Puppy Love

Dec 29th, 2010 09:22 PM By Lauren

When I was in my Freshman year of high school, I met this girl who just left me breathless. Her smile made me weak in the knees. Her eyes burned into my soul and I knew she could see everything about me. I had been with a girl before I moved to Wisconsin, but this girl was a whole new ball field for me. She was an angel to me. It was love at first sight for me. I knew she was the one. Now, I had to tell her. I made subtle passes at her, and even hit second base with her once..ha ha ha.

I never knew if she ever felt anything for me until 2007. I will never forget that night. We were on the phone and all of a sudden she says to me “I love you with every part of me. I have loved you since we were in high school. I was just too afraid to admit it.” I was speechless, I had no idea what to say. I had been waiting so long to hear those words come from her mouth. I love her deeply and have since then proposed to her. We are in the process of planning our wedding, but there is one thing that is standing in our way. She wants our union to be able to be legally recognized, and me, well I could care less as long as she, I, and GOD knows that’s all that matters to me, but she wants us to be able to live with the same rights and abilities as those heterosexual couples.

She has really gotten me to think about it, and well I would love for us to have the same rights as everyone else. I would like to be able to be sure that she can be on my health insurance policy, we can travel together and fill out one form instead of two because we aren’t legally recognized. I want to be able to call her my wife! I give a damn about our marriage as well as every other GLBT marriage out there!

Why

Dec 29th, 2010 09:19 PM By Johnathan

To understand my motivations you must know something of me. A little taste of who it is I am as a person and what it is that would compel me to make such a irrevocable statement not just to a church but God himself. You see when the time for us to stand and make a difference comes, we have little control over the where and when of it all. We do what is right. We do it when it needs to be done, and we hope that our message does not fall upon deaf ears.

First I am a man, then a father, a brother, a son, and hopefully a good friend?

As a child…

As a child I lived a somewhat normal life in a rather large family not unlike many of you. I was always different and to be honest, I was always told how different I was by those around me. I don’t recall many days as a kid that had gone by when I was not told I was gay by my brothers or sister. But we were just kids right? I forgive them for this and hold no ill towards them now for their actions while we were young. My father however found in me, a perfect victim. One his insecure mind could wrap around and torment to no end. I guess my walk or my talk was off just enough to meet the fancy of his sometimes horrific ways. You see I have always known I was gay, after all I had been told so since as far back as I can even remember. Little did they know how spot on they were while they jokingly tore my world apart.
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The “So Called” Sanctity of Marriage

Dec 29th, 2010 09:14 PM By Kelly

This is a two part story, first my “normal” marriage, then my daughter’s marriage to her wife.

As a youngster, I always dreamed of being married and raising a family, but I wanted to do it right. I did not want to go down the same path as my mother, a hard working single mother destined to poverty. I was married at 18, to an Eagle Scout/Scout leader, longstanding member of his church, and the son of a doctor in a small town in Nebraska.

Our marriage was picture perfect, and I knew that my dream was coming true. How far from wrong could I have been. The first 10 years were without intimacy (I knew the day I conceived both children) and I thought it was me. But at the 10 year mark, my husband was convicted of molesting our daughter.

Before sentencing (he plead guilty) we attended counseling together, and I was able to find out more than I ever knew about him. He was incarcerated as a teen for molesting children, and spent most of his teen years in a mental institution. No one said anything to me before our marriage, while I was pregnant, or after the birth of our children. His parents remained silent, and did nothing to insure the safety of my children, or me for that matter.
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How I Got Radicalized on Marriage

Dec 29th, 2010 09:10 PM By Maevefiona

I’m straight. And the story I’m going to tell you is about what happened when one half of a straight couple died unexpectedly. And how this experience made me understand the importance of marriage as a civil contract.

My brother met the love of his life when he was nineteen (I was nine.) This woman was deeply loved by him and is deeply loved by all of his family (three sisters and two parents.) Ten days before his fortieth birthday, Patrick died of mental illness. It was traumatic for all of us. We’re not that close of a family, at least not in the constant contact way that most people think of as close. But when this unexpected death happened, much to all of our surprise, we were in immediate and unwavering agreement that we wanted to make sure his female partner was protected.

