Gay Marriage: WHY NOT?

    So just let me start by saying that I love many people.  I love many kinds of people and I love them all because of their differences, not despite them.  All of my friends are very different from each other and that is what allows me to have such enjoyment in those relationships.  If we were all the same how boring would that be?  I believe that it DOES NOT matter whether we are born gay or choose to be gay, that is not what is important.  A person's sexual preference does not and should not define who and what they are. The only thing that should define anyone is their actions; color, nationality, financial status, or yes even their sexual preference should NOT be the issue.  Yet our country and the "Mr. & Mrs. Better's" of the land have decided that there is a standard that everyone has to live up to if they are ever to be considered worthy of the same basic rights as those enjoyed by  "The Better's".  If you want to have an opinion that matters, you can not be gay. If you want to have children, you can not be gay.  If you want to be normal, you can not be gay.  If you want to go to Heaven, you guessed it, YOU CAN NOT BE GAY! Should you desire a legal commitment that provides you with the same entitlements that everyone else has, you can't be gay! Am I making myself clear? Being gay is bad! REALLY?! That's funny, because I always thought that kicking a puppy was bad.  I thought that hurting an elderly person was bad.  When I think of bad people, I think of child molesters and abusers, rapists and murderers, not gay people!  So please forgive my confusion over this entire issue.
     Why is this even an issue in the first place?  I'll tell you why; because we have been brainwashed to believe that anything that is different is bad.  It's really quite sad when you think about it.  We are a country encouraging the young fresh minds that are emerging to stay closed and small because that's what is comfortable for "The Better's".  No matter what my favorite color is, I am still a good person if my actions say so, right? I know that seems a ridiculous comparison, but really it's exactly dead on.  Liking the color blue does not make me any less valuable as a person, and the same is true for my sexual preference!
     I find that having an open mind is not just exciting, but also liberating.  I do not find myself falling into the traps laid by the haters of the world and at the same time I don't ever worry that my opinion is going to be different or unaccepted.  Diversity is what this country was founded on and now it's what this country fears.  How sad is it that we have moved away from progress and retreated to the point of actually diminishing the rights of our peers because of who they are attracted to?  
     In this country today, if I am attracted to a black man, an Asian man, a dwarfed man, a mentally challenged man, an older/younger man, a fat/skinny man, a rich/poor man IT DOESN'T MATTER! I can marry anyone of them and I can also marry a convicted felon, while he is in jail and that's legal an acceptable.  But if I am attracted to another woman and want to marry her, I'm not allowed according to the law.  WHY?! Why does a convicted felon have the right to marry but a productive law abiding gay couple can not?  I could ask this question 100 times and get 101 different answers but none of them could ever be sufficient.
     I happen to believe that a "marriage" is defined as a union between a man a woman.  That DOES NOT mean that a gay couple couldn't have a legal "partnership" that offers them the same benefits that a marriage offers us.  Call it whatever you are comfortable with, but the concept is the same.  We all should have the same advantages no matter what our favorite color is.  I have two children, and I love them.  I love the color of their eyes and the shape of their face.  The sound of their voices, even when they are fighting with each other, is the music in my life. I want only happiness and love to exist in their lives, no matter who they are attracted to.  
     Today our country is at war.  Today our country is financially broken.  Today this country is inspiring hate and teaching fear instead of offering hope through kindness with understanding and preaching equality.  Today is a new day, a new day with new possibilities.  Today you can reinvent yourself, change you opinion and open your mind.  Today you can stop hating and instilling fear and offer those around you a kinder more thoughtful existence.  Before you judge the lifestyle of a gay couple stop and ask yourself if you would feel the same way if it were your child being judged.  Certainly we do not have to like everything, and we do not have to engage in any activities that we are uncomfortable with to be supportive and understanding. EVERYONE should have the same basic advantages in life.  I would hope that we all can agree that life is hard enough, short enough, and costly enough to level the playing field!