Love and the Axis of Hate

14 years ago I was afraid to come out. This fear drove me to a university that is no friend to gays in a state then governed by one of today’s most anti-equality politicians, Mike Huckabee. After years of trying to suppress my feelings, I finally left the shackles of fear laid on me by my church and university. After being threatened scholastically by my program director, and violently by classmates and coworkers, I ran away to the open arms of an accepting community.

With today’s historic ruling, the path to a loving future for all is finally in our grasp. But, after all the emotion and gravity of today, we cannot rest tomorrow or any day after that. As African-Americans are still persecuted 150 years after the end of the Civil War, the LGBTQ community will have years of persecution to endure.

There is an Axis of Hate that still preaches against equality. Two of its members are Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. I can assure them both that I am not trying to stop them from believing what is true for them in their own heart. The promise of our country is that our different beliefs can co-exist (E Pluribus Unum). Unlike them, I am not trying to pass legislation that makes them or their children less equal for their beliefs.

Huckabee’s and Santorum’s words and deeds will continue to be hurtful to future generations of young people, too many of whom are still killing themselves. Enjoy today, but fight against their hate tomorrow and forever after. We cannot stop until our children are fully unafraid to be who they are.