I don't have the desire to marry another man. Probably ever. (Unless some Gyllenhaul-ian hottie got down on one knee....)
I don't have the desire to serve in the military as a gay man.
I won't enjoy any of the same tax or federal benefits as I am a single, gay man.
SO WHY GIVE A F#$& ABOUT MARRIAGE EQUALITY?
Because I grew up in a small town in Missouri where being gay was something to look down upon. Gay people were outcasts and fodder for ridicule. I knew I was gay deep inside me probably when I was around 10. (Or at least I knew I was different) I never saw a future for myself in that little town because gay people didn't have a future there. My future would have been one in hiding. One of misery. One of denying myself and denying that I was ok for being different than anyone else.
These were thoughts and feelings that I had engrained in me when I was a young child. The times have changed: you can't turn on a TV or look at the internet for even a day without another LGBT rights story on the news. Things have gotten better for people like me because of the gradual, societal shift in opinions and feelings towards gay people.
The reason why I rally, I protest, I have joined calling trees, called senators and representatives and have tweeted to thousands is quite simple:
If I can make one little gay child growing up in the midwest's life better then I have achieved something greater than myself. I helped that kid see that there is a world out there with people that will love them for exactly who they are.
Maybe society is changing because I have changed. I'm no longer complacent when it comes to my rights and in life. I push people to hear me and make them realize that there is still prejudice in the world. Maybe society has changed because we all have slightly evolved into being more accepting of one another's differences.
In less than a week, our highest court in our country will decide the fate of millions of Americans. Their ruling will cause a ripple effect across America. Will they give all lgbt people the right to marry throughout my home state of California and the nation? Will they block gays from getting married federally and stall the advancement of progressivism throughout the US?
Whatever they decide, I know the battle for full acceptance will never be over. But that's why I care about gay rights.
"Until we are all equal, none of us are free."
