The Accidental Activist

My name's Dennis Coyle. I'm a gay man in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, DC. I was in the closet until the summer of 1998, coming out a few weeks after my 34th birthday. After a few months of enjoying being out and having too much fun, a young man named Matthew Shepard died that October in Laramie, Wyoming. Murdered for the fact that he was gay.

I realized being out wasn't enough and became active with the local gay community. Being out is great. Being active is better! I met my husband, Dave Mallory, not long after I got interested in activism and he's a big part of how I learned to use my professional skills as a web developer to make a difference.

My husband, Dave, and I live in a a great area. Arlington has a very large LGBT community and it's very easy to be Out in Arlington. Here are a few pics of me, Dave, and some of our cats. Look around the site and let me know what you think. I share my life here in the hope that it might help someone else come out, get involved, and make a difference.

Dennis

Just for fun: a video of my cat, Heinlein
(Windows WMV format, 2mb)