Quest for Equality

I find myself sitting here and watching a documentary entitled "This Is Love In Action Looks Like" which is about parents sending their homosexual children to a Christian camp to turn them into ex-gays.

There are a mix of emotion going on here.  How is this tolerable? I can barely tolerate watching this, but I am forcing myself to so that I may be more educated on some of the ridiculous things happening to our youth today. Now, I thought that my coming out was sort of rough where hell was my ultimate destiny if I "chose" to remain in the homosexual lifestyle, but I am now counting my lucky stars that I was only sentenced to Christian counseling and not a Christian camp to exile me out of homosexuality.

Don't get my wrong, I believe in Jesus, but I am very reluctant to deem myself a Christian for I don't agree with organized religion for many reasons which would be a great topic for another post.  I am just appreciative that there is a good side to this documentary where it describes how you can be a homosexual and a Christian.  That these two things can coexist together in harmony.  But yet there are so many people that believe that these two things are separate entities and not equal ones; that you cannot be both...you can only be a Christian (which is the only right thing) OR you can be homosexual.   These things are preached to not exist together because that would be blasphemy.  Ha, right. Hypocrites.  This is why I don't like or agree with organized religion.  People preach love and acceptance but are the first ones to close the door and not treat others as equals.  Where did that love and acceptance flee to?  Why did it dissipate? Riddle me that organized religious lovers, riddle me that.

The United States has come along way, yes.  The LGBTQ community has more protections that ever before, but there is still along way to go until equality happens. I hope to see equality in my lifetime for I would love nothing more to marry the love of my life.  Sure, we can get a civil union in a state where it is allowed, or we can travel to a state where gay marriage is legal but it is only legal and recognized in that state, but that is not enough for me. I am NOT a second class citizen.  I am no less than any heterosexual.

So my burning questions to all those Americans out there, especially those who are in charge of running our country, who don't view LGBTQ as equals.....whatever happened to the separation of church and state?  And when did your religious beliefs trump my equal rights?