New York's state senate decided to take the coward's route and vote down marriage equality in my home state. I'd always been proud of New York, but I'm truly ashamed that 38 senators -- including the one in my district -- chose to place themselves on the wrong side of history. They could have made a huge step in the direction of progress, tolerance, and compassion. They chose discrimination.
Nothing separates me from my homosexual friends. We are equals. We are the same. We all love, learn, grow, fail, laugh, and cry. We follow all kinds of paths on the same planet. But some people believe that, for some reason, I deserve more rights than my friends. That's bullshit. My friends are not second-class citizens.
If "traditional" marriage doesn't include all the people who have loved and supported me throughout my years, then I don't want to be a part of it. That's why I'm selling my legal right to marry on eBay.
I know this is merely symbolic and I can't actually give my right away. But there's a pretty good chance that I may never exercise my right to get married. If I really want to, I'll just get a civil union or have a commitment ceremony. Because they're just as good, aren't they?
Either that, or I'm just going to get married like 85 times -- because I can -- and then just get divorced -- because I can. How's that for making a mockery of the institution of marriage?
And if any equality opponents are reading this thinking, "I couldn't care less what you do with your personal life" ... Um, yeah -- then why do you care what my friends and so many others do with theirs? So much so that you would deny them equal rights? Really?
But here is the eBay listing. Right now, I plan to donate the entire amount of the highest bid to the Point Foundation, which provides assistance to students who have been marginalized because of their sexual orientation. But since I'm overly ambitious, I'm going to split the proceeds if the amount gets high enough, donating to other LGBT organizations. I would really like that to happen.
Happy Bidding!