I grew up without anyone on a screen who looked like the life I'd end up living, and a church that called being gay something to cure. So I ran halfway around the world, and found Thomas in Ireland instead. This is the long way I took to being out, why two men holding hands in a Dallas mall still stops me cold, and why Pride is a responsibility, not just a parade. None of these rights are permanent. Here's what we owe the next kid.

As a gay man who is happily married and raising children, voting is a responsibility I take very seriously.