Lesbian and gay Mounties tell teens 'It Gets Better'

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/lesbian-and-gay-mounties-tell-teens-it-gets-better061112



It Gets Better video features 20 officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police telling personal stories of how they overcame prejudice and discrimination

Lesbian and gay Mounties have made a video for the It Gets Better campaign in support of teens facing homophobic bullying.

The video features 20 out and proud Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers sharing their personal stories of growing up gay and how they overcame their struggles to become 911 dispatchers, homicide investigators and anti-gang task force members.

The men and women tell their sometimes moving accounts of when they first realized they were gay, the prejudice they faced at school and how they finally came out to their family and friends.

'I was the recipient of quite a lot of bullying at school,' said Mark Greenfield in the nine minute video.

'A lot of people I went to school with said I was effeminate, I was gay and I was somehow judged for that.'

Maya, a 911 operator, said she was too scared to come out when she was still at high school.

She added: 'I was a strategic planner and I still am to this day, so I strategically plan. When high school is done that's when you can be yourself. Until then, hide it away. So I hid right 'til the day I graduated pretty much.'

The RCMP's video is the latest group message for the It Gets Better campaign, founded in 2010 by columnist Dan Savage as a response to gay teen suicide, reminding teenagers they are not alone.

US police departments in San Francisco and Austin released their own videos earlier this year, as well as US troops and American football's NFL.

In September, project co-founders Savage and Terry Miller won a special award at the Creative Arts Emmys for their It Gets Better television special.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/lesbian-and-gay-mounties-tell-teens-it-gets-better061112