At this very moment, my heart is filled with so much love for my hometown of New York and the people who live, thrive, and survive in this crazy and magical place.  After a long fought battle, our political powers that be finally passed a bill to allow gay marriage and essentially give them mainstream equality.  Long overdue, I say.

Although I personally have no one to call my own, it fills my heart with joy to see friends and family and even the occasional stranger who has found true love and is proud to show the world just how they feel about their significant other.  I would love nothing more than spending my days, months, and years growing old with someone who shares my passions and encourages me to grow, and is content with the thought of having me by his side and having his back in return as we go through life in pursuit of our mutual goals. 

With that said, it’s not fair for those who have found that to be judged, ostracized and denied rights simply because a group doesn’t approve of whom they choose to spend their lives with.

In all honesty, my fellow heterosexuals haven’t exactly made a strong case for marriage.  In fact, we’re not exactly stellar examples when it comes to simple relationships, either.  Monogamy itself appears to be a dying tradition, as people tend to use past hurts and recurring fears as justification to act the hell up and subsequently jeopardize any chance of having stable and healthy partnerships.  The numbers are staggering when it comes to divorce rates and single parenthood.  In the long run it affects our children, who grow up mimicking what they see; the bitterness, the promiscuity, the emotionless attachments just to fill voids as a sad substitute for what they don’t see: genuine loving relationships.

So for those who have shown what it is to be committed and invested in a long-term partnership — and desperately want to hold sacred all that the vows entail — I say let them.

For all the flamboyance and over-the-top imagery that tends to be associated with homosexuals, I somehow managed to find the two tamest gay men out of the whole bunch to be the best of friends with.  Whilst I flounder in the love department, these two have successfully found partners with whom they have been in long-term monogamous relationships with, and have even had civil ceremonies because they couldn’t wait for the rest of the world to catch up with their progression.  One has recently adopted a beautiful baby girl to make their family complete, and the other has endured the greatest test of their union as he battles an illness that doesn’t discriminate — and it has proven to have made him and his relationship stronger than ever.  They both have inspired me in ways I could never imagine, and when I think of either of them being subjected to any hardship, it makes me want to start rolling up in Catholic churches and publicly remind them of their legendary hypocrisies.  But that would make me digress from loving my fellow (hu/wo)man.

So for this moment, I’ll share in the pride that millions have shown this past weekend, and pray that it’s the beginning of a new era in which love and acceptance stands at the forefront — making a clearing for people to be who they are without fear.  

…Something we all should aspire to.