They have been taken away from us, they can no longer speak, but their voices are louder than ever. We will never forget them, we will not give in. My cause is dedicated to all whose lives were lost because of ignorance, hatred and violence. It is also dedicated to all who have suffered, hate does not always result in death, everyday, people and their loved ones are the victims of hate and ignorance and intolerance. This cause is about all of us, whether because of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, nationality, whatever.

Hate is a cancer, a sickness, a disease. Once it enters a person's heart, it does not stop with one group, one person, it cannot. It thrives and needs more. Today, for those whose lives are filled with hate, they do not see that it is not about sexual orientation. That is just the current target, the current "host." Their hate is blinded by ignorance, by the fear of what lays beyond their own "safe" world. In Nazi Germay, it was anyone associated with the Jews. In 1942, it was anyone of Japanese ancestry, in many parts of the world, it is anyone whose skin color is different. Recently, it was any woman standing up for her right to self-destiny, to self-expression and equal rights and pay. Today, it is the Gay/Lesbian/Bi-sexual/Transgender community. This cancer will not go away because there are no more GLBT, it will seek out the next group that is different, those who would believe contrary.

Hiding behind religion, the Bible, family values will never cleanse the blood from their hands, will never clear their soul. All the justifications and spewing of epithets will not free them from the responsibility of their actions. Just as they take credit for "converting" the way-ward, so must they take credit for inciting the violence and hate. I have seen this many years ago, as a child, being filled with the blind ideas and falsehoods of religion. They attempted to tell me that because my grandparents were Budhists, they would not go to heaven. These two wonderful people who were filled with love, would have less standing than those I went to school with, who yelled racial names, who threw rotten apples. I don't think so. Only many years later would these same leaders say it was okay to belong to another religious group, to attend another denomination's services.

I pray for the day that people will stop to think about those they would condemn, those they would celebrate their dying and harrassment. I pray that they would stop to see that we are someone's children, wives, husbands, fathers, friends. That there is no glory in hate, that much of what they have or acquire likely comes from these same people, that someday their life may depend on the care or service of those they so despise. I pray for the time when these people start to think and feel for themselves, to no longer relinquish their power to others who would have you believe they are the all knowing and righteous.

I will carry on, believing more firmly in the beauty of human life, honoring differences, celebrating the depth of human emotion. I will always know that who we are is far beyond the grasp of laws and acts, of hate and violence. Difference and diversity will never go away, only those that fight it, only those that run from it. We are here. We are the combined voices of those who can no longer speak for themselves.

I ask you to see the beauty around you, to cherish it, to honor it. See the importance of each person's life.