SouthernDiversity.com

Today I had to listen to one of my co-workers here at City Hall go on and on about how he disagrees with the idea of gay marriage. He feels that if gays are allowed to marry then he should be allowed to marry multiple women. I guess someone finally told him I was gay so that was his way of letting me know how he feels about gays. Of course, I didn’t say anything as I don’t like discussing "gay issues" at work. I’m tired of the whole "gay" thing anyway. When co-workers realize that I’m gay they either support me and always want to talk about gay issues or they totally stop talking to me and go at great lengths to avoid me. I can’t wait to get out of the South! When we first came to Atlanta I thought it was pretty diverse but that’s not really true. It’s true that Atlanta has a large gay population but it’s not widely accepted by the straight community. The city of Atlanta supports the gay community only for the business aspect. Gays are considered a business deal.

When we lived in California gays were pretty much accepted everywhere…even in the more conservative area. Californians are better educated and are more comfortable with gays as a whole. It’s been obvious for some time that America is, over the long haul, becoming substantially more accepting of gays and lesbians. California has often led the way in this regard.  Favoring gay marriage remains a minority position, but barely, and it’s obvious which way the tide is running. Politically, Gavin Newsom has bet right on gay marriage, which will eventually be accepted everywhere, although he’ll have to wait a while for the bet to pay off. Those who oppose gay marriage are winning all the battles, but they will surely lose the war. Atlanta is relatively open, sophisticated and cosmopolitan…but the rest of the state is filled with homophobes and bigots and racists. Even in Atlanta the amount of ‘W in ‘04′ bumperstickers is amazingly high. It is a constant reminder that you are in a red state. Also, Georgia was one of eleven states that passed an amendment to the state constitution prohibiting gay marriage. The Georgia amendment to the state constitution passed with something like eighty percent of the vote. Not only did the amendment outlaw gay marriage, my understadning is that it also prohibited domestic partnerships and civil unions. It was an ugly, ugly statute and one of the most restrictive anti-gay marriage statutes around. Having said that, I think the gay community in Atlanta can be very supportive of one another. Most oppressed people are supportive of one another. But who wants to live somewhere where they are oppressed?