If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Since that night, I've been on a journey. My beliefs have evolved; my heart has grown; my eyes have opened.
This was my first shot to teach him that families that our different than ours aren't anything special -- they're just families.
Last week, as we were preparing to hit "send" on our income tax returns, we thought that maybe, just maybe, this year will be the last that legally married lesbian and gay couples will have to lie to the federal government about the nature of their relationships and file their taxes as single people.
I am a queer transgender man planning my wedding to a queer cisgender woman. Man, did my heart ache to think that the world would see me as heterosexual. See Jocelyn as heterosexual. Depending on a given day or situation, it still stings.
The same reasoning that leads Justice Scalia to conclude that the Framers' ignorance of cell phones and the Internet doesn't resolve questions about "the freedom of speech" should also lead him to the Framers' ignorance about the nature of sexual orientation. If one is going to be an "originalist," at least one should be consistent about it.
Edie Windsor's refusal to pay a tax from which a straight person would have been exempt seems stirringly similar to Rosa Parks' refusal to get out of a seat in which a white person would have been able to stay. When I'm a very old gay man, I'll be able to look back and say, "It all started with Edie, and I was there."
How could millions of people, in a mass act of civil disobedience, refuse to obey same-sex marriage laws? Would they get married again? Get divorced? Marry someone gay and then get divorced? Let's be clear: Mr. Buchanan is not referring to civil disobedience. He is promoting discrimination.
The wedding went off without a hitch and, over the years, dissolved into a silly and cherished family memory. At that very time, unbeknownst to me, my moms were forking over time, energy and legal fees to make their union and joint custody of me as legal in the eyes of the court as a married couple's.
As a person of faith, who reveres faith and grieves the defamation of it in our modern world, I can't stay ambiguous about this issue. Opposition to marriage equality slanders God, true adherence to the Bible, and the revolutionary practice of faith Jesus brought to this world.
Tom was an amazing person who spent his days convincing me that I was worthy of love -- his love. But we hid the fact that we were a couple, mainly because I was ashamed to be out. To circumvent potential judgment when we were around others, we developed a secret code.
Obviously, the Republican Party wants to die, and as much as I disagree with Republicans on just about everything, I feel compelled to help.
This month presents an opportune moment to reflect upon what guidance Dr. King's poignant words can offer our society in addressing what some have called "the new civil rights movement": the same-sex marriage movement.
I can't help but wonder why every Tom, Dick and Sally should get to weigh in on whether my love warrants the same validation as any other couple. In my mind, it's laughable--all the debates and controversy hinges on one appendage, or the lack thereof.
For a long time I had no interest in and was opposed to getting married. I believed that we didn't need the state to validate our relationship. I already knew its value and our commitment to each other. And then a funny thing happened: I lost my job and needed health insurance.
Get ready: we're about to see major marriage news in at least two states. Rhode Island and Delaware are rocking towards legislative votes, and that means we could see access to marriage dramatically expand just in time for summer.
When we make the decision as adults to be baptized in water, it is then we fully commit to let go of our old life. It is then we allow ourselves to begin healing. We are proclaiming that we trust in God to wash away those things that bind us to our past.
