Double Standard

There are many things that I have a problem with, one of them was expressed to me by a cousin when she found out I was gay. She said that my being gay wouldn't affect our relationship but she 'just couldn't understand us wanting special rights." I asked about those special rights but never really got an answer. What I would like is to be able to marry someone with whom I fall in love. I would like my spouse to have the right to determine my medical care and to stay with me. I would like for my spouse to inherit without question. Nothing really special except those same right that apply to heterosexual couples when they marry, even if they do so for less than a day.

And I'd like to not be forced into celibacy. In my reading of Christian literature when celibacy is praised it is also mentioned as a gift that not everyone has. Chastity is certainly expected of every Christian married or not. But life-long celibacy is not. There are a couple of religious traditions that do expect their members to be celibate, most notably Shakers, but the vast majority of Christian traditions just plain think celibacy is a gift that not everyone has. Ex-Gay watch has an article about the double-standard ,that places gay men and lesbians in a predicament, when celibacy is expected of some but not all.