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Welcome to Asterisk, where I offer opinions about gay rights issues in both the Christian church and in US civil law. More on that in a minute, but first a few words about me and my background.

I’m a white guy living in rural southwest Ohio. I’m in my mid-30s and I sit behind a desk and hammer away at my computer keyboard all day. I run late more often than not. I’m not as active at church as I should be and I take classes at night to hopefully someday get a BA.

I was brought up in a little country Methodist church where for a year or so, Dad was president of the Trustees and Mom was president of the UMW. We were there just about every time the church doors were unlocked. I’ve known more good church people than bad, though I’ve had run ins with a few bad ones from time to time.

That brings us to the title of this blog. When I came out on October 11, 2007 (I swear I didn’t know about the date). Most of my experience was positive, with a few negatives thrown in for good measure. What surprised me was how my new openness changed not just me, but how other people acted around me.

All my life, I’d placed an Asterisk next to my name. Nobody else saw my Asterisk, but I did. It was a constant reminder that both of the most important parts of me were mutually exclusive. That my difference made me a bad person.

I was a Christian*, but how can a Christian be *gay? When I was around out gay people I played it as straight* as I could, but I was sure they knew, and I can’t help but think that some of them resented *it.

Nowadays, I don’t worry about my Asterisk. As far as I’m concerned it’s gone.

But other people? They put it there for me.

• I’m a Christian*, but I’m *gay. Some Christians are okay with that and others seek to understand, but many don’t think that it’s even possible.
• I’m gay*, but I’m a *Christian, and there’s hostility from some in the gay community to Christianity, and since so much homophobia/heterosexism has its foundation in religion, much of the hostility is quite justified. My going to church on Sunday morning can be seen as consorting with the enemy.
• I’m an American*, but I don’t need to tell you that a lot of Americans don’t take too kindly to *those kind. There’s been a lot of movement on the civil rights issue since I started the blog, but we still have so far to go

And that’s what this blog is about; exposing the Asterisk, and with that exposure, removing it.