Do straight couples indulge in gleeful schadenfreude when they know that they voted to keep someone's partner from seeing them in hospital after an accident or illness?  Perhaps they find it deeply amusing to know that should there be a decision about a life support machine, an estranged family would have all the say, whereas a loving, long-term partner would have none.  Maybe there's much hilarity to be had when considering that after the death of a person in a same-sex relationship, the direct family, who may have disowned the deceased upon their coming out, are more entitled to the estate than their partner, who is entitled to nothing.  Even wills can be contested in favour of the family.

Massachusetts allowed same-sex couples to marry from 2004.  The state has not sunk into a black hole of depravity.  However, supporters of proposition eight will be able to unleash, upon request, a volley of propaganda-style misinformation about how allowing same-sex couples to marry is destroying society.

And they can be very persuasive indeed.  Playing on the basic fear of those things that are different to oneself and constructing hypothetical situations concerning kindly, agreeable couples who are friends with gay couples and find ways of justifying voting yes on proposition eight, thus validating that age-old argument, "some of my best friends are gay and I'm still a bigot."

The majority has spoken, they say.  But, reply those who are pro-gay rights, the majority once believed that black people couldn't marry white people.  They also believed that women shouldn't be allowed to vote.  In some states, black people couldn't even marry black people!  The majority can be wrong and they can be misled.  Religious organisations who quote their holy books that say quite clearly that homosexuality is an abomination, have been pouring money into funding pro-proposition eight campaigns including costly television and radio adverts, internet campaigns, flyers, pamphlets and demonstrations.  This is church money that would be better spent in impoverished African countries, wouldn't you say?  Children still die every three seconds, remember.  I'm sorry, kids, God wants this money to stop people in love from being protected under law.

But still, these people are affronted when gay rights campaigners turn up on their doorstep in protest.  News stories litter the internet of the disgraceful behaviour of men wearing PINK! and demonstrating, intimidating people and vandalising churches and yet, no arrests are made.  Surely, vandalism is a crime, if it were serious then arrests would most certainly have been made.  Another curious thing is how poor these people's memories are.  They are complaining that the names of proposition eight yes-voters are being distributed as a blacklist; in the weeks running up to the vote, they did precisely the same thing to those voting no on 8, sending them threatening letters stating that they have seen that these no-voters are "against traditional marriage" and so are going to let others know about that...  But they want special treatment when the boot is on the other foot.
I'm afraid not.  The whole idea here is equality.  Tommy and I are in a civil partnership.  This is not marriage, but it affords many of the same rights, which is what we need in terms of those things I mentioned above, but it is not equal.  What I would like is equality.  Equal treatment in the eyes of the law and society.  I don't seek to pollute or dilute anything, simply to have the same options that anyone else does.  If not, then am I not being treated as a sub-human?  If this is still all about gay sex and how unpalatable some people find that thought, then please, allow we to assure you that heterosexual sex is not something that I enjoy thinking about.  Will I campaign against you marrying as a result?  Of course not.  And if homosexuality is a choice - which it is not - then surely, heterosexuality is a choice also.  Of course, it isn't, but there are so many people who seem to be labouring under the misconception that being gay is a 'lifestyle choice'.  It is not.  I can change it no more than I can change my skin colour, eye colour or dextrousness.

And so today, Saturday 15 November, people in every state of the US will be protesting against proposition 8.  All I ask is that you understand that proposition eight is a deeply unfair and bigoted, ignorant piece of hatemongering that simply needs to be repealed in order that equality, common sense and, above all, love can prevail.