Despite his continuing homosexuality, Raymond Mens still dares to go to the United States. “My experience is that gays in the US are being accepted more and more.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the travel advice for LGBTI people who want to travel to the United States amended And that leads to some controversy. According to EenVandaag More and more people about a trip to America and Jaap Jongbloed has that feeling too, he recently said in the talk show of Beau van Erven Dorens.
Raymond is going
What about Raymond Mens? Does he still dare to go to the US? “In the last few days you regularly ask me, also for the podcast, whether I still enjoy going to the US trip, given the warning from the government earlier this week. I will continue to go there anyway, because because that is so handy for my work. Apart from that, my answer is ‘yes’,” he says.
He continues on X: “First: from the government there is no negative travel advice for LGBTI people, but purely the warning that you have to realize that in the US different rules apply than here. That seems to me a wise advice, especially considering that there is now a conservative wind in Washington.”
Always felt freely
Raymond has no trouble being pink in the US. “For me, I keep in mind that rules and cultures are different in a huge number of countries than in the Netherlands. Although I have always felt free in the US, I constantly keep in mind that Wyoming or Virginia is not Amsterdam. That seems to me to be common sense.”
He continues: “The government’s warning is based on the fact that from now on the US only recognizes ‘men and women’ as a gender. I understand that, for example, transgender people, to say the least, do not experience this as a warm welcome and make a different assessment.”
More acceptance
Despite the reign of Donald Trump, there is more and more gay acceptance, according to Raymond. “My experience in recent years is that gays in the US are being accepted more and more.”
“Also in conservative states it is full of gay cafés, the Republican party also has a gay department and Trump also has homosexual employees (even a minister).”
‘As long as they want’
Incidentally, Raymond does not want to act very much as someone who belongs to the queer community. “I have never felt a part of any group anyway and I don’t intend to start with that now. But I would like to answer all your questions and so do this.”
“Long story short: I just keep traveling to the US – as long as they want me of course.”