[Vinniedoggy]

Wow, it's so nice to see all this support! I wore my purple today as well.

I hope people understand that people who are gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer (GLBTQ) are just like everyone else. My partner and I have been together for over 5 years. We have a home together, pay our bills, pay our taxes, lead generally responsible lives, work for the government, and love our dogs more than anything. We are active in our community and care about the world around us. We are just as committed to one another as any opposite-sex couple. We go through many of the same stressful and mundane things that married couples go through together (caring for elderly relatives, trying to decide what color to paint the kitchen, etc). At the end of the day, all that matters is we love one another.

I am so tired of the way GLBTQ individuals are portrayed in the media. There is such a stigma that is attached to being in a same-sex relationship and it's so frustrating to live with that hanging over your head. I work for the federal government and do the same job as everyone else, yet I cannot share my health benefits with my partner because, in the eyes of the federal government, we are not legally married. I am not asking for special benefits, I'm just asking for equal pay for equal work.

I sincerely hope that this national discussion about bulling will lead to the understanding that people in same-sex relationships deserve to be treated like everyone else. Treating teens differently because they are GLBTQ is not right and treating adults differently because they are GLBTQ is not right either. I was happy to hear about the (hopefully permanent) end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but I now want to see a similar change in the Federal government and at the state level.