Because they had never married, any one of Patrick’s siblings or parents could have staked a claim – and probably won it- on his property and money. All of us, even in the midst of the stress and upset over his death, were in agreement that it should all go to her. But to make that happen, she first had to go through legal proceedings to have herself recognized as his common-law wife. The next step, to ensure that no one, none of us, none of our children, none of our children’s children, could ever change his or her mind and stake claim to Patrick’s legacy and try and take it from his love, was to have her go to court and sue each and every person who could make a claim – ie us, his immediate family – to make sure her rights were established legally once and for all.
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Afraid to Share with the People You Love Most

Dec 29th, 2010 08:48 PM By Lilia

I am 21 years old and I am not certain of my sexuality. Throughout my teenager years I have always exclusively been with boys. I might have thought of experimenting with girls, but could never, ever have pictured myself to be in a relationship with one. However, I have always been ABSOLUTELY supportive of homosexual, bisexual, transgender, whatever-you-like people. I strongly believe that you have to be what you have to be and who you go to bed with at night has ZERO importance in regards to who you are as a person. And this applies to race and religion as well. It is who you are as a person, not where you come from or which church you attend.

When I moved to England to study I met my next door neighbor – the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. We instantly clicked and became friends, but knowing that she is a lesbian, I told her “it’s not going to happen”. Well it took me less than 2 months until I stopped denying to myself my attraction to her and kissed her. I must say I am the happiest person right now. I am in love with this girl and while in the beginning of our relationship I thought “Wow, I’m kissing a girl..”, now all I’m thinking is “Wow, I am kissing the most amazing person in the world”.
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I Give A Damn: Best Friends

Dec 29th, 2010 08:28 PM By Heidi

I am a straight, female, senior in high school. I do not know what it feels like to be constantly discriminated against. I do not know what it feels like to not have the freedom the marry the person I love. I have no idea what it feels like to not be able to be open about who I am with my friends, family, classmates, and coworkers. However, I give a damn.

My two best friends are gay and bisexual. I love them unconditionally. Their sexual orientation does not define our friendship. I do not love them less or see them any differently. Since they both told me, we are all closer than ever. I hope that someday the two of them could stand up proudly in school and declare who they are. In this country, we need open, accepting minds. Without this, we will be a country divided. A country that does not, and will not, accept all of it’s citizens.

I give a damn, and I hope that by watching the Damn videos, reading the Damn blog, and getting involved, the entire nation will come to understand. Equality is not just something that people want. It is a necessity for the entire nation. My name is Heidi, and I give a damn.

My Daughter

Dec 29th, 2010 08:06 PM By Tina

I just posted on here, and many of you have seen it. I’m the purple demon woman… that’s my profile pic from Facebook anyway, just to let everybody know. The picture on the profile is me and my daughter Nikki, who is gay. She’s been tortured so bad in school, that she dropped out after her Sophomore year. The teacher’s don’t care at all. I was at the school almost every day, and Nikki was the one in trouble for defending herself, or speaking up.

Due to her defending herself and all the crap she had to deal with, the teachers decided to send her to the State Hospital to go to school, where things were even worse. People need to start standing up for these kids, and STOP the bullsh^t! Also, whose business is it whose allowed to get married and whose not? My daughter has been with her girlfriend for almost 4 years, and even though gay marriage is not recognized by the state of Indiana, they are possibly planning to have a ceremony on their anniversary. My family will be there. My family are very open.

Even the religious one’s don’t look down on her, like some do. I just put it to them like this: Would you disown your child? The answer was a big NO from the religious side of the family. They will be at the ceremony too. They need to let people get married no matter what the relationship is made up of. LOVE IS LOVE… GET USED TO IT!!

