National gay rights advocate to speak Oct. 9

A leading national gay rights figure will speak at ESU October 9 on the topic of “The Joys and Fears of Coming Out of the Closet.” The presentation will take place at 7 p.m. in the Jones Lecture Hall in Visser Hall.

Reverend Steven Baines is Senior Organizer for Religious Affairs at People For the American Way where he is responsible for the organization's national engagement with and mobilization of people of faith.

Prior to his current position, he served for over two years as Executive Director for Equal Partners in Faith, a national interfaith organization committed to fighting racism, sexism and homophobia.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., Baines served as Founder and Executive Director of AFFIRM Youth, a social service agency serving and protecting sexual minorities in South Carolina.

Baines has served as both senior pastor and associate minister in Southern Baptist churches in North and South Carolina. He graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina with a degree in religious studies and later attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Baines is a national spokesperson on issues of faith and sexuality and has been featured debating leaders of the Religious Right and the so-called “ex-gay” movement on CNN, CSPAN, Court TV and numerous syndicated talk radio shows.

Building on the upcoming National Coming Out Day, this talk will address the tumultuous process of coming out.

According to Baines, while the climate in America has certainly grown in acceptance of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people, there are still real fears and anxieties when debating coming out. The process, noting that it is a process, will be explored and the consequences sometimes good and bad that ultimately result. Particular attention will be given to resources and faith communities that can aid and facilitate the process.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>