"As a lad I was told how
marriage worked. It was a romantic, Disneyesque, and daunting concept …
Somewhere, out there, in
this big beautiful world, there is one person, just one, who is my perfect
match.
Well, holy smack!” I thought, “My mate is probably somewhere in Mexico
or Indonesia or who knows where!?” Plus at that early age I knew I was gay, and since marriage was not legal for gays in the USA my husband most likely was hiding in some closet hundreds of miles away. Jose,
Gustavo, or whatever his name is, will never come “salir del armario” and he will never travel
to the States to wine and dine my Irish ass. Dayum!
Now things have changed. With
the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor for equal rights, my quest for “the one” may
be a little bit easier. And since I’m just a mouse-click away, I don’t have to
trek the seven continents to hunt him down. Maybe he’s on Facebook, or maybe he
reads MileHighGayGuy? Hmm…
What I do know is change is
coming. It’s blowing in the wind and it is pissing off the fundamentalist right. Just
like a bratty child being sent to time out, the Palins, Bachmens, Perrys, and guys
named Jeb, will NOT go quietly. I expect their vitriolic, (and kind
of embarrassing) rants will get even worse.
At this moment, the wolves,
or in this case the Fox’s, are prepping for a fight. We will hear their bigoted
reinterpretations of the bible. We will avoid Rush Limbaugh’s bilious voice, decrying
the fall of society, his fear-inducing pursed lips spewing icky acidic saliva,
peppering the foam ball of his microphone with infectious hate.
But here is what the gay
community has going for it: Ourselves.
We have Colorado State
Senator Pat Steadman, who champions equality for the LGBT community, women’s
rights, sex education, and HIV prevention.
Activists have given us a
voice when we were dying. Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, and countless others have
shown us how to ACT UP.
Harvey Milk was killed for
believing in us, and his nephew Stuart Milk continues to give us a voice.
In our ranks we have Dan
Choi, a West Point graduate, American infantry officer, and gay rights
activist, who put a face on the fight against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Let’s not forget 84-year old
Edie Windsor, the victorious plantiff in the Supreme
Court case against the Defense of Marriage Act.
There are communities of
bears, drag queens, daddies, twinks and twunks, cubs and pups. In every
neighborhood there are pitchers, catchers, and power bottoms (who know how to
take it). We have an army of butch lesbians and girly girls. There are members
of the transgender community who have demonstrated heroic fortitude that far
exceeds their non-trans counterparts. We even have some invisible people, numerous
unseen men and women who are on the down-low, or choose to remain in the
closet.
And finally, we have our
secret weapon- Thousands upon thousands of little monsters who are growing not
so little, and are eager to show their teeth.
So
to my LGBT brothers and sisters, I love all of ya'll but lets not
forget our history. Buckle up, dig in, and brace yourself. Our fight for
equal rights has just begun."
