Last summer, marriage equality became the law of the land.
Gays and lesbians were good. We could get legally married.
I must admit that I was ecstatic to be able to be legally married to Mike. And while we were celebrating, I began to think of all the work that we need to continue doing. I knew then what many others were already thinking and getting ready for, that with marriage equality the doors of bigotry would swing open even more.
And so they have. It started with talk of religious freedom and has flushed right into bathrooms. Most of the attacks come from people who say they love Jesus, and are taking action or saying awful things because of Jesus. Others say they are fighting a new war against women, which has come up with new laws on who can and cannot use public restrooms marked for specific genders.
I am sure there are kind-hearted people who have honest, real concerns. I always try to give even the most hateful person the benefit of the doubt. Yet even after all of that, I still believe that all of this is only because these people do not like gay, lesbian or transgender people.
To all of you who have supported equality, who voted for pro-equality candidates or legislation, who spoke against hate and violence perpetrated against those in our community, I have a request.
Please do not stop. We need you more than ever. The fight against bigotry and against religious extremism is as fierce as ever, even if some of us can fight as legally married couples. Please continue to support us and continue to speak out against hatred and bigotry towards anyone in the LGBTQ communities. As many of us enjoy legal marriage, trans women, especially trans women of color, are being murdered in record numbers, many LGBTQ people can still be fired for being gay, and LGBTQ youth still commit suicide at high rates and are a higher percentage of the homeless youth rate.
We need our allies more than ever!
Thank you for reading.
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