What do you have in common with a decorated fighter pilot who spent six years in a Prisoner of War camp in Vietnam? More than you might think, Charlie Plumb would say.

A Wednesday interview with Plumb revealed a man with the same essential doubts and worries as any of us. And it was through taking risks, including telling his story the first time, that he was able to understand the choices facing him and how to take control of his own life.

Though a lot of what defines a member of the LGBTQ community is who they love, marriage isn’t the only issue of importance. There are many rights and protections that have not yet been granted to the sexual minority, things as basic as protection from being fired from a job or denied housing.

This year, Juneau Rep. Beth Kerttula introduced HB 139, which would expand human rights protections to include sexuality and gender identity and expression.

“Pre-contact, I’ve been told a lot that there were much different ideas about sexuality before Europeans came, and I mean, we’ve been thoroughly Christianized and thoroughly assimilated,” Ricky Tagaban said in a conversation touching on his Alaska Native heritage.

LGBTQ in the capital - Part I

“An average straight person assumes someone they’re looking at is straight,” Marguerite Lauri Crawford of Juneau said. “Unless you know me, it would be easy for the average person to assume that I’m straight, because I think that’s what the assumption is for the average person.”

In Juneau and around the world, straight may be the societal norm, but there are people who represent an entire spectrum of sexuality and gender identity.