Before June slips away, I do want to join the joyous joy that honors the LGBTQIA community, and join in those celebrations of love. Being an out lesbian who walked into her public school classroom for over three decades supported by administration, parents and students alike is certainly not something I ever took for granted, (although wouldn’t it be amazing if I could?). My small town USA allowed me to discuss Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Woolf, Harper Lee, Ellison, Wiesel and more, and in doing so explore the flaws and strengths of humankind, making connection from centuries past right up to our present doorstep. Teaching readers to acknowledge the vein of evil that flows along side that of kindness, the pitfalls of greed and deception that chip away at honor and responsibility, and through text feel the difference. Understanding these traits don’t belong more so to a religious right but come from a questioning mind and are worthy of pondering. Tonight, as two men take the debate stage, I can only hope that the electorate considers the whole of our nation. That what is at stake is more than a convicted felon and a proven gentleman making their case to America, it is the rights for people like me to continue wearing a gold band on my left hand.

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