PRIDE, Part I

Being from Texas, I have a lot to be proud of. The Texas Rangers, always. The Cowboys...only marginally these days. The Mavs...sure. But I'm not a sports guy. I'm a theatre guy, and to most people in texas (read, most STRAIGHT people), that doesn't fly. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but sports isn't everything.

I am a proud and out homosexual. I am now 28 years old, less than six months from turning 29. And I have been out to my family and my friends, and pretty much everyone, since I was 16 years old. That's twelve long years. Not quite half my life, but long enough. I've seen ups and downs and sideways and no ways, but through it all, I have always known who I truly am, deep inside.

Some of my friends chastise me regularly on how much I talk about, or care about, gay issues. I have one friend in particular, who, several years ago, during a presidential election race, called me a "one trick pony," because he thought all I cared about was same-sex marriage.

Let me be clear...there has never been, and never will be, only ONE issue I care about. I do, however, consider it a VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE. And why not?

The thing that a lot of heterosexuals don't understand, and they take for granted is, they can marry pretty much whomever they want (as long as that other person consents). Meaning, no one can tell them what to do. This is a BASIC FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT. And they've been doing it so long, that they can't recognize it when the exact opposite is true for others.

My friend tells me I can marry whomever I want...as long as it's a woman. Well, NEWSFLASH, I DON'T WANT TO MARRY A WOMAN!!

It pains me, TO THE CORE, to think that someone can legally do something that I am not allowed. I just don't understand how someone can't see the difference. Those who argue that same-sex marriage will bring about the downfall of American society are just ignorant, biased, and bigoted. Yes, I said bigoted.

Every single person who has ever said something against gay marriage in this way, just look at their track record. Not a single one of them has ever supported gay rights, as far as I can tell. Pat Robertson? One of the biggest homophobes ever. Same for Jerry Falwell. This is a guy who actually blamed 9/11 on gays and lesbians, and people who have had abortions.

Um...correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we discern that the perpetrators of 9/11 were fundamentalist Jihad Muslims under the direction of Osama bin Laden? Who is absolutely AGAINST gays and abortion? I mean...come on!



My point is simple. Leave us be. Just let me and my friends and my loved ones enjoy the SAME RIGHTS as you do. Not SPECIAL RIGHTS. Because while marriage may be SPECIAL in the eyes of its partakers, it is NOT A SPECIAL RIGHT. It is an EQUAL RIGHT.

I rejoice with my gay brothers and lesbian sisters in New York today with the news that same-sex marriage is legal in that state. This brings the number of gay American citizens who can marry to double the number it was before yesterday. So, six states, plus the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C., for those unaware), can now offer full marriage benefits to all human couples. Notice I said couples, not groups of one man and several women, or one woman and several men. Notice I said human, not animal, seeing as the most an animal can decide is where or where not to shit, and not sign a legal document.

Notice I said EQUAL, not SPECIAL, and most of all, notice this America...the time is here. The time is now. EQUALITY WILL REIGN.

ATTENTION ALL NAYSAYERS AND HOMOPHOBES--YOUR TIME IS COMING TO AN END. YOUR REIGN WILL BE OVER SOON. TAKE NOTICE. THIS IS A CALL TO ARMS FOR THE PRIDE OF HUMANITY. THIS IS A CALL TO ARMS FOR EQUALITY.

God bless you, New York, and God bless EVERYONE, NO MATTER who they love.


AMEN.

--DG