I'd just like to say, as the OP, I opened this thread hoping to start a discussion about people's beliefs (mission accomplished, apparently!). I didn't open it thinking that it would never get locked. I opened it to get people to start addressing their paradigms and try to figure out WHY they believe the things they do.
I believe everyone is entitled to their beliefs and I don't think that people need to go around waving signs saying "I'm GAY!", but I do believe that there needs to come a day when people can discuss a same sex partner the same way that I talk about my husband. I think we need to have discussions like this so that people realize that gays and lesbians are all around us, and that they deserve the same rights as the rest of us.
My father is gay, which is one of the reasons why I am so pro-LGBT rights. He was raised in a catholic household, in which being gay was considered an unequivocal sin. He knew, at the age of 3, that he was gay and that he was a "bad" person for being gay. For years, he struggled with this and with himself because of it. He married twice and had four children in an attempt to be "normal", but both marriages eventually failed because of his sexual orientation.
When he finally opened up and admitted to himself that he wanted his life-partner to be a man, it changed his life dramatically. He became happier and more open and began to thoroughly enjoy life instead of feeling persecuted. He now has a wonderful partner who the whole family loves, and he's happier than he's ever been in his life.
I am proud to call him my father, and am very willing to stand up for his rights to marry who he chooses and enjoy the same rights that the rest of the nation enjoys. I am so thankful that my daughter gets to grow up around these two wonderful men who help teach her tolerance and ensure that her her mind stays open to all of the various forms of love in the world.
If this thread gets closed, so be it. I hope that, for just a second, someone here thought a little harder about their beliefs and why they believe what they do. My only hope is that this thread triggered somebody to think.
Thanks for reading