Where is Your Pride?

Around the House
Not to much besides writing and talking to Katrina Rue about her new book SKYN that just came out.  I am actually getting ready for a fun and festive weekend with friends.  I have no intention of looking at any emails or even being too sober.  It is one of the few weekends a year I completely cut loose.  Guess what, its okay because it doesn't happen very often and gives me a chance to watch some great social interaction.  That always helps the writing and give me great fodder for future stories.

My Thoughts
I don't get to political, I don't scream and rant about my religious beliefs, I actually don't talk to much about me personal life.  Well today I think that it is time I did.  For those of you that don't know I am not just a crazed author in Chicago, I am also a proud gay man.  Yep I am!  I am getting ready for a weekend down for in the City for Chicago's Gay Pride Parade and saw a special on Showtime On Demand about pride parades around the world.  It really made me think about equality and the protesters that are anti gay rights.

First, I am a Catholic; mostly non-practicing do to the belief structure, but a Catholic none the less.  It comes from having an Italian Family.  I have spent time a lot of time over the years very angry with organized religion.  Christianity has a commandment of Love Thy Neighbor.  Christ talks of acceptance and love.  No where in the bible do you see Jesus screaming down with the gays.  So why is it in Modern society we see Christians and the group that spreads more hate than anyone else in the world?  Why do they stand on the side of the road during pride parades screaming that we are all going to Hell?  Why do they demean us for being different.  Some of the greatest advances in Military, Arts, and Sciences have come from the gay community.  Just look at your clothes.  So tell me, as a Christian how do you stand on the side of the road condemning people for following their heart?  How do you hate someone for the way God made them?  I do not understand this and it hurts me to think about this.  We as a society have come so far and yet we have so far to go.

Additionally, I have a thought on our society and marriage, so hold on and read before you get the pitch fork and hunt me down.  I do not believe in gay, straight, or other marriage that is upheld by the government.  Sorry I don't.  To me marriage is a religious institution and it is up the church to decide if they will allow their follows to marry and how they are to marry.  Now I have an issue with the government which has a strong separation of church and state honoring these religious ceremonies.  I believe that it should all be Civil Unions.  If individuals want to contractually bind themselves to each other they should be allowed to do regardless of the pairing.  For a government to give rights to one group and not another is no different that segregation of schools in the south.  Separate but equal was not equal back then and it sure as fuck isn't equal now.  So I ask each of you to write, email, blog, and petition to have equal rights for all people regardless of Sex, Gender, Nationality, Religions, Age, Health, or Sexuality.  We need an equal right amendment to show the world the discrimination of any kind is wrong.  Everyone should have the chance to purse Happiness, and those who wish to stop others from that should feel the fire of a witch trial not those who just want to be accepted.