Coming Out From Behind The Badge is an organization and collection of books written by author Greg Miraglia about “coming out” as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or EMS professional who happens to be gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender. We are here to support public safety professionals who are struggling with how to come out as well as those who are already out on the job. Our goal is to create an awareness of the many LGBT professionals currently working in public safety professions and how they have been successful at coming out and enjoying a successful career serving communities throughout the United States. While it is true that homophobia continues to be pervasive in many public safety organizations, conditions in these professions are changing for the better as more of these talented professionals come out at work. Signed copies of both books are available from our online bookstore.
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Coming Out From Behind The Badge is Greg Miraglia’s first book published in October 2007 and features his own coming out story after working in law enforcement for 25 years. “All of the books I read prior to writing this one about police officers coming out on the job prior to writing this book told stories of tragedy and despair. I wanted to show examples of how law enforcement officers could come out and still be successful on the job.” said Greg Miraglia. In addition to the stories told by police officers from around the United States, this book includes advice about how to come out as well as guidance for law enforcement leaders about how to create an accepting work place for LGBT employees. Learn More |
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American Heroes Coming Out From Behind The Badge is Greg Miraglia’s second book. Published in December 2010, this book contains more stories from police officers and includes, for the first time, stories from firefighters and EMS professionals who have come out as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender. While all of the stories are unique, they share many of the same themes of wanting to be accepted, a fear being rejected and outcast by colleagues, and the passion for public service work. Author Greg Miraglia updates his own story and provides more guidance for coming out and how to grow from feeling shame to having pride in being an out member of the LGBT community. These rarely published coming out stories of real police officers are intended to inspire the thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS professionals who are still in the closet and who are searching for the courage to come out. Learn More |
These books are perfect if you are:
· A gay or lesbian in law enforcement and thinking about coming out.
· An out gay or lesbian in law enforcement.
· A friend of someone in law enforcement who is gay and struggling.
· An ally who wants to learn more about how to be supportive.
· A law enforcement leader interested in creating a good place to work.
· A law enforcement psychologist who wants to better understand.
· A young gay or lesbian person who is thinking about a law enforcement career.
· Someone who wants a look inside a secretive and unknown part of law enforcement.
What People Are Saying
“Coming Out From Behind The Badge” is a fine record of quality Police by police that happen to be Gay! I know many in my Australian State that have earlier, suffered criticism, even physical attacks from straight Officers, simply because they were known to be gay, yet those gay Officers continued to preform their duty as sworn professional police officers, with the same pride as those Officers not gay. Please do read this fine publication to understand more about those that protect – you! – Robert Bryant
“This book is a MUST READ for anyone in law enforcement, especially if you are a supervisor or administrator for your department. This work is an insight into what it’s like to be a gay cop from those who have had to live in the closet and come out on the job. The book also has several chapters on what to do if you are a leader in your department and are concerned with how your gay officers are balancing their personal life and work life together. As far as how this work is put together: I found it so easy to read that I couldn’t put it down. If you are a gay person who wants to become an officer, you need to read this one!” – Thomas Bell
“This is an excellent book to read for inspirational stories about being out on the job in law enforcement. While you can’t help but notice this profession is behind the times when it comes to dealing with homosexuality, it’s wonderful to read these stories of men who are out and having successful careers in the police force. It’s great to see these stories coming from various parts of our nation, not just from the more progressive metropolitan cities. Greg Miraglia does a fine job in accumulating these various stories and allowing each writer to keep his voice. While his own story is one of the more polished pieces, the strength of this book is not the actual writing itself, but in the positive stories that are told. A must read for those wanting to gain a better insight into the law enforcement profession.” – Tony Pennacchio
“The author does a great job capturing the thoughts and feelings of LGBT professionals in the workplace. In a tight knit brother/sister hood of civil service, it can be challenging for people to come out of the closet for fear of rejection, termination, and even physical harm. This book is a great read for gay or straight civil service workers. Understanding one another is how a great workplace is maintained.” – Alex
“It takes a tremendous amount of courage for a person to come out of the closet. Now imagine being in a career which greatly frowns upon real or perceived weakness such as being gay. To come out in an environment such as this is all that much more difficult. This book provides us with an insight into what it is like to do just that, to come out in a macho, alpha male environment generally considered homophobic. If you find yourself in one of these situations and are in the closet, the stories in this book will hopefully help you to find the courage to come out. You will find yourself laughing as well as crying as you read these tales. Most of all, you will find you are not alone and all those fears you have are shared by others like you. If you are straight, this book will give you a great insight into some of the feelings a gay person has. It will open your eyes to the constant fear and isolation a person feels while in the closet and how sometimes the smallest comment can be devastating to a person in the closet. This book should be required reading for all police, fire, and EMS personnel as well as anyone with a loved one whom they know is gay or they may suspect is gay.” – Brett
Thoughts About Being “Out” On The Job
“The best law enforcement work is done by people for people. We are a profession of people and to that end we share many common human attributes including our sexuality. The variety of sexual orientation found in men and women transcends all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and countries. It also transcends every law enforcement agency serving and protecting every community. It is not a choice, but rather a part of how we were created. Although it can be masked, it cannot ever be changed. It is a part of every human being who carries a badge.”
Greg Miraglia, M.A. Ed.
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