LOTS OF LOVE TO ALL,

TINA

Life in a Shell

Dec 29th, 2010 07:55 PM By Justin

Life for me started with a very real understanding of violence and discrimination, at home and my years in school. When I was young I always thought I would have to pretend to be “normal”. I was always able to maintain an unfractured shell of who I was while in school. I was witness to and also the victim of bullies, it doesn’t matter if your gay or straight in reality, being the target of an attack on one of the most personal aspects of who we are is unbearable. As a closeted gay person, fear of people actually having their taunts confirmed was crippling. I never came out as a teenager IN school. I dropped out before attending period 2 of 11th grade.

My shell was fractured. I ran from all of my fears, literally and mentally, I ended up 1600 miles away from everything, Alone, I wanted to be far away from everything that hurt me. I was able to just be me. I didn’t pretend to be anyone or hide any part of my personality. In my desperation I made awful choices to get where I felt was far enough away. I ended up in a psychological damaging relationship before I was 18 years old. I have never lived a different life, I was always told there is nothing to look forward to, that life never gets better.

Shortly after I turned 18, I was saved from that twisted way of thinking. I met someone who was able to truly love me unconditionally. Love every part of me and for the passed 8 years of my life I have been trying to fill up the shell I formed as a protector for the kid who was afraid of the future. I still have a lot of work ahead, however I now have a surplus of hope for a better life, not only for me but all LGBT citizens of this country. We should all have no worries about our relationships and the legality of them in our later years. We ALL deserve equality.

Why I Give a Damn

Dec 29th, 2010 11:28 AM By Teresa

First off, let me tell you that I am straight. I’m a (somewhat) normal straight girl, but I give a damn. I don’t have any real religious beliefs, open to everything and everyone no matter who they are. But my parents are the exact opposite; hateful, close-minded, and very homophobic. They hate how I support gays and gay rights, wondering if I’m gay just because of the fact that I believe in gay rights. When we or they watch shows and they see a character who looks/acts differently, they will automatically say that they are gay. Almost all the time they are right, but it still hurts that my parents would make assumptions without knowing anything.

They don’t want gay marriage, believing that it’s wrong and not natural while I wholeheartedly do. I have a lot of bi-sexual friends who are girls and I don’t mind that at all. I hate that my friends get discriminated against by people and the government just because they aren’t straight like me. I felt so sad when I heard about all the gay teen suicides in September, feeling so bad for all of them and wishing that I could have talked to them, tried to help them and convince them that life is worth living and that people do care about them, like me. I want to be a counselor/therapist when I get older, wanting to help teens who are feeling lost and lonely, like no one cares about them and thinking that nobody would give a damn if they were alive or dead. Well, I do care, and this is why I give a damn.

A Southern Commitment

Dec 29th, 2010 11:25 AM By Josie

On July 24, 2009 I met the man of dreams. A mere 10 months later he asked me to be his for life. For a few moments all I could think of was how happy I was, and how happy we would be together, then reality hit. Alabama is not a state that widely accepts gay couples, especially in marriage. We started to do research on states that would marry gay men.

We went over our options several times, and then decided to just have a small reception at a family member’s home. We wanted more than anything to be married, but would rather have our families be present. At this point I realized that I needed to come out to the rest of my family for this all to work. The part of my family I was most worried about disowning me was the ones that accepted me the most, or at least most did it seemed. So we asked my aunt if she would let us host our commitment ceremony at her home. She was more than happy to accommodate us, and we proceeded to organize our ceremony.

About 2 months before our ceremony everything went up in flames. I started hearing rumors of how people in my family were bad mouthing our ceremony. The people who I thought were okay with it all, were the ones who had the biggest issues with it. I confronted the people about the situation and they all said they had no issues with it. For my own family to sit there and lie straight to my face was what hurt me the most. At this point I decided that if my own family did not want to attend, and wanted to be two-faced about the whole situation then I would cancel the ceremony.

When I told my fiancé the news he understood, but was just as upset as I was. After a short while, we decided to make ourselves happy and planned for a trip to Washington D.C. to get officially married. I thought that a simple ceremony without any legalities attached to it would be easier for my family to deal with. Now that I know how my family is, all I can do is make myself happy. We are planning our trip to Washington D.C. for around May 2011. Together we will be happy, and together we will be stronger.