Growing up, I never dreamed of a wedding. Everything about them made me cringe, from the gooey vows to the corny wedding band. Not to mention, I was terrified of dresses. I was a tomboy; the thought of having to wear a white flowing gown sent me over the edge.
I know. Every kid feels different in some way. I was the one who felt awkward every time my girlfriends wanted to do girly things. I didn't want to wear makeup or carry a LeSportsac. I wasn't comfortable with designer jeans, or leg warmers, or Capezios. Every day I wore the same thing: my Lee Jeans and Pro-Keds. While that may not sound so bad, every day I got dressed I thought about how different I felt.
I didn't get picked on, so to speak. I would have picked on you first. I was a "toughie" on the offensive, afraid that if I wasn't, the other kids might find out I was different. Afraid that if I wasn't, I might find out I was different.
Of course, I also had no idea I was gay. I stuffed that way down into the recesses of my subconscious, right alongside the dreaded possibility that I would one day have to appear in public in a wedding dress.
Nobody ever said to me directly, "Kristen, don't be gay. It's a very bad thing." But everything around me told me for sure that it was.
I knew it.
You knew it.
And some people still think it.
But Senator Mark Grisanti doesn't still think it. And neither does Senator Roy McDonald. Even Dick Cheney doesn't think it anymore!
As the New York State Senate gavel pounded down declaring me equal, I glanced at my iPhone and read a post on my Facebook wall. It was from the captain of my high school football team. It said, "Kristen, I am sooooooooo happy for you and your family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
His post reminded me of how different I felt every day as I got dressed for school. And how much time and energy I put into being a "toughie." And I cried.
Horns blared on the streets of New York City as my phone lit up with messages from friends and family, many of whose positions on gay marriage I was unsure of before. "When's the wedding?" they asked. "We're so proud of how hard you fought!" "Congrats! Amen to justice and equality!"
What Governor Cuomo and those 33 Senators did on Friday night was miraculous: Their votes declared that my family is no longer less than your family.
And it enabled me to wake up on Saturday morning with a crystal-clear vision of what my future can look like.
In it, I'm standing with Sarah, my amazing partner of six years. We watch our precious two-year-old twins walk down the aisle throwing petals and carrying rings. We exchange only mildly gooey vows that we wrote ourselves in front of our families and friends, and we party all night long with the not-corny, kick-ass wedding band we hired.
And in that vision, I'm wearing a non-flowy, non-poofy, totally amazing white dress.
I hope your wedding day is perfect and sweet.
Genesis 2:18-24
Matthew 19:4-6
1Corinthians 7:1-16
Ephesians 5:22-23
Colossians 3:18,19
Hebrews 13:4-7
Mark 10:6-9
1John 4:9-12
So, the real question is what will the homosexual community do with Jesus? What will you do with Jesus? While you and the homosexual community struggle to answer that, those of us who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior will try and uphold the marriage institution as he intended it to be.
I am equally saddened by the diatribe of malicious remarks and slurs about homosexuals which I have read on several sites. Most of which were posted by "Christians." I am a middle-aged English-speaking, Roman Catholic woman who choose not to marry the love of my life, a Dutch-speaking Protestant man because of his Calvinist parents.
They made our lives a living hell until their deaths because of my religion and language.
So I have some idea what gay men and women go through every day in society.
People who choose to live their authentic lives are truly brave indeed!
I don't claim to have all the answers, but I do know that Jesus would never condem homosexuals.
Jesus believed in charity and loving kindness towards others.
May God bless you and all gay people.
~WolfLady~
I say those things because I hate it when people assume to know my beliefs because of my "labels "..... as I'm sure you agree. That being said, I am totally behind you and have fought for all your rights. It makes me ecstatic to know that for some things in our country, we are moving in the right direction. You are as much of a family as mine and I will continue to fight amongst you and for you. Cheers!!!
Coretta Scott King's unwavering support for the rights of the LGBT community is inspiring:
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' ... I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.
"We have a lot of work to do in our common struggle against bigotry and discrimination. I say 'common struggle,' because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry & discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.
"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group."