Dear Friends, I write today with more information about myself that I would normally share because I want to make a simple point that gets missed so often when discussing gay Ameicans.
I'm a good person, a good teacher, and a good American.
I work hard at two jobs, neither of which offer health benefits.
I pay my taxes till it hurts.
I volunteer in my community.
I don't break the law. I don't even speed!
I'm kind to friends and strangers alike.
I vote and am politically active.
I served my country for three years in the U.S. Navy.
And I'm gay.
below the fold for a simple message
I'm not a hero or a saint, and I don't have any special talents, unless you count my teaching, but I am a good person, and I am a good citizen. As such, I deserve the same legal rights as every other American.
The Declaration of Independence guarantees all of us the right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Yet gay people are discriminated against--by law--every single day in this country. We are not allowed to pursue happiness like everyone else. Those of us who live our gay lives out in the open must constantly worry about our own safety and protection. Will we still have a job if someone finds out we're gay? Will we be able to find housing? Will we be assaulted if we come across some homophobe's radar? Will our children, our property, our remains be taken care of as we wish when we die? These are the special burdens of living in America as a gay person.
And guess what? The majority of gay Americans don't break the law by cruising for sex in restrooms, soliciting prostitutes, or hitting on minors.
Further insulting, we must listen to gas-bags like Tucker Carlson openly advocating gay bashing or pseudo-intellectuals spouting garbage linking homosexuality with pedophilia and beastiality.
And no where in this cacophony of homophobic hysteria has anyone that I've ever heard simply stood up and said, "Look, gay Americans are hard-working, tax-paying, voters who have families and friends, who care about their communities, and should be afforded basic civil rights like every other American, whether we approe of their lifestyles or not, period."
When I hear Democratic presidential candidates hedge on gay rights' issues, I want to scream. I want to ask them why people serving time for rape and murder have rights that I don't enjoy. I want to ask them if they think being gay is a crime, because if it isn't, then why am I being treated like a criminal?
I am a good person, a good citizen of this country, and like all gay folks out there like me, it's past time to state the obvious: all hardworking, upstanding Americans should share the same rights.
Larry Craig isn't like me. He's not a gay American; he's a sexual pervert who broke the law. To purposefully confuse him with people like me is repugnant. I'm tired of these self-loathing hypocrites muddying the waters so people can't see the simple truth.
This diary is dedicated to all hard-working, law-abiding gay Americans out there who contribute so much to this country even though we are shut out of so much of it. Kudos to you, friends. Be proud. I am.