Domestic Equality?

As I finish up my last week as the Mayor's intern, I'm going to take a moment to de-censor my blog and get a little political. I mean, hey, in 3 weeks I will technically be a political scientist :) I haven't even had a chance to post about Thanksgiving day, which I intend to do within the next two days. But, tonight, I'm pretty bothered. I don't know if it's more about the issue, or more about how I don't know what I believe sometimes or the the specifics that I stand for...sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I have my beliefs,morals, and values. Click here to read about the city of Topeka's proposal to allow domestic partners to register. I guess the part that I'm struggling with, are my inner thoughts. You know, those thoughts that go on in your head that you really, truly wish you didn't have, but they're there. I had such mixed feelings about this proposal, as the council member who proposed the bill originally stated that it would allow city employees to list any domestic partners on their health insurance. It turned into an all-out same sex bill. I have a very close family member who happens to be gay. I love him and I don't see his lifestyle as "wrong". I see it as who he is. I would never make anyone feel like they are not worth respect or dignity because of the lifestyle they choose. And I try to never judge. I'm not perfect by any means. Heck, some people may disagree with the way I choose to live. I don't deserve to be disrespected because of it, and I'm in no way less deserving of living happily.
As the night drew on, supporters of the bill spoke. Only one person spoke against it. However, the main points spoken by the supporters was that they didn't deserve to be discriminated against. In no way would this bill, if passed, would have stopped that. I was kind of relieved when the bill got rejected, honestly. Again, I think it had more to do with the fact that I felt manipulated by the person who proposed it. During the meeting tonight, the council member specifically tried to use the bill as a way to silence the Phelps'. It just appeared desperate.
I saw the look of despair and sadness on the faces of those who had been at the meeting in support of the bill. For so long, people were discriminated against based on the color of their skin. Is this the same thing? I guess I don't know. I guess I'm torn. I know that I do believe in equality for everyone. But I just don't know if tonight, this moment, was the time.