Pride Month is a time for the LGBT+ community to come together and celebrate themselves, but not every member of the community has the option to do that. If you know an LGBT+ person, do not tell anyone about their gender or orientation without explicit permission!

Furthermore, if someone comes out to you, always ask them if they're out to the rest of the world. It's not an invasive question to ask, and it will actually be quite appreciated.

All you have to do is ask, "Are you openly bi?"

"Do other people in your life know about your girlfriend/boyfriend?"

"Can I use your correct name and pronouns publicly, or should I deadname you in conversations with others to keep you safe?"

Don't ever make assumptions about whether or not someone is out of the closet. Someone can be openly gay at school but may be closeted at home. Someone may go by their chosen names and pronouns in everyday life, while still being closeted at work. Like I said before, always ask, and don't ever disclose someone else's status as LGBT+.

On a related note, do not ever pressure anyone into coming out! For some people, it's truly unsafe. Other people simply chose not to be out, or they want to wait for a different time in their life. Although it's good to ask someone if they're publicly out, it's bad to ask someone why or why not that's the case.

Also, if you found out that someone IS out, don't ask how other people have reacted to the news in the past. Don't ask someone if their parents are accepting of their orientation or if they've ever run into trouble on the dating scene due to being transgender.

To summarize, be careful about keeping your LGBT+ friends physically and emotionally safe. Don't worry, it's much easier than it sounds!