my next post was drafted along the lines of my own personal disillusionment … but i’m putting that post on hold. instead i want to declare my empowerment: how today, i can actually cast a vote for someone who does not judge me based on my orientation but “…by the content of my character.”

while my fight for equality is nowhere near as deep and blood-wrought as the struggle my African-American brothers and sisters experienced, the fight for equity and respect is similar.

among many other reasons (economy, war, and so on), today i choose someone who i believe is both a man of faith and tolerant in his love for people of all walks of life. someone who says there is a place for all of us to live side-by-side, who by all accounts thinks you can do that and believe in God at the same time.

i know we have a long way to go in this struggle. Obama’s example of love and tolerance is paramount to the choice i make this year.

today will be a historic day for all of us–particularly those who find ourselves in a minority group.

Godspeed, Barack.