I could say it doesn’t matter. That we’ll get them next time. That this doesn’t mean anything in the long run. I could try and convince you that this was a mistake and people really don’t think this way. But I’d really just be trying to convince myself. My faith is wavering a little under these staggering statistics. 31 times gay marriage showed up on the ballot. And despite all the knocking on doors, all the blog posts, and rallies and pride events and positive media attention, all the love and support we received, 31 times, THIRTY-ONE times. We were shot down. Denied the rights that every human being should be born with. This isn’t about religion. Marriage is no longer conducted only within a church.  This isn’t about showing off wedding rings and picking out floral centerpieces. This isn’t about anybody else but us. Our rights to be with the ones we love. This is about people recognizing that as an accepted reality. This is about our government giving us the basic rights that other married couples have. It’s about commitment, and family, and dedication. It’s about sharing a bond and being able to proudly introduce a husband or wife. It’s about not being afraid. And sure, it’s about the tax benefits, and the employment benefits, and government benefits, and being able to see each other in the hospital, and buying a house together, and filing for adoption together, and being seen as a real, honest-to-goodness family, but most of all, most of all it’s about Love.

I could say that none of it really matters because Love isn’t something anyone can deny you. It won’t stop us from carrying on with our lives. It won’t cause us to break down and decide that it’s better off being straight than gay. I’m not going to run away and push my head in the sand and pretend I never liked girls. So it shouldn’t matter, right? I should just brush it off. But I can’t. It does matter. It matters to me and my girlfriend and every couple out there that is being treated like a second-class citizen. And what for? Why are we being treated with such disrespect? Like we’re not good enough to love? Because of bigotry. Because despite our freedom for and from religion, we are still being forced into a box controlled by what other people believe. We are not allowed to have our beliefs if they interfere with the majority. There always has to be sides, it seems, and our government thinks it’s fair to allow the majority to dictate how everyone should live their lives. Our country is slowly losing its identity as the Melting Pot. Conformity is the majority and if you don’t fit in that box, you’re shot down.

It does matter. Losing 31 out of 31 times matters. It’s a heavy weight on the heart. They whisper “Someday” but I’m sick of waiting for “Someday” to arrive. We deserve it now.

But patience is a virtue, and so is perseverance. We’ll keep fighting, keep talking, keep waving our rainbow flags in the air defiantly. We’ll hoot and holler in your face at every parade and every protest. I’ll keep living the life I’m living. I’ll keep waking up next to my girlfriend every morning and remembering every moment just why I fell in love with her. And I’ll keep questioning why. Why are we not equal? Why are we not seen as a real family? And I’ll keep looking for answers.

And I’ll keep telling myself it’s okay. We’ll get them next time.

Today is the official Blogging for LGBT Families Day, put together by Dana of Mombian. In lieu of the recent events of allowing same-sex marriages in several states and the awful continuation of Prop 8 in California, I feel that this day is an important recognition of the love and commitment that so many families – gay, lesbian, or straight – have shared with the rest of the world.

I am a lesbian in a very loving relationship with my girlfriend of (almost) two years. While we don’t have a conventional family, we do have a lot of kids: Spunky, Zane, Akima, Merlin, Drake, Nate, Chunky, Morgan, Meetu, Sahara, Phoebe, Kendi, Galileo, and Aristotle. One dog, three cats, two ferrets, three rats, two leopard geckos, one ball python, and two lovely fish. No, no human children yet, but it is something that we have discussed and we both agree and want to have children. She wants twin boys, I want a little girl, but I know that no matter what gender we finally have, we will love him or her unconditionally. That is what a family is – a tight bond of love that flows without limits. To those who feel that they have the right to say that some people do not deserve that sort of family and that sort of love, I would like to them to think about what life would be like being denied it simply because someone had a different opinion.

The main argument against same-sex marriage is that homosexuality is a sin within the bible. While I’d like to see it in writing other than in the Old Testament, I’d also like to know when the USA (and the world) had become a place with just one religion. To deny a family to be complete with marriage simply because ONE religious text says it is not right is not only taking away what should be an equal right for all, but also takes away a person’s freedom of and from religion. Ash and I have a family that is open and loving and cares for all things and believes in many things. We don’t have a conventional family or a conventional relationship or a conventional view on life, but who can possibly say what is conventional in this day and age, especially in the melting pot that is America.

Families come in all shapes and sizes, colors and genders, traditions and cultures, and each deserves the respect and rights that all families are entitled to. Lesbian and gay families, and all untraditional families, have the same rights to happiness and love that everyone does, and until that fact is recognized for what it is, we shall continue to fight and celebrate days like today. That is why I am blogging today in honor of LGBT Families Day: I have one and I know many more and there is no shortage of love when it comes to these wonderful close-knit families.

Life is good and it just keeps getting better.

Thought I’d share this before I head off to bed. It’s a bit old, but definitely still worth mentioning.

The 66-year-old’s appointment as interim leader – until elections in May – is seen by many as a milestone for the gay and lesbian movement, correspondents say.

“I don’t think her sexual orientation matters. Our voters are pretty liberal, they don’t care about any of that,” Skuli Helgeson, Social Democratic Alliance’s general secretary, told the BBC.

From the article: “First Gay PM for Iceland Cabinet.” How awesome is this? It’s pretty awesome. The modern world’s first openly gay leader, they say. You know, the world just keeps getting brighter and brighter. It’s getting better, Universe. Don’t give up on Earth just yet. We’re finally starting to pull together.

Now this was something that made me smile this morning, despite being sick and feeling like my throat is trying to set itself on fire.

And no, despite what you think, this wasn’t a Homecoming Drag Show or some gay-only contest. This was a real homecoming at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. A Mr. Ryan Allen, a drag queen that goes by the name Reann Ballslee, entered the contest under his drag persona and beat out two other girls for the title. You can read the whole article here: “School Crowns Male Homecoming Queen.” How uplifting is that? It seems that diversity is encouraged at the school and a man dressed as a woman is nothing to blink an eye at. In fact, it’s celebrated!

“I was very touched by how Mason was so supportive through the whole process of allowing a boy in a dress to run for homecoming queen,” Allen said in a phone interview. “It says a lot about the campus that not only do we have diversity but we celebrate it.”

To those of you who think the whole thing is just silly, take a moment to understand. Being a drag king, I sometimes forget that my persona, Taylor Hardon, isn’t real. I take on all of his mannerisms on stage. There are times I wish I could pretend to be him in real life circumstances because he is so much more confident than me, but dressing in drag isn’t taken too seriously. People see it as just another way to perform. It’s more than that though. Apparently there are some at George Mason University who do understand that Reann Ballslee isn’t just a made up face, she’s a part of who Ryan Allen is and they’re celebrating that! They are celebrating and accepting all parts of one of their gay students.

I don’t know. I just feel good about it. I don’t think it’s silly, I think it’s just downright cool that a student body would pick someone like that. I wish more schools worked that way.

I feel better today. I’m going to go outside and help Ash brush the pups.