Choices. Choices.

So do we choose to be queer? It's a question that gets brought into the national dialogue whenever we have to defend our right to equal treatment under the law. If we "chose" it, then somehow we don't deserve equality. People choose their religion, and religious freedom is one of the most protected rights in our country. So we, as a nation, do feel like it's okay to protect personal choices as special rights.

I think people, regardless of orientation, choose their actions. Plenty of straight people don't marry. Plenty of gay people don't even date members of their gender, choosing celibacy as a result of their religious convictions. No one really knows why people fall in love with the people they fall in love with -- it's one of the mysteries of life. So why gender matters to some, doesn't matter to others, and how it affects matters of the heart is unlikely to be unraveled in the courtrooms of America.

I'd like to get beyond the fear of choice. I chose to be open to my heart. I chose to act on the love that I found there. I chose to build a life based on that love. Let's keep choosing love over fear and eventually, maybe, that will make the difference we are seeking.