Goody Goody Gay Drops

You know, I’ve known it’s Gay Pride week all week and I don’t think I’ve heard anybody talking about it, so I guess it’s up to me.

I’m the biggest supporter of gay rights that I know, personally. Besides my girlfriend who won’t tell you for sure or not if she’s a lesbian, but she wears a little rainbow button on her hat and has a girlfriend. I will fight for the rights of gay people everywhere to be able to live their lives and be happy, just like I’m allowed to do. I’m like a heterosexual, pregnant, gay crusader. Ok, maybe I’m not that cool, but dammit, I’ll fight with anyone on gay rights, and it makes me so angry to see gay people being oppressed. They can’t get married, they can’t have childrens books, people call them evil and immoral, and it pisses me off as much as it would if I were gay, I think. Ask any of my friends, and they’ll tell you that I have more angst for gay people than a normal straight woman should have. I’ve fought with a lot of them about it.

Living in Butler, Pennsylvania, there’s not much support for the gay community here. And yes, there is a gay community, albeit perhaps a more closeted gay community than most cities. The number of rednecks in this town far outweigh the number of gay people, so a gay pride parade or anything like that is out of the question. And like most towns, the Christian right will declare “gays don’t reflect our family values!” And that phrase right there is what is prompting me to buy my kid this t-shirt.

Family values. It’s such a simple sounding concept, isn’t it? But the t-shirt makes such a good point. How can you be teaching your child family values when you’re teaching them to hate what is different from them? Just because your family is one way, doesn’t mean that all families have to be that way. Just because I have a family that includes a husband, wife, and child doesn’t mean that I won’t accept having 2 wives and a child next door to me. I’d welcome it.

Not everyone I know personally welcomes my views. In fact, I’m sure most of my friends get sick of hearing about what pisses me off, since when I get pissed I blog about it on our personal blog (they’ve mostly learned to ignore me). I know for sure that my father wouldn’t agree with me, and I know that Ryan gets sick of me ranting and raving about stuff (he’s a construction worker, not a saint).

For me, it all comes down to religion. You can’t say anything is wrong with being homosexual without bringing religion into it. And since I believe strongly in science, it’s not a surprise to me that a number of humankind are homosexual. It’s natural. It happens. You can either accept it, or spend your life fearing it. And if there’s one thing I hope to instill on my child, it’s never to use religion as a shield. Hate is NOT a family value. Not in my family, anyway.

Happy Gay Pride! Ahh... Squirrel Stories... now even gayer than before.

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