Openly gay members of the Austin Police
Department have recorded a video for the It Gets Better campaign.
The It Gets Better Project encourages
bullied LGBT teens considering suicide to hang in there, because life
eventually gets better.
The 7-minute video opens with the
following message: “Before we put on our uniform, before we go to
work protecting the citizens of Austin, we are a part of Texas, and
we are gay.”
One by one, the officers and other
department employees discuss coming out.
“I didn't want to call myself gay
because gay meant you're broken,” a male officer says.
A female employee says she was rejected
by her family when she came out lesbian on her birthday.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo says
his immigration story allows him to identify with gay people, then
adds: “My name is Art Acevedo. I'm the chief of police here in
Austin, Texas. And believe me, it gets better.” (The video is
embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)