Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Supporters:

It is an immense honor to introduce myself to you as OutNebraska’s new Executive Director. As a lifelong Nebraskan, a parent, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, OutNebraska’s advocacy has been truly meaningful to me and so many of my loved ones. 

As I enter into this new role, my overarching vision is this: that the LGBTQ+ community throughout the state feels seen, supported, and empowered by OutNebraska’s work, and experiences renewed hope that Nebraska is a place that they can truly call home. 

It goes without saying that the concept of “home” can come with a lot of baggage for many LGBTQ+ people—myself included. Ideally, home is not just a physical location that provides basic shelter. Rather, it is a foundational space where people can be authentic and unguarded, where they can build and nurture meaningful connections, and where they can explore and formulate their identities. 

In my background as a housing rights attorney and educator, and as a single parent to a young child, I have thought about the concept of home a lot. What it means to truly have a safe and stable home, and how, without one, people are forced to place all of their energy into simply surviving. How truly foundational home is for human beings to flourish.

There are so many things that I have grown to love about being queer. I love our community’s resilience and strength. I love how, time and time again, we show up centering love, authenticity, and belonging, even in the face of hatred and rejection.

Throughout our state’s history—and, indeed, in this present moment—there are stark examples of prejudice and exclusion prevailing. However, there are also shining moments when communities have risen up to insist on their right to exist authentically. And, in response, some principled people in positions of power have responded, undeterred by roadblocks and backlash,  affirming that our state motto, “Equality Before the Law,” does indeed apply to everyone. 

One of the first actions that the state legislature took following Nebraska’s grant of statehood in 1867—in addition to selecting our state motto—was to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees due process and equal protection of the law to all. However, as the LGBTQ+ community knows firsthand, our state and our country have often failed to live up to those ideals. 

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Nebraska voters amended the Nebraska State Constitution to prohibit any legal recognition for same-sex partnerships. It was fifteen long years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges recognized same-sex couples’ fundamental right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment. However, many are unaware that a Nebraska federal district court judge was the first in the nation to hold that a state ban on gay marriage violated the U.S. Constitution back in 2005—a decision that was overturned on direct appeal but ultimately vindicated by Obergefell ten years later.

I share these historical anecdotes with all of you, in part, because I am a huge constitutional law nerd. But primarily, I share them because in challenging times such as these, looking to history helps remind me to take heart and continue fighting for the future I believe in—a future in which all queer and trans Nebraskans feel safe, valued, and able to thrive exactly as they are. A future where Nebraska can truly feel like home for everyone.

OutNebraska has done extraordinary work to give meaning to our state motto for queer and trans Nebraskans. I look forward to working alongside our staff, board, volunteers, donors, and community partners to continue building a Nebraska where everyone is protected and everyone belongs.

Yours in Advocacy,
Rachel Tomlinson Dick, Esq.
Executive Director, OutNebraska