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Dear Friend,
You may have heard of my Aunt Vicky. A year ago, she made national news for breaking down into tears on the congressional floor, begging her fellow representatives to oppose the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill aimed at protecting same-sex and interracial marriages.
But I know how to make news too. Thanks to the GLAAD Media Institute and support from people like you, I was able to publicly call out my aunt and fight for my rights — our rights — on national TV.
I know better than most that the hatred against our community largely stems from misinformation — from vilifying queer people rather than getting to know us. That's why I hope you know about GLAAD's $50,000 match. Here's an opportunity to shut down misinformation and hatred with twice the impact.
My parents sent me to conversion therapy, forced me to attend an anti-gay university, and even hired an exorcist to try and “ungay” me, but they never tried to really know me. And despite their efforts, I'm still gay and always will be.
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Working with GLAAD has helped me recognize my power, and the power of the words that we use. Every day, we're inundated with misinformation that is being used to target, harass, and characterize queer people as a threat to society.
And when anti-LGBTQ voices are the only thing we hear, lies become truth and hatred becomes an inevitability.
I'm proud to be able to use my words to fight back against theirs. So many of my peers don't know what to make of the hatred they're hearing, and I'm proud to be able to speak directly to them whether it's on the news, on Tik Tok, or here, right now. Most importantly, I'm proud to be me.
You're part of GLAAD's community because, like me, you believe in the power of visibility. Of speaking up… of truth. So I hope you'll do something powerful this holiday season by doubling your support for all of GLAAD's work: from advocacy to ensuring accurate representation in the media.
Double down with GLAAD today and we'll win this fight together.
Thank you,
Andrew Hartzler (he/him)
GLAAD Media Institute Alum
P.S. While it was hard to speak up, it was impossible to stay silent. I knew that if I let the homophobia from my upbringing hold me back, I would be giving it my power. And I knew that I couldn't let that happen, so I reclaimed my power with GLAAD's help. Will you help more people like me find theirs?
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All gifts will be matched up to $50K and will be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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