We need to stop speaking of gays as if they were a race. These are men and women who choose to do what they are doing I have grown sick of hearing about gays. They have the same power of vote as any one else. Dont forget that these are people that were born men and women.

Yes, I am a gay man. And, yes, I was born a man. Beyond that, your point would be?

If you are implying my life and the lives of my partner and I as a couple are "just like" anyone else's, you are clearly deluding yourself. Ironically for all the "conservatives" out there, gays are one of the few groups in this country that actually do have to make it on our own without support or recognition from the government. We have to be libertarian because we know we can absolutely never count on our nation to recognize our value or support our relationships in any fashion. Whatever we have can be taken away - we have learned (and re-learned) that our entire lives.

I an not naive - I recognize every individual and every family has tremendous challenges (and hopefully joy as well). But in a society filled with people openly hostile to my very existence, I know I see the world very differently. My military experience and my civilian experience has been completely different than a similar age and background heterosexual male would have experienced.

The only choice I made was to be true to myelf and refuse to live in a pathetic closet.

Have you ever had to watch a news conference in which the president basically refuses to acknowledge your existence while he calls for a constitutional amendment to enshrine your second-class citizenry forever? The verbal gyrations in creating a speech condemning part of the population to second-class citizenry without ever mentioning them by name must have been daunting. But my partner and I sat in front of the TV and received the message loud and clear - "Your contributions to society are worthless, and your aspirations are too; now let's that state that permanently."

The article is correct that homosexuals are not monolthically in synch on every issue (thank goodness), but I can assure you every homosexual in our country has experienced that "kicked in the stomach feeling"
many times, and that shared experience does shape our view of our nation and the world.

As a member of a majority population, it must be really nice to use throw away lines like "everyone has a vote." You might not be aware that our nation was also founded upon a belief in the rights of the individual, something the masses appear to have forgotten. And that is sad because failing to acknowledge the value of each individual weakens our nation as a whole and divides us all.

As angry as I am sometimes, I wish you only well.

Politics is a life choice, homosexuality is a life choice. The Armed Services are a life choice, homosexuality is a life choice. Being Black or Asian or Latin is not a life choice, homosexuality is a life choice.
Oh, I remember when gay was a word everyone in the world could be at some time but homosexual men thought it was a good word for them.

When is the last time anyone can remember, "All Men are Created Equal." If its not one thing, its another. First, its women's rights. Then, the Black-Rights movement. Now, the Gay Power issue.

As Anthony stated, "We need to stop speaking of gays as if they were a [seperate] race."

To say that being gay is a choice, or that gays are not a minority is ignorant. To say that you don't want to hear anymore about them is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as anyone in the LGBT community voting republican in this election. As the newer generations come of age and come to power, the equal rights movement grows. This is simply another example.

For too long, Americans with the stagnant Puritan Ethics have denied the divorce statistics that 70 percent of marriages end in divorce. Recently I heard on the major network a woman say that monogomy is a fantasy. That is one person who realizes that personal experience contradicts the Puritan Fantasy about men & women are destined for marriage. If monogomy is the natural inclination, why did Jesus have to create marriage as a sacrament? He did so in order to create yet another Thou Shall Not. And yet the savior of mankind refused marriage for himself (I know this contradicts the Divinci Code).
No wonder other lifestyles have come into existence.
Adam.

"Chose to do what their doing?" The same way you "chose" to be heterosexual? Get a clue.

It's not a choice Anthony -

Ask yourself, when did you make the choice to be hetrosexual?

Why would anyone choose to be homosexual when they might be beaten up for it, loose their job over it, possibly be killed for it and not be allowed to marry the one they love?

And what in the world is that supposed to mean "Dont forget that these are people that were born men and women" ?

Ralph, while you may have "chosen" to ignore your homosexual desires and live a heterosexual lifestyle, most people would consider that choice to be a dishonest and dysfunctional one (including your unfortunate wife). A large percentage of gay people try to "choose" the opposite sex, myself included, but sexual attraction is not that simple. (You can test that theory out by trying to be sexually attracted to G.W. Bush, let us know if you do change orientation, even temporarily)

You did leave one thing out of your litany of life choices. Religion is a choice. Perhaps freedom of religion is no longer necessary or desirable? Perhaps that would be a great first step to winning the war on terror. It's better than giving up our other freedoms.

"Being Black or Asian or Latin is not a life choice, homosexuality is a life choice."

-So when they come out with a pill that makes everyone white, do you suggest we strip black people of their rights again, because now they have a CHOICE?

tired of hearing about us gays and lesbians? stop trying to oppress and condemn us, accept us as a fact of life and we can all move on. fight us and we'll be screaming INJUSTICE! for the next thousand years.

to Mr. Henson:
I am gay. I did not choose it. it is NOT a life choice. Using drugs, or being promiscuous is a life choice. Having children is a life choice. Being gay is not a choice. Why would I want to subject myself to the ignorance and bigotry of people like you? I don't choose this. I've been gay since as far back as I've known. If it's a choice, then WHEN did you make the CHOICE to be hetero? ... assuming you are

John -
What an astute post!

