150 Reasons to Have Pride in 2010

BECAUSE WE HAVE THE TRUE BIG TENT
The fact that there are
enough diverse worldviews to necessitate the existence of two gay
Republican organizations—the Log Cabin Republicans as well as the
year-old group GOProud—is undoubtedly a sign of progress. But a gay Tea
Party group (pinkies out?) may be going just a bit too far.

BECAUSE
THERE ARE CHILDREN WHO TAKE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE SERIOUSLY
Arkansas
student Will Phillips became an overnight gay rights icon when, at age
10, he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance until gays and
lesbians achieve full equality. This year he accepted the GLAAD Award
for Outstanding TV Journalism Segment for his appearance with his dad on
CNN.

BECAUSE MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS NOT JUST FAIR, IT’S
FRUITFUL

If you can’t win lawmakers over with real stories about
actual same-sex couples and the discrimination and hardships they face
when they can’t marry, then the purse strings argument should carry some
weight. Just look at the dollars and cents. Legalizing gay marriage has
been projected to boost local economies with millions in dollars of tax
revenue. Marriage license fees, tourism, and the costs of an actual
wedding (photographers, venues, caterers) are just the tip of the
economic iceberg. If New Jersey were to bump up their civil unions to
marriage, it would boost the economy by over $200 million and bring
1,400 new jobs to the state, according to the Williams Institute, a
public-policy think tank in California. Want one more way to get out of
our financial morass? Legalize marriage.