Its Getting Better!

Greetings again! My post is about gay pride and how happy I am to be associated with the gay community.

Yes, there are still issues to be worked out as gays and lesbians strive to be accepted in this crazy society we live in, but people are starting to recognize, around the globe, how important it is for the GLBT nation to have the same rights as heterosexuals.

Just look at what happened recently. New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage! Impressive, considering the state has that hard reputation right? They join, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and DC as the only 6 to recognize same sex marriage. Why should that be?

Now, in other states, like mine in Illinois, civil unions are accepted and hopefully this is just a step to the Land of Lincoln doing as the other six have done and support everyone's right to marry.

And just a few days ago in the UK, Parliament voted to legalize same sex marriage! That is awesome. What a joy for them. When will the US do the same? Hopefully not too far behind. 

The acceptance of openly gay and lesbian troops into the military. Long time coming right? DADT or Don’t Ask Don’t tell is on its way out. Tomorrow, it will be history! While I’m in no way, shape, or form a fan of military service, it still isn’t right for the government to hold back individuals from serving. Why should one’s orientation stop them from doing the job they love? Why should it matter if they love someone of their own gender to serve their country? Something is definitely wrong with this picture.

Lastly, more awareness. The Trevor Project, NOH8, the It Gets Better campaign, among others are definitely a sign that there is an outcry for tolerance. Unfortunately, tragedy has had to strike, in the case of the Trevor Project, to happen in order for something to be done but a lot of times that is what has occurred in cases with any cause that finally gets national attention.

Every year in June, in places around the country and other parts of the world, the gay pride parades abound with people who are and in support of the gay community walking hand in hand. Colorful floats, people from all races and creeds, joining together to alert the world that GLBT nation deserves to be recognized. It’s such a great event. I attended the one here in Chicago this year and it was a blast.

 Even with all these positives, there is still much to do. Unfortunately, gay bashing still exists. It may not be the main headline but that doesn't mean it hasn’t gone away. Youths are still bullied and some so traumatized it drives them to suicide. Thankfully, there are organizations like http://www.gsanetwork.org/what-we-do and http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/home/index.html to be a source of assistance for the community. There needs to be more like this around the country, especially for our young people to have a place when they have nowhere to turn.

There are still places in the world where homosexuality is illegal. Uganda is very close to making it punishable by death. Unreal.

In Georgia, sodomy is illegal. Something I didn’t know until recently. This can be translated to say that the state of Georgia frowns upon gay relationships. What’s wrong with this picture when in other states it’s okay to have more than one wife. Legally.

Moving on.

Acceptance and tolerance still have a long ways to go but with everyone taking the time to realize that what someone else does with their life shouldn’t be your choice, things would get better. I mean, think. Would you want someone else dictating to you who you should love? Think about it.

Let's continue to celebrate the positives but realize this isn't the end. There is still much to do and it is up to us as individuals to stand up for our rights!

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BLURB:

Hesitant to begin a relationship with someone new, two police officers who have lost their partners in the line of duty try to deal with their obvious attraction to one another. Will one of them accept the other’s proposition to start over or remain alone because of their places on the police force?

Another Excerpt!

When I arrived home, I hung up my coat on the back of the door, kicking my clothes from the night before to the side. When I brought Angel back here last evening, we undressed quickly because it had been about two weeks since I’d had sex with someone other than my own hand. I was in too much of a rush and I assumed it would be a one-nighter so I wasn’t concerned about being tidy.

Even so, it wasn’t me who was the neat one. Jayson was always quick to clean up after me when I made the mess. He was the woman of the house in our down low relationship that we masked as two best friends rooming in the same apartment. We pulled it off since living in Chicago was so damn expensive. Not a lot of people questioned our decision.

By the looks of the place, you could tell I hadn’t paid attention to the disorganization and nor did I care. When I lost Jayson, it wasn’t important to keep it clean like he had it. I guess in the back of my mind, I just knew he’d step back through that door, cursing me out, telling me to pick up my shit. I still hadn’t accepted that he was dead. When you love someone that much, how could you?

I sat on my couch, picking up the picture I placed flat on the table the night prior. It was the photo we’d taken at an officer’s ball a year and a half ago. We escorted our best gal pals with us to make it look like we had dates. They knew we were gay so it made it easier to play straight in front of the homophobic force.

“You looked great that night, baby!” I traced his jawline, staring into his blue eyes. “You always did.” The tears began to fall. I swore I wouldn’t do this anymore.

Fuck…