We need not think alike to love alike.

I'm battling the blues today. I just can't seem to shake it.

It's bizarre because there's a part of me that is so happy with the results of the presidential election. Elated! Optimistic! But then there's the other part of me, the one that seems to be taking over, that is so saddened with the gay marriage bans that passed in California, Florida and Arizona, and the ban on unmarried couples serving as foster and/or adoptive parents in Arkansas.

We take 2 huge strides in electing the first African American president, yet take a step back in passing these bans.

I understand that not everyone thinks the same, but love is love is love! I can't comprehend where the disconnect is. Scratch that, I know where the disconnect is, but I think it's a poor excuse.

This country was founded on the of separation of church and state. Lots of people tend to forget that, including our lawmakers. If you aren't voting with religious intentions, then what is the problem with gay marriage?

You just don't think it's right? Goes against nature? Well, it is true that two men cannot have a baby together, sharing their DNA, just as two women cannot. But, homosexuality can be found elsewhere in nature, not just in humans. It is natural. As with humans or non humans, homosexual or heterosexual, not every sexual act is intended for reproduction.

Some other scare tactics opposing gay marriage is the impact it will have on children. So what if storybooks are created that include a princess falling in love with a princess. If you don't want to read your child that book, you don't have to! Thinking that banning gay marriage will sweep homosexuality out of our culture is naive and wrong. Call me crazy, but I believe children should be well-rounded, and accepting of the world they live in. Whether you like it/agree with it or not, homosexuality is part of it! And knowledge of this makes no impact on "changing" the orientation of your child (I won't even go there, out of respect for my blood pressure).

So maybe people are getting hung up on the terminology of the situation. Marriage is sacred, right? That's why the US divorce rate is somewhere around 50%, because everyone recognizes the sanctity of marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman, right? Well before 1967, it could not have been between a black woman, and a white man. What is so wrong with broadening the term of marriage? Calling it anything other than marriage, but granting similar rights for homosexual couples would imply a separate but equal situation. We all know how well that worked after the Civil War.

Why do we have to meddle in the lives of our neighbors? What gives anyone the right to make those decisions?

I just can't see the logic here. And it makes me incredibly sad.