We are considering Expatriating

[bryandurel]

Did I ever tell you, you're like the best!

Should you? I don't know.

You and I are both in our 40's and have seen a lot of minor and major changes in the USA over those decades.

From where I sit in central California (Its conservative out there, its only liberal on the coast), things are better.

As a 'kid' in my 20's I recall police allowing crimes to take place, or act like you deserved it when your BF beat the crap out of you. Today a gay man beats up on another and its taken very seriously. Today if a gang of thugs takes a baseball bat to a gay man they face additional charges and penalties (Hate Crime Laws). Back in our 20's the police were as likely to give you a few swift kicks as you laid there while patting the backs of the bashers for doing society a 'favor'.

As kids none of the states accepted or tolerated the idea of domestic partnerships let alone the idea of marriage. Today we have domestic partnerships in a few states, And a few states even allow gays to marry!

Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Washington (state and DC), Connecticut and even in the middle of Right-wing America, Iowa.:o

Here in the USA it was George W Bush (The last republican president) who dismantled the last sodomy laws in the USA.

When we were children, homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Yeah sure we may not have witnessed it, but men were being hauled off to the insane asylum and 'treated' for the 'illness' with such wonders of 20th century medicine as electroshock therapy (nothing a few thousand volts applied to the brain can't fix). Go into a psychiatrists office today and demand to be 'cured' f being a homosexual and s/he will work very hard to get you to accept that you are gay and even tell you that its 'normal' to be gay.

No things are not great, Its not like you or I can walk down the street hand in hand with our partners, but we can walk down the street with our partners and even call them 'dear or sweetie' without fear of government reprisal.

This isn't like the Middle East were they arrest you and even kill you (by authority of the government) for being gay. Its not like this is Africa where they are currently turning up the heat and passing new anti-gay laws on a nationwide level.

Here in the states any laws being passed are pretty much opening up new rights for LGBT. Sure the "Traditional Marriage" Defense may have won a few 'anti gay marriage' amendments, but those will be turned down in time and more and more states are just concluding that its far easier to give us what we want.

Blacks didn't win equality by packing it in and moving back to Africa. Women didn't win the vote by running off to Canada. They stood their ground, made a huge fuss and fought tooth and nail.

Recently Don't Ask Don't tell was tossed out. Today most people think that Clinton was a terrible president for having established DADT. A few of us still recall clearly that the polices before DADT were far harder on homosexuals int hat it was criminal to not answer yes when you were asked by the Brass if you were we gay.

DADT was a step in the right direction. In its time it was perhaps a huge step in that the Government made a real stance in a positive direction of acceptance. Yes it was a mere step, Marriage in Iowa is a mere step, Having the AMA view homosexuality is a mere step. Each by themselves appear minor, small, almost a loss instead of a win. Put them all together and we can see that we have walked halfway to the moon in the right direction.

We are getting there. You and I may very well both live to see the day when the Federal Government throws out the DOMA and just recognizes same sex marriage.

We definitely won't see it if all of the LGBT just give up and run away.