The Costs of Inequality… Our Story

Aug 04th, 2011 11:32 AM By David and Eric

It was back in the last week of October, 2008. I was in the UK visiting my partner, Eric. It was yet another of the many many trips I was taking back and forth from San Francisco to London. Being in a long-distance relationship has its own unique challenges under the best of conditions. For us, being half a world away from each other meant we tried very hard to maximize what little time we did get to spend together.

So on this particular trip, we had taken a long weekend getaway to Cornwall. It was a brilliantly sunny late afternoon at Land’s End. (The extreme westerly point of the mainland of England.) We hiked over to an incredibly scenic point on the cliffs overlooking the North Atlantic. The sun was just starting to set, and the light was perfect to take pictures. So I told Eric to stand there against the panoramic view, while I took a picture. I then turned to face him, and with the setting sun shining in my eyes, I asked him to marry me.

He blinked a couple of times, and didn’t say anything, and frankly my heart stopped for a moment. A split second later, he smiled in that particular way he does, that makes my knees go weak. Then looked at me and said. “I already said yes a long time ago.”

I returned to the United States a few days later. While sitting on the plane, one thought kept ringing through my head like a trumpet blast. We were engaged!
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I Want to Help Change My Partner’s Family’s Life

Aug 04th, 2011 11:17 AM By yadhira

I’m a citizen of the U.S and my girlfriend is an immigrant from Mexico. We have been together for 2 years since April, I know we love each other so much we can’t imagine life without each other. She did and still has done so much for me, and I wish I could do the same for her, and not just for her but for her whole family that has been there for us as well.

Her and her brothers are some of the most talented and smartest people I have ever met, I love that no matter what they just don’t give up. My girlfriend loves school and she had to leave it at 12 to work to help her family. She came here to have a better life for her and her family, but immigrants here can only go so far. She works 24/7 and never stops, but in the back of her head she is always worried about getting caught by immigration.

She got her GED and her sister graduated from high school, they both graduated with honors and won many awards along the way, but can’t continue there education in collage because of their “legal status.” It was so heartbreaking to see them cry when so many people offered them scholarships and couldn’t take them because of that legal status thing. I know in my heart I love this girl and I would do anything for her, which is why I will move to Mexico with her, if we can’t do anything about her legal situation.
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Give a Damn about LOVE

Aug 04th, 2011 11:09 AM By Carol

I am in love with the kindest and most beautiful woman. We’ve been together for more than two years working overseas on cruise ships, but it has come the time for us to settle down on land and start living the rest of our lives. She is from the States, I am Peruvian and we’d rather live in the US than in my country, since we can access to a higher quality of life and provide a better future for our children when they come.

We are both on vacation; I just came back from the States where I was spending time with her. It was the first time that we have lived together for so long in a house like a real family and it broke my heart having to leave her behind. She has found a good job back at home and I love her enough to accept that this is a great opportunity for her and if we can make it through the long distance relationship, it will be good for our future.

I am going back to work in a few days and even when we have promised that this is not going to break us apart and we will be able to see each other from time to time, I can’t stop having nightmares at night… I don’t wanna lose her. She is the one!.

I wish the laws change soon enough, I hope that my voice and the voices of so many others like me can be heard soon enough so we can fulfill our dreams of love and happiness- the same dreams that other bi-national straight couples can achieve.

Please give a damn.

Thank you,

Carol

Why Do I Have to Leave My Country??

Aug 04th, 2011 11:06 AM By Susan

As the title says, why do I have to leave my country to have a life with my fiance? America is supposed to be the greatest country in the world, and yet I have to choose between my country and another just for equality in marriage!!!

My fiance Karen and I have been together over 2 years now, patiently waiting for the ability for me to sponsor her for a green card… an ability that all heterosexual couples have, yet I do not. I am treated as a second class American with barely any of the same rights “normal” couples have. And that is a real shame. It’s a shame that Ireland and England and 17 other countries guarantee equal rights for LGBT couples, yet my own country, the Mighty USA, does not.

I have to now find someone to take care of 2 of my 3 cats because I cannot afford to take all 3 of them with me… I have to say goodbye to my 70 year old mother who just recovered from breast cancer and needs me to be HERE for her, my family… my friends. I have to sell almost everything I own because I can’t take it all with me and storage is too expensive. Why? Because my country is run by bigots. People who are so caught up in their hatred of anyone not like themselves that they work hard to keep those people from having the same rights they do.

How sad is that?

I want more than anything to be able to begin my life with my fiance… let’s work together to try and make that happen for couples like myself and Karen all over the world! Stand up! Speak Out! GIVE A DAMN! I do

Thanks for reading my story,
Susan
Oak Forest, IL

Why Is There So Much Hate?

Aug 04th, 2011 10:27 AM By Kai

Hi there. My name is Kai, and I’m a girl who feels that I should be in a boy’s body. But this story doesn’t have anything to do with me, but with my uncle, Mark. My uncle Mark is probably the nicest guy you will ever meet on this planet, that, and he bakes like he’s a gourmet chef. There’s apparently something wrong with him though, according to everyone outside of my family. He’s gay.

