Equality

It's actually taken me almost an hour to write this post... I've spent a lot of time trying to collect my thoughts.

Today the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Proposition 8, stating it "works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians" by denying their right to civil marriage in violation of the 14th Amendment. By no means is this the end - there will likely be endless appeals, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Here's the deal people. We live in the United States of America, a country whose foundation is built on liberty and justice for all. That means even if you don't agree with that liberty (same sex marriage, abortion, smoking, etc), our laws protect you. The minute that we allow one person or group of people to start taking those liberties away just because they disagree means that our country is on a slippery downward slope.

My friend Sean put it perfectly today. He simply asked if Proposition 8 were about interracial marriage instead of gay marriage, would you be speaking out against it? Most people would probably say no.Yet, not so long ago, we took rights away from those who had a skin color different than our own. I would hope that we learned our lesson from 50s and 60s.

Then we get into the emotional side of the argument - the groups out there that are just uncomfortable by gay couples. I happen to know a lesbian couple who I would be more than happy to see married. In fact, I can't wait to dance at their wedding someday. They're in a committed relationship and are raising an amazing, beautiful baby girl together. That little girl is lucky to have the two fantastic mommas that love her, care for her and are going to teach her to be an amazing woman. There are plenty of heterosexual couples out there that wouldn't be half the parents that these women are. Shoot, one of them just blew his own kids up in Washington.

My point is that just as being heterosexual doesn't define who I am as a person, how I raise my children or whether I am a good person, being gay should not either. And they should have the same rights that I have. Period.