When Eric Gonzaba came out as gay in the 2000s, his family and friends were accepting. He was grateful for the support, but it was still an isolating experience being a queer teen in a small rural town. “I always thought that I was alone, being the only gay person in Harrison county, Indiana,” he said. So he was nervous the first time he wore a rainbow flag T-shirt around his college campus at Indiana University. He still remembers how it felt.
“It was a symbol that I was comfortable being myself,” Gonzaba said.
