Amend This

Dear Citizens of Georgia, and the other ten states where it you felt it necessary to pass resolutions calling for amendments defining marriage:

Let's us ignore, for the moment, whether or not religious concepts have a place in government in the United States.

Instead, let me tell you about myself. I am a homosexual. I always have been, and there's really no way that's going to change. My sexuality does not define my life, it is just a part of who I am. At this time, I do not have anybody special in my life. I have my family, I have many friends - male, female, heterosexual, homosexual, white, black, Asian, American, European, tall, short, slender, chubby, etc - and they all seem to like me, in fact many of them might even say they love me. And I like and love them. I'd also like to have a romantic love interest, and I expect that one day soon, I will. Why does that bother you?

Would you quote scripture to condemn me? I don't recommend that, it will only backfire. Certainly don't be foolish enough to use the Old Testament, wherein we also have these gems, as quoted by Congressman Jim McDermott on February 25, 2004 (available on page H596 of the Congressional Record):

- Marriage shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. That is from Genesis 29:17-28.

- Secondly, marriage shall not impede man’s right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. That is II Samuel 5:13 and II Chronicles 11:21.

- A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. That is Deuteronomy 22:13.

But as I said at the outset, let's leave religion out of this for now.

Can I ask instead that for just a few minutes that you concentrate not on what gay people might do in their bedrooms, but what they do in their kitchens, their living rooms, their gardens, the supermarket, your banks, your insurance companies, the airlines you fly, the restaurants you eat at? We are you neighbors, your co-workers, your family. We cook, we watch TV, we pull up weeds, we compare prices. We take your deposits, process your claims, show you where the emergency exits are and serve your dinner. Above all, we are human.

Did you see or read any of the news accounts about the couples who were able to marry in San Francisco, Portland, or Massachusetts? Couples who had been together for ten, twelve, TWENTY FIVE years! From the report of a marriage in Oregon: "'At least we can say we were married,' they said, grinning." It's about LOVE. People who love each other, and have spent huge portions of their lives together, being able to express their love.

So tell me, Citizens of Georgia and the other ten states. How does this "threaten" you? What exactly is wrong with two people who love each other wanting to spend their lives together and have it recognized as a legitimate union? Is there something that Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez are doing to uphold the "sanctity of marriage" that I'm just not getting?

And now I'll bring religion back into it. I am willing to let you have the word "marriage." Define it however you want to, for the purposes of your religion. Leave the government out of it. This is where you've gone too far. Not only do many of the resolutions passed on Tuesday attempt to define marriage, but they also seek to prevent the government from recognizing any union or even legal partnership between people of the same gender. You want to write intolerance and discrimination into the law of the land. You want to say it's OK to hate some people, just because of who those people love. You want to condemn me just for being different.

The God I believe in is a loving God. The God I believe in made me in His own image. What God is it that you worship that compels you to legislate hate? I hope you are ready to answer to Him when the time comes.