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Unlike people of my generation, my children and my grandchildren have grown up living with, knowing, people who were outwardly gay and lesbian. And they have learned that they're just like us... And when you see that they're just like us, the rationale for discrimination melts away.

Even though I'm from the Midwest, the majority of my life has been spent on the coasts where being gay wasn't really much of a conversation.

A lot of people, sometimes they're so stuck on, 'I gotta get married, I gotta get married.' They forget that the really important thing is to have a healthy home, a healthy family, a healthy environment for your kids and to have everything going in a good, peaceful way.

My thing is, I don't get in nobody's business or nothing like that or try to bash anybody for what they do. I've got cousins who are gay. To me, there's just no difference. We always chill and have family functions the way we always have. It's not a problem.

In the past, kids didn't tell their parents they were gay, so there were never the bust-ups. Some parents react so strongly to the news that their children are gay that the reaction is, 'Get out of our house.' There's a residue of old prejudices that are going to die hard.

There are still parts of the country where it's hard: when you realize you're gay, it's like a death sentence.

If I were gay, life would be a lot simpler. I'm kind of annoyed that I'm not.

When I was growing up I didn't know what it meant to be a happy, successful grown-up gay person, and now I do. I feel like I'm setting an example for people everywhere.