Now my question is; Why should this matter to anyone else? He is living his life to the fullest right now in his house with his friend Allen, and Allen’s partner Marni. Now, these are the 3 best men on the planet, bakers, hard workers, and they put everyone else before themselves. But what bothers me is that my uncle can’t marry who he loves because of our state’s laws.

Everyone should have equal rights. Whether they be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or anything else, they should be treated the same as every other person on this planet. There shouldn’t be a law saying you can’t marry who you love, because then that would pretty much be like making divorce illegal for straight men and woman.

Everyone deserves happiness, no matter what.

Shackles with Two Locks

Aug 04th, 2011 10:19 AM By Aurore

I move uncomfortably. My mother reaches to soothe me. My father grips her arm tight.
I am a lesbian. My mother is a coward. My father is not a good man.
I try to find oxygen. My mother tries to hold back tears. My father tries to go get his gun.
I am a lesbian. My mother is a coward. My father is not a good man.
I disdainfully live in a small town. My mother stubbornly lives in her little world. My father lives in a kingdom he dictates.
I am a lesbian. My mother is a coward. My father is not a good man.
I ran from that state. My mother stares blankly at her decided fate. My father is full of only hate.
I am his hate. My mother seeks me in other states. My father has a lonely fate.
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The 700 Club

Aug 04th, 2011 10:15 AM By Tess

My name is Tess, I’m 18 and I’m gay. It never really mattered much to me if the people around me accepted me, because I was ok with who I was whether they were or not. Being called “dyke” or “lesbo” always just kind of rolled off my shoulders in high school. I never flaunted my sexuality in school, if people knew, they knew, but it wasn’t announced to everyone I met, it sometimes took people by surprise when they found out, but their reactions never bothered me much. If they didn’t want to get to know me because of my sexual preference then that was on them.

Well, everything people and society said never affected me, until one night I was laying in bed on vacation in Myrtle Beach, I was flipping through the channels and landed on ABC Family, and the 700 Club was on, I got up to go brush my teeth, and as I was brushing my teeth I heard the topic of “gay marriage” come up on the TV, so I listened. And what I heard will always be in the back of my mind… “you wouldn’t let someone marry their dog, so why should we let same sex couples get married?”… Being compared to bestiality? It was ridiculous! And it made me realize that people really are that narrow-minded

Since my eyes were open to these things, I started noticing it more and more, at home, school, and in church. I’d hear the preacher lump homosexuals in the same category as rapists, murderers, and adulterers. And I hated it. And I was ready to do something about it. Everyday I try my best to break the mold of being “gay”, so people can see that we aren’t all the same, we are individuals and we deserve to be treated as equals in life.

WE ARE THE FUTURE

Aug 04th, 2011 10:11 AM By samantha

Hi

My name is Samantha and I am 19 years old.
As I was growing up, I used to hear “children are the future”,
so if we are the future, why haven’t we done something?

From 18 on, we have a choice, and a voice
so why don’t we stand up, and tell these “older”
people who don’t have any common sense, what we really think.

If no one has noticed all the stubborn people who are
so narrow minded
old and almost ready to die.
so its our time to move in and make some changes
we are more open minded about everything,
so why don’t we stand up for ourselves,
if we get shot down,
we can stand back up easier and come back harder.

don’t be afraid of the unknown,
go at it head on!

we can make a change,
we have a voice
so let’s do something
instead of sitting here and watching!!!

we all have rights,
we should have the right to get married
to whomever we choose too.

No Limits on Who You Love

Aug 04th, 2011 10:10 AM By april

I live in a town in Illinois that borders Iowa, so I am close enough that my partner and I can be married. Even before I “came out” I always believed you have the right to love and marry no matter race, sex, religion, etc. I wonder how all the people who are fighting this would feel if they were told your white and you can only marry a white person, or your a Christian and you can only marry a Christian. I judge no one and no one should judge me. My 7 year old tells everyone she has two mommies and that its ok that we are gay. My 7 year old understands more than grown adults.

First Love

Aug 04th, 2011 10:02 AM By Michael

I work as a disease intervention specialist. The main group we work with are gay men exposed to HIV. When I first started this job a lady slightly older than me asked me if I was HIV positive, which I am not. Due to her experience, she assumed that all gay men that came to work in this field were positive… Needless to say I am still angry months down the road, how could she automatically assume something without knowing ME.

Well, I didn’t date until I was 20, just shy of 21. I did not date in high school, never went to a party, not even a prom. I was confused and ashamed of who I was. I was scared to tell my Korean mother and my Jewish father. I was scared to thrown out… So I internalized all this and decided that it would be unfair to date anyone until I was me totally sure.

I met a guy at my job that was several years older than me. He was the first gay man I met. He teased and flirted knowing that I was not out, not even to myself. He convinced me to accept who I was and became a big brother to me. He helped me lose weight (about 100 lbs) and become more confident. It was with him I discovered who I was.
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