By Jack Kelly

Last night, on Tuesday May 8th, 2012, the glorious people of North Carolina went to the polls and banned gay marriage.  For some, actually to be more clear, less than or about half the country, most likely agree with the “forward” thinking people of North Carolina, while the other half, looks at each other and just shakes their head.

To be clear, I don’t want to throw gasoline on a very emotional issue and when I write or speak about such a contentious policy, I always try to understand why someone affirms an opposite opinion.  Furthermore, I can understand why certain people are against gay marriage.  Change itself is hard to accept and difficult to envision.  For people who have spent their whole life with gay people living in the shadows, allowing marriage is just something to hard to accept.  For some, it is religious reasons while others, it is legitimate bigotry.  What I hope to accomplish here, is to try to demonstrate to those good intentioned people, who are against gay marriage that it is not bad or destructive for society.

In addition, I always attempt to move the needle in a forward direction with all issues, for the purpose of trying to give an alternative vision to those who disagree.  So I shall do the same with this latest act of tyranny of the majority in the name of “marriage.”

First off, those who run around “defending marriage” have a lot of b@||$ considering, marriage has become a mockery in our public discourse.  Recently, when Kim Kardashian and NBA Basketball (supposedly) player Kris Humphries got divorced, I tried to controvert to marriage proponents that if you really care about defending marriage, go protest the E Network, or the team for wherever Kris Humphries plays.  As usual, the silence was deafening.  I didn’t see one pastor, traditional Muslim or Christian preacher; disavow the mockery they made of “marriage.”

And yet, when the subject of gay marriage is bestowed upon on our civilized senses, some people go bizerk and reject it.  But why?  Seriously, it’s 2012, so why?  If you consider yourself against gay marriage, can you please give me a logical reason why you would be?

If someone is gay, rest assured they would be gay without or without that ring or legal distinction.  Furthermore, if someone is legally married but is basically separated from their spouse, what does that mean for the concept and sanctity of marriage?  Marriage itself, as we have seen as we have become more open about all of our collective dirty little secrets, is far from perfect.  But people who seek marriage wish to do so for a variety of reasons based on commitment, love, family or something else we may have not heard of yet.

Some choose to seek a life without marriage.  But, if they are straight, they have an option.  Again, if you are straight, the choice is between you and the person you marry and observed, as a legal matter by the state.  So why should people who are gay, not have that option?  Again, why?

Since 2004, gay couples have been getting married in Massachusetts and I have hardly noticed.  It has had zero effect on my life, community, or the children who were born in 2004.  Moreover, when gay people started getting married, they didn’t start climbing through my window like a Zombie in the movie ‘I Am Legend’ and try to eat me.  They simply went on with their life, as they were before, except they had a choice.  That’s it.

Nothing changed.  Society trudged along.  Tom Brady still threw touchdowns, the Bruins still won the Stanley Cup and Eli Manning still ripped my heart out of my chest in last years Super Bowl.

People are born gay, just like I was born right-handed with an Olympic like ability to snore when I sleep.  Is the fact that I am right-handed problematic against my ability to get married? Of course not!  (Although my snoring abilities may be)

People who are gay, are someone’s daughter, son, brother, sister, cousin, friend, etc.  They are just people like you and me.  Some are good, some are bad, some are boring, some are athletic, and some are creative, while others are not.  The purpose for that analytical commentary is that being gay is just a part of someone, just like being straight is for me.  It is just a part of who they are.  Again, who they are.

As far as I can tell, it wasn’t a choice.  I guess it was as simple as someone digging Brad Pitt and me being into Anna Kournikova.  I didn’t choose it.  I saw her, and liked what I saw.  Bingo! Nature just took over.

So because that same, natural reaction went towards the same-sex for someone else, they should have fewer rights than me?  That just seems wrong and outdated.

Again, if you are a good-natured person who is against gay marriage for some reason of being uncomfortable and not hatred, I can understand.  But just try to ask yourself what you would do if it were your son or daughter.  I am sure it would be challenging and maybe a little awkward.  But would you really not love your kid because of it? Or your brother or sister?

And if they wanted to get married, would you really be opposed to it, simply because you didn’t understand it or it made you uncomfortable?

Of course you wouldn’t, so just ponder that for a bit, before you conclude that you really are against gay marriage.

Cuz in the end, it doesn’t affect me at all.