$9,892.28

We got our 2009 property tax bill in the mail.

Do you know what $9,892.28 means to me? It is the dollars and cents we pay, annually, to our appraisal district. The money goes to the city, the school, the county, the community college and the hospital districts that claim our home. Texas does not have a state income tax but they have a sales tax and property tax. We pay both. We also pay federal income tax- every year. We pay our social security tax. We pay our medicare tax. We pay, pay, pay.

We work hard for our money, and I don't mind paying because we are contributing to our society and we're doing our equitable part to support the greatest nation in the world- the United States of America. However, when I stop and think about it I get so damn frustrated.

We live in a city, county, state, and republic that can easily tax, tax, tax its gay citizens but it does not offer them the same freedom and protection it offers its straight citizens. The husband and I DO NOT have the same freedom and protection that my brother and his wife have in this country. We pay all the same tax bills as my brother and his wife, but we don't get all the same benefits.

I am annoyed that the majority (heteros) keep taking away the rights of the minority (homos) in state elections. Gay rights will not be passed by a popular vote any time soon- gay people are the minority?! How do you win the majority of the popular vote when you're a minority?

I know how mothers and daughters must have felt before they had the right to vote in this country. This must be similar to how black Americans felt during racial segregation. We live in a country we love, but it's like this country doesn't love us back.

It's incredibly frustrating at times.