Brynn Tannehill

Defense research scientist

For transgender Americans, though, full participation in public life still eludes us.Transgender people are now lagging far behind the LGB community in nearly every measurable area. Open service, and the implicit recognition as full citizens it conveys, is our best opportunity to start closing it.

Kelly Hirt

Teacher, blogger

Some answers used to be accepted without further questions -- We prayed for the perfect little boy for our family and that was you! But now, we get more specific questions and some are... complicated.

Domenick Scudera

Professor of Theater, Ursinus College

Why am I angry? Because until I was actually married myself, I didn't realize what this all meant. These opponents to same-sex marriage, knowing full well the joy of this moment, have willingly barred others from feeling the same thing. They had stolen my potential for joy, without me even realizing it.

Eliel Cruz

President, Intercollegiate Adventist Gay-Straight Alliance Coalition; student, Andrews University

I cannot be reduced to a perverse act. My sexual orientation is a part of my identity but it is not my entire identity. You are not allowed to fantasize about the sex life, or lack thereof, that I engage in. Stop talking about me like a theory and talk to me as I am: I am Eliel.

Elizabeth Birch

President, Elizabeth Birch Company/Global Out

For decades, LGBT employees have had to bear major tax burdens with none of the benefits. We have carried large tax rocks on our backs for our entire tax-paying lives. Yesterday those boulders and rocks cracked in two and fell into the abyss of history.

Josh A. Goodman

Counseling psychology graduate student

Regardless of a person's moral views, it is a fact that humans have a diverse array of sexual orientations and gender identities. Sex education ought to be accessible to people of all of them.

Michelangelo Signorile

Editor-at-large, HuffPost Gay Voices

I recently married the man I've been in a relationship with for 18 years. People ask if life is "different" now that we're "legal." The answer is mostly no. One change, however, that is very real is the mild dilemma of how we call one another.

Rob Watson

Dad, LGBT activist and businessman

Tim Donnelly is pulling one of his sons out of the system over fear of his coming in contact with a transgender student. I am going to put two sons into the system in celebration of the dignity it affords them and a friend they care about.

Robert Espinoza

Senior Director, Public Policy and Communications, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)

Mainstream culture and various sub-cultures often conflate beauty with youth, and self-worth with appearance, which leaves many people -- not just gay men -- feeling unattractive, insecure and potentially depressed as they age.

Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge

Author, 'Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians'

As a lesbian, I am often faced with people who are certain that I am living "outside" of "God's will" for my life -- simply because of my sexual orientation.

Mark Steber

Chief Tax Officer, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc.

Beginning with the 2013 tax return, all couples legally married as of January 1, 2014 must file as either married filing jointly or married filing separately and are subject to all federal income tax laws governing marriage including, exemptions, credit and deduction limits, and income tax rates.

Diana Scholl and Laurel Golio

Nathan M. Schaefer

Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda

Paola moved to New York from Puerto Rico to further her education and make a better life for herself. What she wasn't expecting was the discrimination she encountered.

Anthony Michael Kreis

Doctoral candidate, University of Georgia; Political Committee Co-Chair, HRC-Atlanta Steering Committee

Religious liberty and equality are fundamental constitutional values that are both worthy of respect and protection from the law. The peaceful coexistence of religious liberty and sexual minorities' equality is not an elusive pipe dream.

Charles J. Reid, Jr.

Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas

It seems as if Pope Francis has opened the door, ever so slightly, to a more open policy towards gays in the Catholic Church. If we see this as an effort to accommodate to the Church people with same-sex attractions, then we are entitled to ask Catholic institutions to take the next step.

William Lucas Walker

WriterDad

Whenever I set foot in a bra department -- be it Nordstroms, Target or KMart --the same thing happens. The place empties faster than you can say Bra-Cha-Cha.

Paul Kawata

Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council

The level of investment in HIV services targeting Black gay and bisexual men has never adequately reflected the burden of the epidemic borne by this community. America must do more to show that the lives of Black gay men matter.