I will say gay.
I will say gay for those folks in my life who fearfully suffered being closeted.For Uncles and friends, for “confirmed bachelors” as they were called.
I will say gay for my handsome cousin who died way too young of aids and whose family disowned him.
I will say gay for Brian Epstein the young brilliant man who discovered The Beatles and who was prosecuted ( yes it was actually a crime in the early 1960’s) under British law for being gay and who suffered from depression from being closeted which eventually drove him to suicide.
I will say gay for my favorite college professor, a British historian who was a renaissance man and who was a purely wonderful raconteur and probably the most free spirited man I have ever known.
I will say gay for gay couples who are giving their lives and love to raise children in a world full of hate and division.
I will say gay for 49 people killed and 53 wounded in the mass shooting in Orlando a few short years ago.
I will say gay for Matthew Shepard who was taken too young, beaten and left to die by men full of hate.
I will say gay for the kids who feel guilty as hell for being gay.
I will say gay for those still in danger, for those who are under attack and marginalized in states like Florida and for the many Florida’s brewing like bad stew in a rusted pot.
I will say gay for all of us;for straight folks, bi folks, trans folks,gay folks,queer folks.Because what it all boils down to is, we are ALL just folks.
I will say gay because the God I know desires that I love my brothers and sisters.No exceptions.Really.
And being a child of the 1960’s, I will say gay because
I STILL Believe
Love is All you Need.
Imagine.