Will Always Be at Your Side

It has been four months since I've been covering stories about gay issues in America. Even though I am neither gay nor American, I found myself deeply interested and moved by the struggle and spirit of American gay community. Most importantly, I meant every words I wrote. This is sadly my last posting.

American gays have gone through a lot. They were overjoyed on their success when Massachusetts declared the possibility of same-sex marriage.

Four more years of Bush was a major blow. There was hurt, bewilderment, trauma, and betrayal. I was deeply disappointed, stunned and mad as hell when I found out that there were still a huge number of gays who voted for one of biggest enemies of gays in America, George W. Bush. We all know where he stands, he always intends to hurt gays. I was even more angry when eleven states voted strongly to ban gay marriage, and that more states will try to make this nationwide.

Conservative Americans, being hypocrites as they always are, will never compromise. They can't help intruding into other people's business. The problem is the religion, but you cannot impose your religion on others.

Sex has always been an issue. And being different doesn't always help.

We all deserve the freedom to marry. Gays, sadly, have to fight for their rights to marry their loved ones and to adopt children. Community needs to understand that the reason they want marriage equality is the same reason everyone else does, to protect and provide security for their relationship and their children.

And what is a 'Civil Union'? If gays want to make sure that they are not second class citizens, they shouldn't accept such a discriminatory term. The union of a couple is always called a 'marriage' and let it be the term for now and forever.

It is a long and a winding road, and there is a longer and tougher battle ahead. I have faith in them.

After all, not everyone out there is a hater.

Four More Years of Discrimination

On Tuesday, six months after gay and lesbian couples won the right to marry in Massachusetts, 11 states approved constitutional amendments codifying marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution.

Voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments.

Eight of the 11 states also intended to ban civil unions, thereby throwing up yet another roadblock to any kind of equality under the law. Opponents of gay and lesbian marriage are also pushing a federal constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage nationwide.

Supporters of legal ban on gay marriage were overjoyed that their stance had been so heavily endorsed across the country.

Gay activists were angry but not surprised at the development and vowed that the fight for legal equality for homosexual was far from over.

Gays have lost the battle, but process of winning the war has just resumed.
But did gays actually try to stop Bush?
No, they didn't.

Amazingly enough, despite Bush's vocal support for the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment, and Republicans' successful passage of anti-gay marriage ballot amendments in 11 states, Bush received 21% and 23% of the GLBT vote. It was about the same percentage he received in the 2000 election, according to a data from CNN and The Washington Post.

Kerry's camp on the other side clearly failed to win over any significant number of gay and lesbian voters who had previously supported Bush.

We all know that gay Americans will not be better off under the second Bush term.
So, why didn't they stop him?
Because they don't want it enough.

If gays are to preserve their success in Massachusetts, they need to devote their time and resources to convince the court and countrymen that lesbians and gays have fundamental right to marry.

It is an uphill task. But they should prove they are not second-class citizens.