HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY 2007 - 'TALK ABOUT IT'

Celebration of Coming Out and Living Openly Is Also 20th Anniversary of 1987 March on Washington, AIDS Quilt

WASHINGTON - The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, announced today that the theme for National Coming Out Day 2007 will be "Talk About It," continuing the slogan and branding that the national program has been building since 2005.

This year will also mark an important hallmark, as National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, 2007, falls on the 20th anniversary of the 1987 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, and the unfurling of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall. National Coming Out Day was celebrated a year to the day later as a way of continuing the spirit of openness, honesty and visibility that the march and the AIDS Quilt presentation inspired.

"Twenty years ago, as the AIDS crisis was raging, coming out was literally a matter of life and death," said Mark Shields, director of HRC's Coming Out Project. "In many ways, we have come a very long way in a relatively short time, and yet that lesson still resonates deeply today. Coming out and living openly is the most important thing that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight-supportive Americans can do to build lasting understanding and equality."

Today, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of Americans say they personally know or work with someone who identifies as gay or lesbian, according to Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc. In 1987, only 11 percent claimed that they associated with a "male homosexual" on a regular basis, according to ABC News and The Washington Post.

For more information on coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, please visit www.hrc.org/comingout. Additional plans for a national project celebrating National Coming Out Day this year will be announced in mid-September.

Individuals and organizations interested in ordering free Coming Out Kits, which include resource guides, balloons, posters and other materials, can do so at www.hrc.org/comingoutkits.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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