one of the victims was a nursing student, I fail to see why not.

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Seeing as one of the victims was a nursing student, I fail to see why not.

They were saying they didn't think the Stanford thread should have involved the fact that the perpetrator's mother was a nurse. It was mentioned in the OP, I think, but barely discussed.

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Specializes in kids.
I completely disagree with that post. It should not have been made about nurses.

In another thread, the issue was raised that mom is a nurse who specializes in GYN surgery...and SHE wrote a letter pleading for leniency...so,IMHO it is about nursing albeit in a round about way.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.
They were saying they didn't think the Stanford thread should have involved the fact that the perpetrator's mother was a nurse. It was mentioned in the OP, I think, but barely discussed.

Sorry, I got confused. I thought she meant THIS post not the Stanford one.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

It took me well over 30 years to realize that I fall somewhere in the B section of LGBT+. I'm married to a guy and am probably married for life unless something drastic happens, so I 'pass', I'm de facto straight. There is only so much fear I feel justified in having for myself, because I am not 'out' to many people. No need to kick the hornet's nest in my red state when I'm not leaving my partner. But I fear very much for my adolescent son, who is pretty sure he is not heterosexual.

I'm numb. I'm so busy I haven't had time to grieve these lives, but they are always on my mind. This is a stark reminder that there is no safe place where queer people can be 100% themselves, that there is always a need to look over a shoulder.

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So did I ! (I also thought it was about this post, and not the Stanford post.)

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Specializes in Cath/EP lab, CCU, Cardiac stepdown.

I have to say that when I found out about what happened in Orlando, I was very sad. Sad for the lives lost but also sad at the state of the world in which I live in. It just astounds me, angers me to tears, and saddens me that how i live my life and how other people their lives are grounds for someone to run them down and tear apart everything and everyone in their lives too.

How can someone trying to live their most authentic self inspire so much hatred and disdain to do something like this. As a nurse, I see people die and it makes sense to me. They're sick, and sometimes we just can't save them all, but this? Does their existence mandate a death sentence to some? How can that be and what kind of society do we live in that has this kind of issue?

And what kind of person is not outraged by this behavior? And if they are outraged, then why do the lgbtq community continue to face such strong opposition. If this tragedy doesn't wake people up to the persecution that is oh so real still, then what will it take?

Sometimes it makes me wonder, is love really winning? Is love really stronger? In this divisive country, this divisive world, how many more tragedies do we need to have?

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I am a gay nurse who attends gay bars every weekend I am off work I am a little bit scared now. Because there are a lot of people out there who might want to copy the Orlando attacker. I know that this is what terrorists probably want to make us feel scared, and I don't want to let them win but still a little scared. It is very sad really. We LGBT community need to stick together and watch each others back!

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I am in a similar situation. I didn't understand my own feelings and realize that I am bisexual until after I started dating the man I am now married to. I often struggle with whether or should be fully out. It is not something I hide, but also not something I discuss much.

I live in Canada where the LGBTQ community is more widely accepted than in the US. I have a dear friend who is grateful every day that her spouse was able to move here from Oklahoma, where she was regularly afraid for her safety. That being said our society is not fully accepting of anyone who is "different". We need more love and full acceptance of everyone!

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Ok, didn't really mean to sound quite as dumb as I apparently did. Yes, I know I can donate blood or money. It's more of a bigger picture thing.

You didn't sound dumb, just confused, as we all are.

I think the most important thing for all of us to do is actively promote understanding and acceptance. There are times when people who don't mean any harm will say something disrespectful, as a result of ignorance, not malice. This happened a few years ago with my mom. She told me she couldn't understand why a gay couple would want to get married. I was floored, my mom had taught me to be accepting of everyone; I could believe what I was hearing. I asked her what she didn't understand. Her response was that it didn't make sense because the only reason she could of to get married was if you wanted kids, and gay couples can't have kids. I still have a hard time understanding how someone who is kind hearted would be so narrow-minded. We talked about how not all people want kids, that all couples have multiple options to be parents and that anyone who is in love should be able to get married if they wanted to.

Never ignore "innocent" ignorant comments, that is the power of an ally.

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