Thanks.

I accept you for who and what you are.  The stigma forced upon so many of our brothers and sisters is a crime that may never really be erased.  Growing up in South Carolina I saw far too much of it, frankly.

Let's work together to push homophobia even further into the fringes of society.

I congratulate you for your courage. While I never thought it was an issue on MyDD, I'm also gay.

Thank you for sharing your story.  

inspiring, close to home, and reminds me of why I support Hillary Clinton.  

thanks for sharing....rec'd.

Hillary Clinton has a COMPASSION and an EMPATHY which cannot be learned. It is a natural gift which has grown and matured and thrived. She has the ability to listen and respect and learn from everyone she meets.

She truly is someone who LIVES the notion of "learn something new everyday". She is a sponge, a listener, a gatherer of information. The more she interacts with people, the stronger and wiser she becomes.

She gets it. She sees the larger truth, the bigger picture.

Thanks grlpatriot for sharing how she speaks for you. She speaks for me too... different reasons, but with the same exact resonance. Recommend.

Great Diary!!!

Beautiful diary.....  your words are inspiring and heartfelt.  I hope as we go forward we can all look out for one another, all try to do random acts of kindness and have compassion for one another.  

great diary, rec'd

steve m, love that pic!

Hillary has also always been right there for our community.  This little gay boy from the backwoods of Montucky couldn't be prouder of you or Hillary.  Both of the Clintons have always been there for this community and have always pushed back for us.  Great diary.

Til the last dog dies.

Because I am glad to meet someone else who viewed the Dont Ask Dont Tell as a step in the right direction.

And because I liked reading your very personal story =)

Too bad you made it to the rec list without my vote, however =)

She's a diva to us all.

Great diary.  This Obama supporter salutes you, and looks forward to continuing the fight for equality for ALL.

I congratulate you and salute your courage and also wish you all the happiness in the world as you embark on this new journey and phase of your life.

It really does not matter whom i support as your courage and your honest support for Senator Clinton is an example that we all should follow.

Thank you for sharing this with all of us.

Thank you for your diary from this straight woman with many, many lesbian friends.

And I think you'll feel comfortable with these ideas:

"    I'm running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all - a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It's wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans. Equality is a moral imperative. That's why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBTAmericans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation.

   In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples -- whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.

   I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) - a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system. The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.

   We also need a president who's willing to confront the stigma - too often tied to homophobia - that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones - and that's what I've done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention.

   I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign - from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached. Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBTAmericans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary. Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike."
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/th e_daily_dish/2008/02/obamas-open-let.htm l

while all my gay friends support barack (and some are even convention delegates of his), i still applaud your devotion and commitment.  we are in this together...

I'm with Hillary all the way.

***A

Nice post. The huge progress in gay rights stands next to the progress in civil rights and women's rights as evidence of what liberal activism can achieve.

Now that its over, i've stopped feeling sadness that Hillary lost and started to feel pride that she ran and that now a woman enters the history books as the candidate who won more votes than any other candidate in history in the primaries.

Here's a big hug from a proud mom of a gay man and "co-mom" of his partner. They are both huge supporters of Hillary as is my daughter. I agree with everything you said.

Live your life and don't let the mean people wear you down.

when I was pregnant, in 1973, I had insurance but it didn't cover maternity, because maternity isn't a disease, and it's something that can be avoided. I made 1.27 an hour, and I had to pay out of pocket to have maternity care.  Luckily for me I lived near a university hospital, and could pay $350.00 which covered the whole thing. I had to drive many miles, but I could pay for it.  That was the first year that abortion was legal, if you had a psychiatrist that said you had a mental health need. I didn't want one, but I had that option as long as I was willing to submit to a psychological assessment, and then pay for it.  I got no sick leave for my delivery and I could no go back to work, because I didn't earn enough to pay for day care.

When I gave up a job in 1993, I had COBRA, thanks to Bill Clinton.  I had pre-existing conditions (cancer) and had to sweat it out to see if I could get insurance after the 18-month limit was up.

I'll stand by Hillary and I'll continue to be offended by those who tell me to give up my dream right now, since i didn't do it when it would have helped Barack, five months ago.  These calls for unity are insulting and counter-productive. Hillary will be stand up, she always is, but they pundits are putting it all on her. If Barack is a unity guy he'll request a unity ticket, the one 70 percent of Democrats want. If he cites her baggage and says she'll be a drag on his ticket, he won't unity squat.  

to my friends and family back in 1975 while I was in the Marine Corps - of course only my best friends in the Corps knew. I have never regretted it for a moment. I actually can't imagine, speaking for myself, living any other way than honestly and openly. Coming out is the single most important thing that gay men and women can do to further the cause of equal rights for GLBT persons. It is this simple act, letting the world know that we are everywhere - sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, Moms, Dads, firemen, doctors, teachers, lawyers, factory workers, on and on and on - that not only furthers the cause of equality, but frees us to live our lives fully and honestly. That is priceless....

Kudos for your bravery and your honesty.

I feel your struggle, I sympathize and I empathize.

While I do not know your struggle directly, I know a lot about it.  Being the Small Smart Thoughtful Quiet Boy in school in the 70s I give you one guess what the common label given to me by the bullies who beat me up was.  Three letters and it starts with F...

I did not even know what it meant, but I knew that it was enough to get the whole school laughing at me, and there was not anyone I could even ask for a definition.

The sort of pressure you feel prior to posting your diary is something I am very familiar with.  I thank the bullies of my youth for pushing me to the edge early and often, because as I result I am almost genetically unable to avoid confronting those who would apply such pressure ever again, even for a moment.

That is one of the things that also leads me to be such a cranky jerk sometimes... ;-)

I may still not agree with you on many things, but you have my highest regard at this moment.

Good on you, again.  Never let the bullies win.

-cheers!!

-chris

I really appreciate the diary.

I also share your feelings.  I read the statement you linked from Hillary's website, and was reminded of the journey that you eloquently reflect on in your piece.  Out of curiosity, and in an effort to try to achieve some basic comfort with Barack Obama, I decided to visit his website and see what his statement on Gay Pride was.

I was disappointed - rather than articulate a position, as Hillary did, he simply told Gay people that they should start organizing and hold events for him.  It was more nakedly self-serving than I expected from a polished politician like him.

Your story is not only beautiful & poignant, but an inspiration and a reminder that not all patriot struggles happen in battle, nor often in the company of allies.

Stories like yours should be celebrated in our school text books, along with others who fought their own lonely battle to make this country better than the one they inherited.

cool diary. Don't really agree with making someone a savior for such a personal issue, (I'd never entrust Obama--or Hillary--with my gay happiness, for example), but nice writeup and as a Californian