As stated before… I am a lesbian…

As NOT stated before, I’m in no hurry to marry. In fact, I’ve often said that even if it were legal in the US, I probably wouldn’t, much to the dismay of my wife.

See, I don’t think I need a piece of paper to show what I already feel in my heart. I refer to her as my wife. Not my girlfriend. Not my partner. Not my better half. (Although OTHERS refer to her as my better half, I try not to be insulted.) Fact of the matter is, in my heart I KNOW that I am faithful to her and her alone. I know that no matter how bad it gets, she will have my back and I will have hers. I know that when I wake up, she’ll be there. Not because some piece of paper tells her that she legally is supposed to be; but rather because she wants to be. I know that she didn’t HAVE to pick me, but she did and I chose her to be with for the rest of my life. I know that no matter what, hers will be the face I see every morning and hopefully the last face I see the day I breathe my last breath.

I don’t need a piece of paper to show that I’m married. I’m married. I’m faithful. I’m happy.

I also live in Texas, which is probably the reddest state in these United States. Let’s face it; the Emancipation Proclamation had an effective date of January 1, 1863 (issued on Sept 22 1862.) News didn’t “reach” Texas until June 18, 1865. I’m sure it coulda got here sooner, but I always say, it’s because they decided to have us work another 2 years… (Ha!)

Point is the Prop 8 decision won’t affect my marital status for 2 reasons: location and current desire. I say current because the wife is already trying to wear me down on the marriage thing… Everyone knows you can only put a woman off for so long. I digress though.

The point of all this is, I do feel pride for my LGBT brothers and sisters in California for the decision yesterday. It does my heart good to know that the road to equality is opening up. Sure there’s a stay on the decision, but I think it’s only delaying the inevitable.

Thing is, I keep reading about reactions to the Prop 8 decision, and I just wanna ask Prop 8 supporters a question: Do you HEAR yourselves? I mean, really… do you?

See, I read a high-level overview of the opinion. (Wifey printed it for me so I can read it all tonight.) It’s really sad and pathetic to be honest.

Being gay is a choice and against God’s will - You know, believe it or not, being gay and being Christian is NOT a mutually exclusive deal. I’m gay, and I’m a Christian. I won’t lie; there are times where my beliefs and my life contradict each other. I’ll give them that. I do know that I didn't choose this. If anything, I agonized with this from a very young age. I tried to "pray away the gay". No one feared this more than me. (Except maybe my mom, who is a touch homophobic.) Anyway, no one can say that it's a choice anymore than people can say being straight is a choice. It's not for you to say, only God know that. See here are two things Christians have to remember.

1. Religion has NOTHING to do with politics or civil rights – See there’s that whole separation of Church and State thing. You can believe gays are going to hell all you want. Sadly, the Constitution gives you the right to be judgmental and full of hate. It also allows people who don’t believe in God to not believe. Or people who believe in Wicca to believe in Wicca. I don’t agree with it either, but I don’t condemn beliefs! If you feel that being gay is wrong, then that’s what you feel. That doesn’t mean it should be illegal.
2. People who DO believe in God KNOW that the only person they truly have to answer to is God and no one else. My relationship with God is no more your business than my relationship with my wife. Your relationship with God is none of my business any more than your relationship with your significant other. Who are you to judge? What gives you the right to tell people what they should or should not do? If my memory of history is correct, (God KNOWS people keep trying to change it), the whole reason why the Pilgrims set sail for the new land was because they were being religiously oppressed. They left England for RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Why is it we forget this fact? If you disagree with gays, pray for them and move on. No one is requiring you to go to a gay wedding or even perform a gay wedding. You talk to God and we’ll do the same, thank you. My God loves me. My God loves all people. And because of this fact, I am only accountable to my God.

Gay Marriage will ruin the institution of marriage - Really? Not to be cliché’ but doesn’t DIVORCE ruin the institution of marriage? This is the biggest argument they can come up with without throwing in Leviticus. Look. When straight people stop using marriage as a tax shelter, or stop marrying and divorcing multiple times... hell, let’s just say, when the heterosexual divorce rate decreases below 50%, THEN you can say something about ruining the institution of marriage. That’s the biggest crock I’ve ever heard. Gay people can’t ruin something that has been ruined already. There’s no such thing as the “Gay Bachelor/Bachelorette”… or “Who Wants to Marry a Gay Millionaire”. You try to put two complete strangers together and make the marriage work and if not... “Ah well.”

You know who else does that? Muslims. (Not knocking Muslims... some of my closest friends are Muslim). But, for these Conservative Right Wing crazies wanting to protect marriage and then pull @!$%# like this for entertainment... ARRANGING MARRIAGES for entertainment… I don’t know... it says something…

My favorite thing is that the MORMONS are the biggest religious proponents of Prop 8. I so wish a comedian would put it together here, because to me that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard… Mormons…Preaching marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman…. Mormons… It’s almost too easy…

Then of course the Catholic Bishops had to speak out, calling the decision a gross misuse of the law… This from the same people who instead of prosecuting a serial pedophile, “sent him away”… to bury it… It’s not like the pedophile molested people of the opposite sex either… Really? These are the two major religious groups you have backing Prop 8?

Oh yes! Then the “expert” himself George Rekers…The man who can cure “the gay!” Except his own….

You know what? I’m gonna touch that.

California voters are upset because, “they’ve overturned the will of the people!” Yes… How many of those “people” who voted for Prop 8 do you think are homosexual?

How does it make sense to take a majority vote on the rights of a minority?! Is simple math THAT elusive? If 20 people want the right to cross a street of 80 people, and the other 60 don’t want them to… what do you THINK is gonna happen upon a majority rule vote?

Seriously.

Civil rights should never be put to a vote. Who are you to decide what people who AREN’T you can do? Do you HEAR yourselves? I thank the good Lord that Slavery wasn’t put up to a popular vote. Praise God that Women’s Rights weren’t put up to a “popular vote”. And civil rights????

Hell, if it were up to the popular vote, I wouldn’t be able to write this and I’d still be callin’ some white man “massa”.

Prop 8 will see an ultimate demise because truthfully, it’s wrong. It takes a minority and says that they don’t have the same rights as anyone else. There is no true argument outside of religious arguments against it, and Religion has no business in Politics. If it did, I’d be in trouble. I truthfully don’t know that I could worship with as much hatred as being shown by “Christians” these days. Either way, there is no argument for it. There’s no reason for the hatred.

The fact of the matter is, marriage is a right. If I have to pay taxes, and I have to obey the other laws of the US, then I should get the same rights as everyone else; whether I want them or not.

The only thing that can truly stop a final demise of Prop 8 in the Supreme Court is that the Court forgets the little thing called the Constitution and 14th Amendment and dictates a new hierarchy of rights. The day that happens.... Canada here I come... I mean, I'm a black lesbian in the South. I won't have much of a fighting chance if that's the case, will I?

Fin