I consider myself an activist. I have marched against the war since before it became popular. I’ve argued with classmates about the whereabouts of WMDs and given many presentations on the importance of respect and advocating for gay rights.

I have never understood the problem with gay marriage. If two people decide that they are ready for that kind of commitment, who can legitimately stand in their way? Now I have always seen marriage as a civil union—religion only has a place in marriage if the people being united chose it. No one should be forced to live under specific religious philosophies. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religion—whether it is the Bible, Torah, or Koran—I have the choice to reject all three. Our laws are meant to be separate from religious views. The issues that keep coming up with regard to gay marriage stem from the political desire to avoid calling it “marriage” and creating all these ways to skirt around the fact that it is unconstitutional that I can marry a man and my best friend can not. Proposition 8 should have never been proposed. This is very simple—the only thing that needs to be altered is the applications (in all of our great states) for marriage licenses.

So for me, attending a rally against Proposition 8 was about showing support for the people that I love and my strong desire to fight injustice. It was nice to see so many passionate people come out to support the cause. It is my hope that eventually people will begin to see the things we have in common rather then differences and maybe one day we will be judged by the content of our character rather then those obvious differences that can only be seen.

For those of you looking for a gay perspective, I interviewed my best friend, Matt:

Why did you attend the Prop 8 rally?

I attended because I believe this fight goes beyond just the right for same sex marriage or unions. This is a fight about equal rights for all walks of life.

What were you most moved by?

I was most moved by the enthusiasm and the diversity of the crowd, from the cube dwellers to teens, white, black, brown, yellow, and purple.

What are your hopes for the effect the rallies may have on Prop 8 and gay marriage?

I hope that people can see that our love and our voices are bigger than people’s ability to hate. I hope to see our diverse community come together in the future, perhaps at the U.N. World Assembly to fight for the rights of our brothers and sisters around that world that face discrimination and violence in their nations.

This rally was the start of a process to fight for equal rights. It was very exciting to be in New York City and have so many people around. I hope that the pictures will reveal just how many people want to participate in this fight. We have reason to hope! That is what I took away from the rally and for those of you who did not make it—remember there are smaller equally important ways to perpetuate that hope and enthusiasm.