Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 1:28 pm
Wow! There is a second one of these things now? I rarely come to the Off-Topic thread, but I remember when the original was started and it was a really heated discussion. I wrote a few times in there defending gay people against some of the homophobes that existed back then. At the time, I considered myself straight, even though I had never been with a girl and never desired to be. Needless to say, I eventually became comfortable with the fact that I am gay and have since come out of the closet. So this is my official "coming out" to UD.
My boyfriend and I have been in a relationship for a year and have known each other for 2 years. He is a huge Disney fan and lives in Orlando, where I will be spending all summer. My life really has been much happier ever since I came out. To anybody reading this who is gay and who thinks that their future doesn't look very bright, let me just say that I was once in your shoes. But don't let anybody tell you that you can't have everything you've ever dreamed of, because that isn't true. I'm almost done with school, I've found the person that I hope to spend the rest of my life with, and my future looks very bright (even in a darkened economy).
Things might seem dark right now because as LGTB people, we aren't afforded all of the same rights and privileges as straight people. However, unlike many LGBT people throughout history, we will probably live to see a day where we are given legal rights that are equivalent to those that straight people have.
While I do support legalizing gay marriage, what I really want is the same rights and protections under the law. I don't care what the government calls it. If its a civil union, thats fine with me as long as it is identical to a heterosexual marriage under the law. I have heard many people in the Obama administration say that they feel the same way. They don't want to change the definition of marriage because that has always been left up to the state, but they do want to see the same legal rights and protections granted to LGBT citizens.
My boyfriend and I have been in a relationship for a year and have known each other for 2 years. He is a huge Disney fan and lives in Orlando, where I will be spending all summer. My life really has been much happier ever since I came out. To anybody reading this who is gay and who thinks that their future doesn't look very bright, let me just say that I was once in your shoes. But don't let anybody tell you that you can't have everything you've ever dreamed of, because that isn't true. I'm almost done with school, I've found the person that I hope to spend the rest of my life with, and my future looks very bright (even in a darkened economy).
Things might seem dark right now because as LGTB people, we aren't afforded all of the same rights and privileges as straight people. However, unlike many LGBT people throughout history, we will probably live to see a day where we are given legal rights that are equivalent to those that straight people have.
While I do support legalizing gay marriage, what I really want is the same rights and protections under the law. I don't care what the government calls it. If its a civil union, thats fine with me as long as it is identical to a heterosexual marriage under the law. I have heard many people in the Obama administration say that they feel the same way. They don't want to change the definition of marriage because that has always been left up to the state, but they do want to see the same legal rights and protections granted to LGBT citizens.