Vera Newman comments

And is anyone else tired of the cowardly downwardly spiraling circular argument about the outrageousness of being shunned by the people who are offended by something said (either purposefully or in ignorance)that shuns and offends them, like it is a bigger crime to be hated for hating someone than it is to just hate. Arguments and discussion aren't based on the brute weightlifting of emotional conviction, everyone is entitled to feel or say however strongly they care to hold their opinion. The challenge is to find, acknowledge and act upon the flaws in our OWN perceptions of the world, because society is a cooperative undertaking. And like it or not there are,have always been and always will be homosexuals in society just the same as straight men who have multiple wives, cheat on their partners or don't and unless you have a magical archeological crystal ball that can answer why that is please try and use the amazing brain we have all received to analyze facts and differentiate between them and the instinctive, animalistic, reflexive reactions (Gay-AAAGH!!!) we experience as one species living together on a planet we must share. Arrogance derived from self-held beliefs of superiority is proof of nothing. The fact remains that we are queer, we are here and we are as human as any other human ever was, and that we are entitled to be treated as equals, because we ARE equals. What is the argument that we are not? Why are we lesser than you, why are our children lesser than yours, why are our feelings, hopes, loves and lives BY DEFINITION, by law, by your whim, at your mercy less than yours? Who are YOU?

People who are uncomfortable with the idea of gay marriage, or rights, or equality, or sex or gay anything seem to spend a lot of time imagining some kind of bizarro future where all sorts of horrifying terrible things COULD happen, blithely ignoring the horrifying, terrible things that ARE ACTUALLY happening now to the people whose lives and happiness they consider inferior to their own. You either believe in equality, or you don't ,and so believe in discrimination. Get over your fear of other people's bedrooms, love and marriage are about a whole lot more than that, as any human being who wasn't raised in a sealed box should know.

I find people whose first reaction to someone's self expression to be fear or anger depressing. There is more to learn in life than what we are familiar with. By all means don't like it if you don't like it, but people who are not hurting you have the right to be, it's crudely restrictive to simply proclaim they should 'go away' or 'not exist' because of your subjective inconvenience. Raunchy Heterosexual behaviour is rampant and highly effective at selling things and is embraced or ignored seemlessly by those who are drawn to it or seek to avoid it. You might try and see that when gay people celebrate with their bodies, in public, it is a demonstration of bravery since they will spend their lives with their bodies as bulls-eyes until the people who feel discomfort over what they see at pride understand that it doesn't have anything to do with them and that they don't have the right to control other people.