I am a male, and my same-sex mate and I have lived in our house in Los Angeles for 30 years as of next month. During that entire time, our heterosexual neighbors have accepted and loved us unconditionally and shared many experiences with us--meals, child raising, crises, etc. I am a photographer and my level of experience is intermediate instead of beginner or pro, and I have photographed them at all ages and given them gorgeous prints that they all have loved so much. We have also shared so much with each other, including watching beloved elder residents die and other elders sell their houses after their spouses die and relocate to another state after appropriate hugs and kisses.
What do my above experiences illustrate? They illustrate that as long has we treat each other with respect and dignity, that as long as we don't politicize our realities and experiences with each other, and that as long as we don't aggressively impose belief systems on each other, we will all jointly celebrate the beauty of life in so many ways and be enriched because of it.
The folks who despise the concept of same-sex marriage are completely dissimilar to the sensible, compassionate, non-confrontational folks in our neighborhood. I pity the former, for they are what Dr. Phil calls right-fighters inasmuch as they repeatedly cite Biblical passages (all the while ignoring contradictory passages scattered throughout the Bible). They use that tome as a crutch in order to falsely justify their points of view. And they always include the issue of 'protecting children', an additional crutch, truly. Shame on them! And based on my and my mate's successful joint experiences, they are wrong in so many ways. How awful their existence must be!
