Face it, we all do it. When we see someone we have not met before, we make observations and compare them with our past experiences. Examples:

…a man in a business suit carrying a briefcase and looking determined — he’s probably busy with something related to his work (and probably takes himself too seriously.)

…a woman pushing a child in a stroller on a sidewalk on a nice day — a happy Mom, Aunt, or child care provider.

…a man playing softball — someone who enjoys sports. Or at least, enjoys softball.

…a young man with spiked hair, metal chains, metal-band t-shirt, shorts, flip-flops, poking at a smartphone — kids these days.

…a woman wearing a motorcycle club vest (club colors) astride a Harley, leading a group of riders wearing similar club colors behind her — a road captain for an organized motorcycle riding club.

Question: are any of these people gay?
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I continue to be … amazed… dumbfounded… incredulous… sad… to read links from posts on a popular social network from some of my colleagues around the United States that lead to articles or blogs about “the gays imposing their gay agenda on us.”

Really? Yeah, you caught us. We definitely have a plan to take over the world.

Here is the Gay Agenda for my spouse and me this weekend:
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Twenty years ago, 1993, I met the man of my life at a chance encounter. Neither of us were among those who got involved in political activities, but each of us had just joined an “MC” leather club and the club had decided to join the “March on Washington” held on April 25, 1993. So we both went along. This is the day we met and began our journey.

Most of what we did that day was stand around. We were too far away from the speech-givers to hear what they were saying. We began to have a discussion that continued for years. The start of that conversation that day was…
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As I was driving (my cage) to work on Friday morning, I was listening to the news. There was a report about events in DC this weekend. One of the events listed was Capital Pride — the annual concentrated series of events and activities for gay, lesbian, and assorted and sundry related folk held in Washington, DC. Events around this year’s Capital Pride have winnowed to three days — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the largest event on Sunday — the “Pride Festival.”

Obviously, since I forgot about it, you may wonder what my spouse and I think.
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I read a story that a friend brought to my attention titled, “Why ‘coming out’ Matters.” The full text of the story is here.

There was a section in that story that caught my attention. It read,

Straight people announce their sexuality all day every day. It happens when they canoodle in the park, walk hand in hand through the mall, place loved ones’ pictures on the desk. These are small joys and we don’t think of them as announcements of sexuality, but they are. If you are gay, you don’t do such things. Or, you do them strategically, thoughtfully, picking and choosing where and when it is safe to canoodle, hold hands, set out the pictures.

How have I made those strategic decisions?
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I continue to read lots of stuff about how some people still think that being gay (or questioning if one is gay) is a choice. Many of these stories focus on teens who are coming to terms with their sexual identity and sexual orientation.

I am no teen. I know I am gay. So what are my choices as a gay man?
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Readers who regularly follow my blog know that I am in a committed relationship with the man I have loved for just about 20 years. He is my rock, my sunshine, my thought-provoker, my hunk, my bestest friend, my noggin-knockin’ noodle, and much more. We are engaged to be married sometime this year, since same-sex marriage is now allowed in the state where we live, the Free State of Maryland, here in the good ol’ USA.

As many people around the world know, there are two cases that were presented before the United States Supreme Court this week that are related to same-sex marriage. There has been much commentary in the news media, and especially on social networks.

So why haven’t I said anything or changed my social media profile photo to any of the images shown here?
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