Okay. Incase you missed the memo, it's 2004, people.

I'm having a very hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that there is STILL not equal rights for everyone in this country. Everyone has a right to vote, everyone has a right to eat in whatever corner cafe they choose and everyone has a right to listen to whatever music they choose.

What really gets to me is that not everyone has the right to marry.

Currently in America, there are two things that are always in the top stories on the news: 1) the upcoming Presidental election and 2) the fact that *gasp* several thousand same sex couples have been allowed to marry.

Why is this such a big deal? The same sex marriages, I mean. I couldn't give a whooping funt about the election....everyone in politics is crazy and/or corrupt so I opted to just ignore that whole section of life.

Why is it such a big deal in 2004 for two men or two women to share a life together?

I am a HUGE supporter of homosexuality (actually, I guess I'm a supporter of "love" in whatever form it takes). I always have been. I don't know why. My gay friends effectionatly call me a "fag hag" because I have a LOT of gay friends and I treasure every single one of them. Don't get me wrong, the first time that someone was ever openly gay around me was in high school. I sat next to him and starred at him for a few weeks because of it. After a few weeks had passed and he didn't start to grow a third arm or sprout horns and I didn't start feeling any different (ie- start digging girls as a little more than friends), I decided that a) it's not contagious and b) if I decided to NOT be friends with this guy just because of the fact that he liked Brad Pitt more than Jennifer Aniston, I was giving up on an opportunity to have a great person in my life. Think of the most interesting person you know. Now imagine if they were gay and you had opted to NOT to get to know them any farther. See what I mean?

You know what I find kind of ironic? Not too long ago, if two people were caught in...uh...the "throws of passion" (nice, huh? ;) ), they were forced to get married. Now, if two people of the same sex want to get married, they are being denied this. Guess what boys and girls, people who are in a same sex relationship are not just sitting around, holding hands and getting lost in one another's eyes. Nope. They're getting tangled up in those same throws. But because it is two people of the same sex, not only are they not forced to get married, but they're not allowed. Are you beginning to see why I'm not such a fan of the human race? We have no idea what the hell we're doing.

I don't think it's fair that these people aren't given the same rights. I have a same sex couple who comes into the restaurant who have been together for over 30 years! 30 years!! They're doing better than most straight couples! Yet, they're not allowed to be on one another's health insurance (luckily, they're fairly well off) and if one of them dies, the other will get no benifits. It's so not fair that something like that can happen in America in 2004.

I personally cannot wait for the day when I'm talking to my grandkids and they're shocked that there used to be a time when same sex couples weren't allowed to be married.

Four years ago, when it was election time, I voted. Mainly out of the fact that it was the first time I COULD vote on a Presidental election. Voting on a Presidental election means finding someone that you WANT to vote for. As I mentioned before, I do not follow politics. So I went online and found out what both candidates stance on homosexuality was. Bush was against it; Gore was for it. My decision was made. Alas, Bush won. Now, four years later, I'm just sitting back and giggling any time anyone who voted Bush complains about him trying to pass an Amendment to ban same sex marriages.

Doesn't he have bigger battles to be fighting? Don't we still have troops overseas somewhere? Isn't there some small country who's having some sort of civil unrest that isn't our problem, but that we also can't wait to stick our nose in?

Pick your battles more wisely, Mr. President. I would recommend NOT fighting against the people you were elected by and are currently ruling over. Just a suggestion.

And now to end on a lighter note, here is a comment about Same Sex marriages that I heard on the radio a few months ago and have been meaning to share:

"I am opposed to same sex marriages! Think about it, here are two fresh, young people striking out in the world in a life together and they are condemed to have the SAME SEX every day for the rest of their lives. Same position. Same time of the day. Same clothes. Same bed. Same sheets. I mean, you know at some point, some couple is going to be over come with passion in the kitchen and while they're going at it on the dining room table, the cops are going to come in and haul them away for it! It's just not right, if you ask me."