Gay Marriage

Dear Mr. President,

Hello my name is Robert from St. Louis Missouri. I am a student from Parkway West High School, and I am writing to you today to share my thoughts about Gay Rights.

I grew up in St. Louis my whole life, and I love it here. As I was growing up I noticed that I was different from the other children, particularly all the guys, and I wanted to know why. I felt an attraction to men as well as women and I knew that, that wasn't "normal". My interest in men started to show and that's when my teasing started. This was all back in elementary school when we already knew what gay was but I didn't want to stick out so I denied every bit of it. Then once I got into middle school, my attraction to both genders got stronger. It was really hard to keep a secret from my friends and family, and even harder to explain to myself. One of my friends came out in middle school and at that point I instantly neglected to see him. I wanted to fit in with the other guys, so I stopped talking to him and that when he needed me the most. When I got to high school things definitely started to change. I met new people who were gay or lesbian and they had no shame at all. When my best friend told me that she was a lesbian I supported her because I realized that she was the same person who I had been best friends with and that she wasn't going to change for anybody. That when I had my turning point, I knew who I was and I wasn't going to hide it, but the fear of what people would say and do made me want to wait, but my pride in who I was wouldn't let me. So I told the only person who I knew I could trust, my sister. I knew that she would understand and she did. I felt safe with her and I knew that she would always be by my side.  So I told other people and more people and I didn't care who they told because I knew that I couldn't change and I knew that I wasn't going to change.

I completely support you because you helped us with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  I know that there are individuals in our country who don't want to see anyone that is Homosexual, Bisexual, Lesbian, or Transgender do anything great for this country. So I would like to thank you for heroic and tremendous actions you are taking. I have recently joined the "It Gets Better" campaign and I am telling other LGBT that is okay for you to be who you are. I think that if you were to legalize gay marriage, then we would be able to do the same things that Heterosexual couples do. We could raise a family, start a business, buy a house, and fit in with our current society without being frowned upon.  LGBT people are humans as well as homosexuals. Since 2001, ten international countries have allowed same sex marriage and there are only six states, out of fifty, that allow same sex marriage.

I would hope that every bill that comes to your desk about same sex marriage, that you would sign it right away and make it a law. How can this be a democratic country, if we can't truly make everyone equal? Of course, if you do say yes to gay marriage then their will automatically be some "nay sayers," but that is okay because you would be helping people, and maybe helping them achieve their American Dream. In your State of the Union address this year, I noticed that you really didn't get into depth on this specific topic. You are the President and if you make issues known then people will definitely listen, because you have that kind of power and persuasion.

Mr. President I would like to thank you for your time and consideration. You have truly given me hope and I believe in you. I know that with you and through you, this great country of ours can amount to extraordinary things.

Sincerely,

Robert

Parkway West High School

St. Louis, Missouri