I’ve attended multiple LGBT events to support everything from civil unions/gay marriage to domestic partner benefits and sometimes to just to show my support. Every once in a while I get the same question that just leaves me flabbergasted.

“Why go? You’re not gay.”

After I pick up my jaw off the floor, I look at them and explain that it’s not about being straight or gay, it’s about doing what’s right.

After saying that, most of these blissfully ignorant folks typically shut up and (hopefully) ponder that statement, but once or twice I’ve gotten the following response -

“But it’s their battle to fight.”

True, just as it was for the suffragettes for their right to vote, and for African-Americans to do the same, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have allies, and that those allies didn’t make a difference in influencing public opinion.

I’m an ally because I don’t care what goes on in anyone else’s bedroom, or who the love of your life is.

I’m an ally because I believe we’re all first-class citizens, regardless of who we love, what color our skin is, how much money we have, how able-bodied we are, or where our ancestors hail from.

I’m an ally because I believe we all deserve the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Growing up in the United Methodist Church, I was taught that we’re all God’s children and the importance of the Golden Rule. Now, I may have been taught a different version of that basic tenet of life than the homophobes of society, because my Golden Rule never included fine print that read

Treat others as you wish to be treated….but only if they look like you, act like you, believe in what you believe, and aren’t different from you in any major way.

Of course, there’s also a multitude of Scripture that could be used to counter the Bible Thumpers who wish to damn us all to a fiery hell, but that’s not really my style.

Mainstream society is slowly warming to the gay community, but only because it’s becoming trendy for Timmy to have two mommies, for your stylist/decorator/designer to always look so fah-bulous, and because Robin Williams was just so darn funny in The Birdcage. Let’s face it, full-fledge altruism for the LGBT community has a long way to go.

I believe we all have a duty to lead by example, something that I try to practice each and everyday. Allies have the upper hand in this fight, some might even say we already have our foot in the door. By leading by example for our family, friends and neighbors, and showing our support of the LGBT community, we can show others that it’s not just a gay issue, it’s an issue of personal rights and freedom, an issue that needs to be taken out of the courts, the government, and the churches, and an issue that shouldn’t matter, but a personal decision that should be respected and equally left alone.

I’m an ally because I care, but also because I don’t care.

I’m an ally because we all matter, no matter who we love.

Julielyn Gibbons, under her pseudonym Liberal Lucy, is one of the leading voices on MichiganLiberal.com , Michigan’s chief progressive blog and serves as the key organizer in Michigan’s netroots community. She’s also the creator of Liberal, Loud and Proud, her Lansing-focused blog, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood , the 8th Congressional District watchblog.

A passionate advocator since falling ill with Crohn’s Disease at

the age of 14, Gibbons has worked tirelessly in all avenues of progressive advocacy on the local, state and federal levels, all while surviving more than 70 hospitalizations and 35 surgeries.
As the former Vice-President of the United Ostomy Associations of America, where she was the youngest national officer ever elected in the history of the organization at the age of 23, Gibbons now serves as an Internet Outreach Consultant for various progressive organizations around the state. She has made numerous radio and television appearances to discuss blogging and state politics, including Tim Skubick’s Off the Record.