100% of people that I meet that don't know me or Jordan and meet us separately, don't know that I'm gay. If we aren't showing any sort of affection when we're seen together, most people still don't know that we're gay. It's usually not until I reference her as my wife or we're seen holding hands that people connect the dots.
So, please tell me, America, how the hell does my sexuality affect you if you don't even know I'm gay????
Oppression isn't something that should even be legal in the land of the free. I'm not sure how we've decided that religious freedom means Christianity, but it doesn't! There are people out there with different opinions, views, and ideals...and we live in America because it is supposed to be the place that we are free to express those feelings. I'm not asking for social acceptance because that is a decision that every free person should be allowed to make on their own. I'm asking for legal acceptance. I'm asking for my government to tell me that it's okay that I'm different because our country was built on the freedom to be different. When our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, they were writing a document that allowed them to be different from Great Britain regardless of the consequences. They were declaring their right to express who they are. When they wrote the constitution, they weren't writing a document to be followed and never ever changed until the end of time -- they were writing a set of guidelines that worked for them at the time. Unlawful hacking of federal documents isn't included in that document because computers didn't exist yet. Times change. Things change. Rules change. And it's not a revolutionary idea to think that we'll have to change too.
I meet people every day who have strong feelings against homosexuality but adore me. It just goes to show that who I love really doesn't affect anyone around me. It's not harmful to the rest of the world. It doesn't make me a bad person. It's just a part of me. And the rest of the world needs to wake up and realize that there are no consequences in allowing the legalization of gay marriage. Acceptance isn't something that should be optional...but since it is, at least give us the right to live our lives with the ones we love.
"A certificate on paper isn't going to solve it all, but it's a damn good place to start. No law is gonna change us, we have to change us. Whatever God you believe in, we come from the same one. Strip away the fear - Underneath it's all the same love. About time we raised that up." -Mackelmore, Same Love
Hell yeah! There is a reason the constitution is called a 'living document'and the bill of rights is amendable.
ReplyDeleteLife changes, we grow, they grow with us, expand with us; they were made to ensure we have rights, not to restrict them, not to deny them to others because they don't look the same or have the same religious beliefs, or because of who they love.
My life, Leah and Jordan's life together are equal to yours. We are good people. We work hard. We care for our children, families, friends, neighbors. If you must judge us, (not in your purview by your own tenets, btw) judge us by our common humanity, not whom we love.
Leah, I've never thought about it from that perspective, but you're right--if they can't even tell I'm gay, then why is it OK to limit my rights? Thanks for opening up whole new ideas for me to think about. And thanks, as always, for an interesting post.
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