None of us in the gay community will ever forget the week of July 4th.
Independence Day fell on a Wednesday, and on the Monday before, the newly re-constructed Supreme Court ruled the Obergefell v Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage was unconstitutional.
Needless to say, my husband Andrew and I, along with more than 400,000 other married, same-sex couples had little to celebrate. In fact, a shock-wave of confusion, uncertainty and a bone-chilling fear swept through gay communities thru-out the country.
And then came the coup de grace: On the Friday following Independence Day, 'The Freedom of Religion Act' was passed by both the House and Senate and immediately signed by the President.
The simple language of the bill is clear in its meaning, and quite terrifying when you consider the implications: "No law shall be passed to subvert, or repress the right of the people to exercise their strongly held Christian beliefs."
Not only does it mean LGBT people can now be openly discriminated against, but the language also targets any and all non-Christians living in the country. It is a not-so-thinly disguised attempt to insure whatever actions are undertaken against Muslims or any other religion in the country will be perfectly legal.
In short, employees of every business, or government agency can now legally deny to provide goods or services to anyone they feel violates their "strongly held Christian beliefs."
That night we packed our local gay bar, 'Two Lips,' and drank our sorrows away while discussing what these two events meant for us.
It was a somber evening as we sat and drank. It was really a lesbian bar, but it was close to home, and the women viewed us simply as minor annoyances.
No one was under any illusions that our lives would remain the same. The question going forward was how do we protest these extreme injustices? Should we immediately take to the streets and make our voices heard, or should we wait and see how this will play out?
We didn't have long to wait. The final blow to our freedom took place the following week with the passage of "The Homeland Terrorism Prevention Act."
The 'HTPA' gave law enforcement broad-reaching, and unprecedented power to "arrest and detain anyone suspected of terroristic or un-American activities."
The television talking heads and pundits all concluded that because of the language contained in the bill, gay people would now fall under the 'un-American' provision.
They also surmised that with a strong conservative majority on the Supreme Court, not to mention both the Senate and House, there would be no chance of the bill being repealed or declared unconstitutional.
That was it – we were screwed. We felt the repercussions almost immediately.
The following week Andrew was demoted from his well-paying IT position for violating the newly inserted "moral turpitude" clause in the company handbook. He was devastated. He had worked his fingers to the bone for ten-years to earn his position.
When he complained it was unfair and simply wrong; he was told by his long-time boss, and someone we thought was our friend: "Too bad you choose to live in depravity, you're breaking the law now!"
He was told he could stay on as a programmer – the same position he had been hired for ten-years earlier.
Andrew said to him: "Jerry, you know me, I am the best man you have working here...you and Gina have been to my house for dinner...we are more than just co-workers...this isn't right and you know it!"
"You know, Andrew, we have tolerated your perversions for a long time...well, it's a new day in this country," fired back his boss.
"WE?" asked my husband.
"Yes, good Christians like myself and Gina are tired of having your deviant lifestyle crammed down our throats...we don't have to put up with it any longer...good Christians and people of faith can finally stand up for what WE believe in...WE are going to make America great again!"
Needless to say, my proud husband stormed out of there and joined the swelling ranks of the LGBT community who were now unemployed.
The following week, it was my turn to feel the crushing hammer-blow-of-injustice.
I've been a server at an Italian chain restaurant for three-years. I am good at my job, and popular with the customers. Good service with smiles and laughter.
I didn't think anything of it when my boss said there would be a pre-shift meeting the next day, and I would have to go to work earlier than usual. Those meetings are quite common in the business.
However, when I arrived, I was told the meeting was in the bosses office, and that made me suspicious because the pre-shifter's were usually held inside the restaurant.
When I went into his office a lump formed in my throat, and my heart began racing. The only employees in the office were those of us who were openly gay. Two bussers and three of us servers.
Our boss stared at papers on his desk the whole time he spoke.
"You know guys, the five of you are up there among my best workers, I have nothing but praise for way you all have performed your duties..."
My heart sank because I knew what the next word out of his mouth would be.
"BUT...you guys are bright, you know what's going on in this country...well, corporate has decided because of the prevailing attitudes now, they cannot afford to have gay people working for them any longer – I personally like you guys, but Christians are beginning to boycott businesses that hire gays...I am sorry guys, but I have to let you go...thanks for your work, and, uh, good luck to all of you!"
There it was. In less than a week, Andrew's and my worlds turned upside down from comfy and cozy to chaos, panic and fear. We had car payments, a mortgage payment on the house, and no job prospects on the horizon.
In fact, there were times we were too afraid to leave the house because reports and rumors of outright beatings and bashings swirled through the gay community like a category five tornado.
Now Andrew and I are not flashy people. We're very low key. We have never flaunted our sexuality. Many of our friends and co-workers never suspected we were gay. We didn't purposely hide that fact from anyone, it's just the way we are.
We thought maybe that will work in our favor. Because of all the firings of LGBT people, there were suddenly many job openings throughout the city. Businesses were caught unprepared; they shouldn't have been. It's an established fact that at least ten percent of the population is born gay. In the USA alone, that would mean well over thirty-million workers and consumers. Businesses NEED us.
With that thought in mind, Andrew and I scoured job sites online and in the newspapers. The number of openings appeared too good to be true. He applied online at a Tech company across town. I found a locally owned steakhouse looking for servers. Coincidentally, we ended up with job interviews on the same day.
I arrived at my interview wearing a nice dress shirt, slacks and polished shoes. I checked the mirror in the entryway as I passed by.
I thought, "Okay, good, you don't LOOK gay!"
I instantly felt a little guilty for thinking that way.
I was led to a small room outside the owners office in back and filled out the application and waited. There were three other applicants ahead of me. None of whom appeared gay (oh my God, there I go again!).
When he called me into his office, I sat across from him at a big desk.
I studied him while he looked my application. I guessed him to be in his fifties; balding; not fat, but not skinny either. I was sure he ate his fill of his own steaks and potatoes.
"Ah, William, do you go by William or Bill?" he asked me.
