Stephen Byron asked Michelangelo Signorile:

I got your book Outing Yourself, it should come in handy, I work for PFLAG helping the young and distressed. I am told by many members of pflag that we have gained so much; but I remind them that it can be taken away so easily-- what is your opinion?? Steve byron

Michelangelo Signorile Well, it's all relative. Of course we have gained much. This movement has experienced enormous progress and we've made our case and won because of people coming out -- and being visible. But not only can rights be chipped away at, as you say -- and we've seen that with women and African-Americans -- but we have so much more to get. We've really won very little, and this is why the first chapter of "It's Not Over" is titled "Victory Blindness." We're caught up in this heady victory of marriage equality but we have no federal civil rights protections of any kind. It seems years off and will require enormous work -- not sitting back and thinking we've won.

We just saw a major issue -- Indiana and Arkansas "religious liberties" bills -- play out in the media, and while we may have own the media battle, with major figures and companies coming to our side, people lost protections. In Arkansas they quietly signed a horrendous bill stripping rights away for LGBT in localities weeks ago, and no one payed attention. And in these current bills even the "fixes" were nothing -- we have no protections. So again, people need to wake up to that.

In the book and point to how the right is organizing and show it, but I also through what we need to do, not just as a movement but individually. it requires taking various steps, empowering ourselves, not being blinded and not settling for less. The Epilogue is 7 actions people can and should take, LGBT and straight who support equality, that can get us beyond tolerance to true equality.

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