Recently in Important Moments Category

I'm excited that I've finally been able to find a national website to blog on, regularly.  From this point forward (in addition to what I'll be doing with my activism), I'll be blogging once or twice a week on Care2.com.  My posts will mainly focus on civil rights.

Check out my latest post, here.

Thanks again to all of my readers!  Please continue to check out my writing at Care2.com and feel free to digg and comment frequently!

I've made a big decision.  It is time for me to move beyond blogging and into direct activism.  I made this leap about two months ago, and it is only fair that I share that decision with my readers.

Thank you all for reading my blog, viewing my videos and lending your support.

Please join me in the struggle for LGBT civil rights.  Learn more at One Struggle, One Fight and read about my story, here, and here.

Yours,

Ryan

Hi,

I cannot tell you how important this email is to me as well as the cause that lies behind it.  These are my words and they are coming from my heart.  I ask you to take a few minutes of your day today to read them.

As a gay man, I've dreamed of finding the right man to spend my life with.  I'm a traditional guy in some ways, and I've always hoped and prayed that I could one day marry that man, settle down, and live the American Dream that we've all grown up hearing about throughout our lives.

In today's volatile economic times, the one thing that has brought me continual joy is the knowledge that I am finally treated equally under the law.  I have the right to marry.  This right is not only priceless but runs to the core of my very being.

I've come such a long way.  At the age of 16, I vividly remember telling my father that I'd rather be single and lonely for the rest of my life than to be gay, because to me, being gay was an abomination.  I know far better now and realize that it is abhorrent for anyone to hate themselves or others because they are gay or lesbian.

Unfortunately, a group of people -- some ignorant, some scared and some homophobic -- are trying to take away the right away from me and so many people that are close to me.  They've introduced a ballot measure in California, known as Proposition 8, that will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.

This fight isn't about a group of nameless people who want to wreck traditional marriage.  Rather, this is about the people that are near and dear to us, share in our laughter, hold us when we cry and help to make our world such a beautiful place.  Please consider that when you read my request.

I ask you... I implore you... please help us to keep our right to marry!

This cause extends beyond California, transcends our personal preferences and drives to the core of a founding American principle - a fundamental right to equality for all.  This right was enshrined in the Declaration of Independence... that all men are created equal... and rings true today.  Please don't let a misguided group of people alter that course of history and write discrimination into the California Constitution.

Don't let other people treat us like an abomination.

Please join me in donating your money, time or effort to the No on Proposition 8 campaign. 

For more information, or to donate, please visit http://www.NoOnProp8.com.

Thank you,

Ryan

In an all time first for me, I've become a published writer!  Huffington Post picked up an article I wrote today, and published it in their "Featured Posts" section!

Please take a minute to check out my take on gay rights at the Democratic and Republican National conventions, here.

This is exciting.  Gay and lesbian couples can start marrying as planned on June 17th.  I hope to get out to city hall and capture the action.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The California Supreme Court denied a request today to put its ruling allowing same-sex marriages on hold until after the November election, clearing the way for gay and lesbian weddings to begin June 17.

Opponents of the court's May 15 ruling had asked the justices to stay the decision until Californians vote Nov. 4 on a constitutional amendment that would overturn the court's decision.

The court denied the stay request unanimously, and voted 4-3 to reject requests for a new hearing in the case. By the same 4-3 margin, the justices declared last month that a 31-year-old state law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman violated the state Constitution.

I've been talking for a year or so, maybe more, about getting a tattoo.  Yet, I've patiently waited (a rarity for me) for something symbolic, eternal (as eternal as my life on earth is) and meaningful to come to me.  That day has arrived.  Despite my tendency to share personal thoughts and feelings publicly, I'm actually going to limit my sharing in this case to saying that this tattoo was drawn for me by a Tibetan Monk I represented in a political asylum case a little less than a year ago.  He was granted asylum on the day of the Dalai Lama's birthday, which is symbolic in itself.  The tattoo is composed of Tibetan Buddhist ritual symbols and captures the essence of what I've been looking for in every way.  It's a very personal tattoo and decidedly not mainstream.  It may look a bit scary, but no worries, we all know I'm harmless.  Here it is, subject to a few changes in proportion:






The big day will probably be this weekend.