Anthony, Ralph and Jay -
Or should I address you as Moe, Larry and Curly? Gays and Lesbians are, by definition a MINORITY. We are also the LAST MINORITY it's still "OK" to discriminate against in housing, medical care, employment and marriage. Your posts are blatant evidence of this prejudice and discrimination.

And another thing, my 15+ year relationship has lasted longer that ALL of the 'marriages' of my thrice-divorced straight brother.

Gay and Lesbian people ARE becoming more visible and we WILL be a force to be considered during the elections next month and in 2008.

Why don't you three go back to poking each other in the eye and stop talking about things and people you don't and will never understand?

Sorry, John. Can't be as magnanimous as you w/these people.

Question: who in their right mind would choose to be part of a demographic that, at the end of the day, gets kicked around and treated like second-class citizenry? Homosexuals don't "choose" their sexuality, just the same way that Martin Luther King didn't "choose" to be black in the sixties. If you placed a tax on being of a minority the way the US places a tax on homosexuality, there would be public outcry to the highest hills.

I hate to say this, but most of my gay friends don't vote (even when a marriage amendement was put up for a vote).
They saw the polls against them and decided the margins were to wide for their one vote to make a difference. Yet, there they were complaining about the results. When I reminded one of them he didn't vote, he said, what's the point?
I am very liberal and voted against the gay marriage ban here in Texas. It was kind of sad that the people it was really affecting were at happy hour on election day. I'm not saying that gays don't vote, but based on my experience, many don't. Unfortunately or forutnately- depending on your view, voter apathy seems to be more rampant among the L&G community than it does with those that oppose them.

Hear hear Layne. My thrice-married brother also lags way behind my 26 years of life with my partner.

I always find it interesting that heteros can loudly declare that being gay is a choice, something really only a gay person can possibly know. But we have all seen how powerful the closet can be in validating bigotry.

Hang in there my gay brethren. We shall overcome.

TO everybody, i don't care if you are strait, bi, or full on homosexual! I am a full blown lesbian and i am DAMNED PROUD of being who i am. i have no problems with myself and i have no reason to want to change. I have always been attracted to women since in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. now come on, what kind of elementary kid CHOOSES to be gay? you don't have the choice, and even if i did, i would choose the homosexual path because i love my girlfriend with everything that i have and wouldn't give that love up for anything!! Nor, would we give up the 2 beautiful children that we are raising. so to all us MINORITY, I LOVE YA'LL, AND REMEMBER, BE PROUD CAUSE ITS WHO YOU ARE!!! To hell with anybody who has a problem with that

The United States needs to look at its norther border and take some notes.

I am a native New Yorker who married my partner (who is Canadian a year ago) and have immigrated to Toronto.

The truth is people in the LGTB community do not have rights, or should I say--real EQUAL rights in the US. Gay marriage is legal in Canada and we are PROTECTED and represented equally here.

70% of Canadians approve of same-sex marriage. Often I hear Canadians say "what is wrong with the US, what is the big deal?"
Look at Canada folks....
The land of real equality and freedom.

Greg, Michael Jackson already has that pill to make a person white and he made that choice...along with a host of other bad choices. The struggle for civil rights of any minority group, social or ethnic, ought not be compared to or even spoken within the same sentence as the struggle that blacks have had to endure with the exception of Native Americans. To put this in perspective; blacks were kidnapped, enslaved, sold, beaten, raped, lynched, made to labor for over 400 years and received centuries of humiliation and discrimination for compensation. I can go on but I'm sure most of you reading this are intelligent enough to get the point. Before you think of making this comparison again it would be appreciated if you would ask yourself if a country, state, county, municipality, development, block, street, or household has made a cent at the expense of one homosexual's dehumanizing slave labor and exploitation. Have we found scientific proof that homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice yet? John, you need a hug!!!

Hi Mike @ 7:13:40 PM:

In your research, could you also find out if we have scientific proof that heterosexuality is not a lifestyle choice?

People can make the comparison to blacks, Native Americans, and any other group all they want. No one group has a monopoly on experiencing discrimination. Are you somehow better or more human than gays? Though what you described sounds terrible and I'm glad we are well beyond that time, only GLBT people know what it is like to be discriminated as a GLBT person in 2006. The sting of discrimination and disparities between people are relative to the time in which they take place. This makes it all that much more significant that it's happening today when much of it has subsided for other minorities.

What's a black gay man to do? Does your post make him feel better? Is one type of discrimination better than the other for him?

It's our humanity that creates equity between us first. I think all disparate groups can walk away from discrimination and forward together with their unique, and at times intersecting, histories intact.