Marriage = EQUALITY!!!

I recently had a discussion with a member of an AIDS support group that made me realize I needed to have my say too.

Members of groups often forget that they are representing a group. Making statements in that group instead of on a personal page implies you are speaking for the group. So when this person said that didn't care about getting the right to be married and only wanted the other rights that came with it, the hairs on my back stood on end.

I lost my Partner, the house I bought him, and all his possessions because I had no legal rights. I only got to see him while he was in ICU because of a technicality. But my partner, Jerry Michael Brown, was the one that said we should call each other "Partners".

He didn't like the term "Lovers" because he said it implied that was all our relationship was based on and he said it wasn't. He didn't want to say we were "Married" because we weren't and it would be a lie.

If you had know this man, you'd find it hard to believe he had thought something through so much but it showed to me how much he really did love me. It wasn't an easy union but I can say I love him and miss him often now that he has passed on. Marriage is something we will not get to share in this lifetime.

So I want the opportunity in the future to be able to say I am "Married" in whatever religious or non-religious context that is. It will state: "I am the SAME as you!". No second-class citizen drinking from the gay water fountain and the law will have to back me.

It is TIME to evolve past such hatred. Whomever you consider to be your hero or religious icon, follow their teachings of love, compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness. It's time to start making an effort ALL THE TIME to RAISE THIS WORLD UP!

Namaste,
Ivan