I live in what can most aptly be described as a pretty
diverse neighborhood. Even though I’m about as
heterosexual as they come I’ve made friends with many of the same
sex couples that have chosen to take up residence in the area. I don’t go out of my way to do it, it just seems to happen. Maybe it’s because a long time ago I made a
conscious decision to see everybody as just people and try to strip them of their labels. People struggling just like the so-called normal folks who are trying to make
sense of a very confused
world.
People who worry about many of the same things I worry about and are just trying to cope with the daily grind that each of us must
face.
I was standing in line, waiting to vote and a young lady was behind me. We got to chatting about the state of the world and she happened to mention to me that her wife was out of town and how much she missed her and that she wouldn’t be back for a couple of weeks.
The tears began welling up in her eyes and you could almost feel the distance that was keeping them apart.
There’s a proposed amendment to the Ohio constitution that wants to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman only.
She asked me this question…
”What else are they going to take away from us?”
I got to thinking about “these people”. They must face more than I can ever imagine. From social acceptance to discrimination in the work place to snickers about them while they stand in line at the grocery. Maybe it's just something they talk about among themselves and figure that the rest of us so-called normal folks don't want to hear about. My heart goes out to them.
Even though it was a no-brainer, I voted against the amendment. I don’t want to look at any more eyes that are filled with tears. We have enough reasons to cry already. We don't need to go about inventing more of our own.