An event in Denver Saturday is aimed at helping some Colorado youth find their community, which they say can sometimes seem invisible. The Colorado Queer Youth Summit is billed as an opportunity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) youth and friends to network, share skills and create a statewide community. The event will feature workshops on topics ranging from healthy relationships to immigration and cinema.

Andie Lyons, program manager at Denver’s Rainbow Alley, is helping to organize the event. She says the idea is to provide a safe place for youth to connect.

“They can come together, meet some other people, make those connections and realize that they’re not as isolated as they might feel.”

GLBT youth can often feel alone and not sure who to turn to for answers to a number of questions, says Lyons.

“How do I navigate this? How do I come out to my parents? How do I work in a school system? How do I meet people to be friends or to date even?”

High School Senior Kayln Bohl of Denver will be leading a workshop at the summit on gender privileges and how simple things like public restrooms are taken for granted, creating challenges for transgender Coloradans.

“A lot of trans folks don’t have those same privileges, or they’re not seen as people because they have been across the whole spectrum of gender.”

The day will be capped off with a performance by San Francisco hip-hop artist, Katastrophe, film screenings and a dance performance. The summit takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Mi Casa Resource Center on Acoma street, about three blocks south of Denver Health.

The event is sponsored by the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, the Lambda Center of Fort Collins, Youth HIV Advocacy Coalition, Boulder County OASOS, Rainbow Peaks Youth Group of Northern Colorado, and the University of Denver Center for Multicultural Excellence.

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With the large role played by the military in the Centennial State, some civil rights activists are applauding President Obama’s State of the Union pledge to work toward repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits gay soldiers, sailors, airmen and women from revealing their sexual orientation and remaining in the military.

Heather Draper, communications and marketing manager for the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, says the policy is not only discriminatory and unjust, it is also a burden on the military and taxpayers.

“American taxpayers spend more than $30 million each year to train replacements for gay troops who are discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Draper says many Americans have been directly affected by Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“It forces them either to live in the closet, or they don’t feel safe. Hopefully, the repeal of this will allow them to serve proudly and safely.”

The military forces of 24 nations, including Israel, Canada and Great Britain, have lifted their own bans on gay troops without any difficulty, she adds. Proponents of the rule say it is important for the day-to-day functioning of the military, although several officers, including a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have spoken out against the policy. A repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is expected to be included in the defense appropriations bill for the 2011 fiscal year.

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