As a child during the 1950s I was totally dedicated to becoming a minister in the Lutheran Church (MO. Synod). Prior to kindergarten I realized I was a very different kind of boy. I went to a private boarding high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to guide me toward the ministry. But that mysterious unique quality about me became a concern of the Church, government, parents and friends. I had no idea what this special quality was until eventually I discovered that I was homosexual. The response from the Lutheran Church convinced me that there might actually be something wrong with Lutheranism or Christianity or maybe all religions. I continued to study the Bible but eventually I had to admit the truth that I am homosexual and an atheist. I cried and suffered the loneliness I endured within the Lutheran community. But after leaving it all behind I found true peace and happiness as a compassionate atheist who spent 34 years saving lives through my work as an RN. Let's be clear about a fact about me that might apply to many homosexuals. This is not my preference, nor is it my orientation. I never preferred to be gay. I preferred to be heterosexual. But I'm not. And no one "oriented" me into this. I had these feelings in early childhood. To my best understanding I was born homosexual just as many of you were born heterosexual. And the president mentions the tradition of marriage. But review the state of marriage in the Old Testament and remind yourself that a man could have many wives. They were not even counted in the census nor did they have many rights equal to men. Societies evolve and hopefully improve through time. We learn to improve ourselves beyond the Crusades and the Inquisition. Lutheranism evolved beyond the Roman Catholic Church. This is what is happening today. Society learns to improve. To stay with something simply because of your religious belief or what you claim is tradition is a weak argument. Long ago I wrote in my personal journal, "Religion and tradition are poor excuses for bad behavior." Now I am retired and aging. I look back at my life as a homosexual and realize that in countless ways my life has been more pure than many heterosexuals and I have lived a life of compassionate service and saved many lives of people that would deprive me of equal rights so that my life partner would not be permitted to be at my deathbed in a hospital and make the important decisions granted to heterosexual spouses.