phil ringnalda

It was the Mirko Ilic illustration that drew me in, gorgeous and brilliant as his work usually is. But it will be two thoughts that will stay with me:

I want to be taxed equally. I want my Social Security benefits to go somewhere besides down the drain. I want the Fifth Amendment right not to testify against Sarah, and to protect our private correspondence from subpoena, the same as other spouses.

I want our politicians and religious leaders to stop going on television and suggesting that legalizing marriage for us would be like legalizing sex with dogs. My wife, in my arms? They are talking about my wife, in my arms. Do they know, do they care, how much that hurts? Where must we run to be safe from them?

And

Rather, I believe all mothers need protecting so they can get on with the open-hearted business of mothering. What works for me is to have Sarah come first, and with Sarah comes the baby. If there are two seats on the life raft, I’m drowning. House fire, I’m first in for the kid. Not enough food, I’m hungry, not her and not him.

If you really believe that your God hates this brave woman and wants her to burn in Hell for all eternity for loving someone that much, could you do me a favor and shut the fuck up?