Why This Mom Put An Ad In The Newspaper About Her Son Coming Out

#1 Gay Rights Activists Decides To Publish A Newspaper Announcement On Her Son Coming Out Nationally

A mother has taken out a newspaper ad to announce her teen aged son came out as gay. Not only that, but he absolutely looooves Barbra Streisand. The ad was published in the "Celebrations" section of the Houston Chronicle recently.

#2 Joan Wilson Is Proud Of Her Son And Wanted Houston Texas To Know It

"The parents of Drake are pleased to announce that their son has come out," the ad reads. Then it lists several of the high school senior's many achievements, including that he's a church deacon, serves as student body vice president at his school, enjoys film making, baking, "and yes, he adores Barbra Streisand."

#3 She Placed The Ad In Houston Because Of Recent Anti Gay Legislation

Though the family lives in Washington state, Drake's mother, Joan, told the Observer that she placed the ad in Houston's newspaper in response to the repeal of the city's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which voters struck down last November.

The law would have prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity plus more than a dozen other characteristics had antigay activists not successfully managed to squash it.

"I couldn't think of a better place than Houston, out of the entire country, where they needed to hear my message of pride," she said. "My announcement was my way of humanizing the issue."

Wilson expressed relief that her son lives in a state with anti-discrimination laws but is concerned about what could happen if he were to move to another place.

#34 Drake's Coming Out!

Before the announcement, Drake decided to come out nationally on his very own YouTube channel in a humorous video that has already been viewed over 10,000 time since he posted it.

#5 He Broke A Lot Of Girl's Hearts

Drake made the humorous video for YouTube when he was 16. In it, he said: "As much as the ladies will hate to hear this, I'm gay. And while I'm not proud of this because I don't like to promote society's unrealistic and unacheivable standards of beauty, I did love to play Barbies with my older sister, Gabrielle."

He then added he might be straight if "BeyoncÃ© were single."

He explains in the clip that he likes both Madonna and Lady Gaga, and loves shoes, Barbie Dolls, and most men, though not all.

#6 The Movement In Houston Enlisted The Queen Bee To Kill The Proposition

This prompted the LGBT community in Texas to take to Twitter and Instagram to try and get Lady B behind their cause to vote down the HERO proposition. When she came on board with the project, the ordinance failed. Beyonce is a Houston girl herself and was more than happy to lend her support to her fans.

#7 His Mother Joan Started SLM, Society Of Lucky Mothers Organization To Support LGBT Moms And Children

Drake came out to his mother in February 2014, prompting her to start The Society of Lucky Mothers in support of him and LGBT youths everywhere. She travels around the country talking about the way she handled her son's announcement and other issues surrounding the gay youth.

#8 He Was Inspired To Come Out After Seeing "The Normal Heart" On HBO

After watching "The Normal Heart," a TV movie about the 1980s AIDS crisis in New York, Drake decided to come out to everyone. Six months after coming out to his mom, he came out in the video and published it not knowing what would happen next. His mother took it pretty well, and published the "Coming Out" announcement in the paper.

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