Parkland Activist Cameron Kasky Comes Out: 'I Wanted to Be Straight'

Cameron Kasky, a gun control activist and survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland, Fla.'s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, came out in a letter tweeted today.

Kasky emerged as one of the most prominent survivors of the massacre, which killed 17 of his classmates. Along with other students that included out Parkland survivor X Gonzalez, Kasky helped organize the 2018 March for Our Lives gun control rally in Washington, D.C.

Kasky, now a student at New York's Columbia University, announced in his tweet that he's queer and indebted to past LGBTQ+ activists, especially those of color.

"I don't know what 'type' of queer I am, and I am finally okay with that. Bi? Maybe? I don't know, man. The journey towards self-acceptance is one I have been on for years now, but the most difficult aspect has been searching for meaning in sexual identity when there truly is none. At least not for me. I've wanted to be straight for so long. A straight guy who's done some gay stuff here and there. There's so much security in heterosexuality."

Kasky also described how being a white man has afforded him privilege that LGBTQ+ people of color don't have. The 21-year-old also acknowledged how LGBTQ+ activists of color have allowed him the life he lives today.

"My ability to proudly share who I am today only exists due to queer activists, specifically queer activists of color, giving their lives for our right to exist," he wrote.

The activist also talked about the stigma of being bisexual or demisexual, the latter of which describes sexual attraction that only corresponds with emotional attachment. Kasky described being told by white gay men that bisexuality and demisexuality are illegitimate. "Bisexual men are told they're just gay but afraid to admit it and bisexual women are told they're just straight and having a little fun. We need this to change forever."

Kasky ended his coming-out letter on a positive note.

"To those of you who are also struggling to find an identity that you find authentic, take your time. Look inwards and indulge in your beauty and light. You'll find so much to love, so much to be proud of."

Read the whole letter below: