''On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick... he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays.... When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future. ''

Lesbian singer and gay-rights activist Melissa Etheridge who is asking her gay brothers and sisters to reach out a hand to Christians and others who don't hate us, but rather fear change. (Huffington Post)