And who I naturally love is a conviction. As I look out into the silence with the reflection of taunts, judgment and questioning that I have withstood (to be the man I am meant to be) staring back at me, I realize that if I was this same man living in Uganda my freedom would be stripped because the lips I kiss is considered a means for imprisonment.
The Ugandan government is marking homosexuality as a crime and if the bill is passed those who hearts love the same sex would spend life in prison. And when I read of this, I thought to myself, in this country I would actually be looked at as a criminal; someone who would be locked behind bars because of who I love. Are you fucking kidding me? And the scary thing about this is this is no joke. Am I really to be put on the level of murderers, rapists and any other form of despicable crime because my heart belongs to another man?
My heart is a crime. I just had to reflect upon that one more time.
My heart has already been called a sin and evil but now there are governments out there that don’t even want homosexual citizens walking the street and all I can wonder is what are the real fears here? Should we go imprisoning everyone who is born different just because difference can ruin the world? There is so much out there in everyday life that we as gay men and women have to endure without the ignorance and closed mindedness of our own governments. And yes we do witness that anyway, but thankfully the United States hasn’t passed a bill yet that would illegalize my attraction. Or maybe I should hold my breath on that.
To so many being gay is already a sentence in how they have to deal with non-acceptance and quick harsh judgments. When will people start to understand that who someone else loves has no affect on them? And when will they also realize that there is no controlling of something that is natural. Sorry if you don’t believe that but if you’re not living inside this skin, you can’t possibly tell me what I’m born with. And think about it…why would we choose a “lifestyle” that would in some countries lead us to a sentenced judgment to life behind bars.
© 2010
Tarringo T. Vaughan