This is one of the reasons I love my father

One of the reasons I love my father so much is he very supportive of his kids, including his LGBT children, my brother and myself. The House of Representatives failed to pass on a vote of the Federal Marriage Amendment today, however, our Congressmen (for the 6th district of NC), Howard Coble voted in favor of the discriminatory amendment.

My father decided, without my help or asking him to do so, to write a letter to Mr. Coble speaking of his disappointment in Mr. Coble's vote for FMA and also why the FMA does not deserve a place in the Constitution. It really made me cry, that my father wrote this....

The Honorable Howard Coble,

Your vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment goes against all the things that I love about my country and our Constitution. As your constituent, I am writing to voice my disappointment in your support for the FMA. Your vote for the FMA is a vote against equality, fairness, and the civil rights of GLBT Americans.

I must say that while your vote certainly did not surprise me, it once again showed me that supporting you in the upcoming election is a bad idea. I've been married to my high school sweetheart for over 43 years. We've raised five children. Neither my wife or any of our children feel the least bit threaten by other couples, be they heterosexual or the same sex. As long as you love, care for, honor and respect each other, what possible harm can anyone's marriage or partnership do to any of us or the partnership of marriage?

Let's face it, since 50% of all legal marriages fail, we heterosexual couples seem to do a poor enough job on our own protecting the sanctity of marriage.

Our Constitution has never been amended to single out a group of Americans for discrimination and I'm ashamed of you as my representative for truly thinking that our Constitution needed this pathetically discriminatory change to it.

I suppose you can say, this is why I am the way I am today. :)

Three cheers for Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo, the first French woman to win the Women's Wimbledon singles title since Suzanne Lenglen in 1925, is a lesbian. I had no idea that she was a lesbian till I looked her up on Wikipedia and it said that she came out in 1999 after her win over Lindsey Davenport in the Australian Open Semifinals.

The year before, Martina Hingis, then the #2 player in the world, had said a comment about Mauresmo and her girlfriend.

She's here with her girlfriend. She's half a man already" (referring to Amélie Mauresmo, French lesbian tennis player on the eve of their 1999 Australian Open Final).

Hingis also made a racist comment about the Williams sisters about their sponsorships they got...

Being black only helps them. Many times they get sponsors because they are black. And they have had a lot of advantages because they can always say, 'It's racism.' They can always come back and say, 'Because we are this color, things happen.'" (referring to the "advantages" that Venus and Serena Williams have in a Time Magazine article, 2001).

I never liked Hingis, and this has given me more reason not to.

But anyways, Congratulations to Amelie!

She plays fantastic tennis, is out, and is hot :)

How did I not know this before? ;)

I can no longer be your 2nd class

My friend Matt posted an extraordinary post about how LGBT Americans still aren't free in America; LGBT Americans are 2nd class citizens in America. A while back I wrote a poem about the hurdles we have jumped and the walls we have climbed due to the struggles of inequality we face daily. In honor of the LGBT American community and those LGBT individuals we who do not have equal rights everywhere, this poem is for you...

2nd Class

You call me 2nd class
Like its supposed to be my place
You infer with your most high
That I most derive at this point

I can not avoid the hate and bigotry
This culture you call holy
Is only loving in your eyes
As I walk aside with my wounded pride

A shout and a let down
Won't defer my course
We deserve better, we deserve more
Than what were offered

I furrow my brow
At the Headlines
Taking away freedom with your actions, your words
It's not your right to dictate my life

You call me 2nd class
Like its supposed to be my place
Like my face is a disgust
To your America

As you walk in your security
Oblivious to our pain
Our plea for equality
Ignoring the tears that fall upon these streets

Four score and seven years ago
America was a land of the free
Though you wipe your hands-
on all thats supposed to mean
You crumble whats known, whats right

To destory my life, my rights
And you'll condemn and you'll yell
And you'll live to tell me of my one way ticket to hell
However, love will prevail throughout these tests

No longer can we hide or regress
No longer can we conceal who we are
I can no longer live in the past
I can no longer be your 2nd class