Being LGBT is not a choice. It's not about "a sexual proclivity." It's not a "lifestyle," as you put it. It's about our identity. Pride is a time when we come together to celebrate our community and when others do, too. Just as we do for other racial, ethnic, and religious groups that are part of the "tossed salad" nature of our society.

Every generation seems to have its members who think the world has gone to hell and a hand basket and that they need to explain a challenging world to their kids.

Acceptance comes through understanding.

There's nothing you can say that won't make you seem ungrateful or rude.

More people use guns to kill themselves than to kill others.

Rely on facts, figures, principles of equality and fairness.

Okay, so here's my question: When did civility become incompatible with protest? Why do some people consider civility an antonym - anathema, even - to political action and dissent? Because, and I'm raising my voice, it's not. Have we forgotten how Mahatma Gandhi used nonviolent civil disobedience to free India from British rule and inspire civil rights movements worldwide?