To Tim and Victor

I have two friends marching today in Washington. They are standing up for ALL of our dignity today because as long as there's a separate category of citizenship it degrades the meaning of citizenship itself.

Tim and Victor are both in their 50's and they live in Victor's native Philadelphia. They work hard, pay their taxes, contribute to their community. They own a home together, share a passion for cooking and care deeply about their families and their friends. They have a dog they adore. They've been together for 17 years and I've never seen two people more in love or more committed to a lifetime together.

Tim is a native San Franciscan and he and Victor had planned their wedding in San Francisco for mid-November of last year. The caterers were paid, the invitations sent out, the minister was hired. And then came Prop 8. They were told that their relationship wasn't valid and wouldn't carry the same rights and responsibilities that a straight couple would take for granted. They were devastated, as we all were. And they'd had enough.

So today they're in Washington, and they're marching for one reason and one reason only - their personal dignity demands it.

If anyone on DU today wants to challenge this March - and one individual has already crashed the GLBT forum to disparage the marchers as 'chaps-wearing fellatio-imitating' embarrassments - you'll have a fight on your hands. We've all had enough.

On edit: Oh, and on DADT? Tim served his country already in Vietnam.

no matter what. :hug: