Newsletter Subject
Coming Out Day
From
jonhoadley.com
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info@jonhoadley.com
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Sun, Oct 11, 2020 04:33 PM
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--------------------------------------------------------------- Hey there, I was a gay kid growing u
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Hey there,
I was a gay kid growing up in South Dakota who said the words, “I’m gay” for the first time while riding my dad’s John Deere so no one would hear me. 13-year-old me back in 1996 couldn’t dream of a world where our lives and our love would be part of the American conversation.
Coming out to others happened in stages. A crush on a guy from the tennis team turning into my first boyfriend. My first boyfriend turned into a question from my sister while she was brushing her teeth, “Are you dating a guy on the tennis team?” “Yes. Pass the toothpaste.” A conversation with my mother at the start of my senior year of high school turned into a life with parents, siblings, partners, and friends who love me.
But it’s hard to be what you can’t see.
I got my start in public service advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, working on a grassroots movement to make marriage equality the law of the land (before it was cool).
When I first ran for State Representative in Michigan, it seemed I was too young, too gay, and too “not from here” to be the State Representative for Kalamazoo, MI. I don’t remember who told me it initially, but it morphed into the story I started telling myself.
Sometimes it felt like I was right back to riding that lawnmower in South Dakota.
Our community is far from the days of living in the shadows, but to fully take our place in the sun means bringing visibility and evolution to the complexities of our lives.
Today, I’m the Democratic nominee for Congress in a district where a Democrat hasn’t held the seat in over three decades.
Running for this seat seemed like a moonshot, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. And now, we’re winning this race.
We currently have Supreme Court justices and a Republican Party calling for equality back on the chopping block once again. This campaign is historic in and of itself, but putting leaders who look like ourselves in office is how we make true progress.
On this Coming Out Day, I’m writing as someone who’s come a long way since that day on my dad’s John Deere in 1996. This year, I have the opportunity to make history as the first ever LGBTQ+ Member of Congress from Michigan, though it certainly hasn’t been easy.
The homophobia and vitriol we’ve seen lobbied against our campaign as we’ve become more and more competitive only makes me more grounded in my commitment to serve as a leadership example for other LGBTQ+ folks. It’s hard to be what you can’t see -- this path hasn’t been easy, but it’s certainly been worth it.
We’re right on the edge of making history this November, but I know that regardless I am going to continue to stand with my LGBTQ+ siblings in the fight for equality and justice.
Happy Coming Out Day.
Together we can win,
Jon Hoadley
Jon Hoadley is a three-term Michigan state representative and a lifetime advocate for change. He's running for Congress in Michigan's 6th District to bring people and community back to the center of our decision-making in Washington. Can you make a grassroots donation to help flip this battleground district?
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