Dear Abby: You rock

I know it’s hard to believe, but some stuff does melt my cold, cold heart from time to time. And one of the things that gets me every single time is straight allies. I don’t know why strong voices of support from our straight friends, relatives and neighbors makes me go all warm and gooey at my center. I guess it’s because it’s not really their fight. They don’t have to get mired in the muck, or have much thrown at them. But still they raise their voices for what is right -- they raise their voices for us. And that, that is awesome in my book.

So today I raise a glass to Dear Abby, the syndicated advice columnist, who has officially announced her support of gay marriage. The column is written by Jeanne Phillips, who took over in 2002 from the original Abigail Van Buren, her mother Pauline Phillips.

“I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless ’em. That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven’s sake.”

Hold on, I’m a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I need a minute. OK, I’m back. So, why is this so important? Well, Dear Abby is only the most popular and widely-syndicated column in the world. Yes, the world. Her advice runs in 1,400 newspapers worldwide with a daily readership of more than 110 million people. People who read it for its “uncommon common sense and youthful perspective.” And now she is telling the world that anything less than full marriage rights for gays and lesbians is second-class citizenship. Talk about your uncommon common sense.

“If gay Americans are not allowed to get married and have all the benefits that American citizens are entitled to by the Bill of Rights, they should get one hell of a tax break. That is my opinion.”

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (which her mother, the original Abby, helped put on the map when she referred a parent to the support group in 1984) will honor Jeanne with its first-ever Straight for Equality Award. If she keeps saying stuff like this, maybe they should consider giving her the Most Awesome Straight Person in the World Award. What? It’s a real award. Or it should be.

“I’m trying to tell kids if they are gay, it’s OK to be gay. I’ve tried to tell families if they have a gay family member to accept them and love them as they always have.”

Oh, Abby. You are a dear. Thank you.