There’s no off switch. Sorry, but you are stuck with it on the ON setting forever. Wondering what I’m talking about? Indulge me, while I tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, 44 years ago, I frequently hid from the cops. Why? Because I wasn’t alone in my car, driving through the streets of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Why would that matter, you may ask. I’ll tell you why. Because my companion in the passenger seat was my girlfriend and at that time, it was very illegal for me to have a girlfriend. Getting caught would have meant a trip to jail and that would have been devastating.

And it wasn’t just the law we had to run from. Three times, in two months, my daddy’s little red truck’s windshield was shattered by people who saw it in the parking lot of a “secret” dance club. Yes, I was using my daddy’s truck at the time, and three times, I had to replace that windshield without him ever finding out. If I’d been in or near the truck on any of those occasions, it likely would have been my head that got shattered. And there’s no way to replace that.

Two years later, I packed up my car and moved to San Francisco where “my kind” didn’t have to hide.

Once another 30 years had passed, we were finally able to breathe anywhere in the USA. Freedom. Freedom to live. Freedom to love. Freedom to marry. Even freedom to divorce.

And now just 10 years later, we are at the point where, once again, we are threatened with a return to the unpleasant past.

The Idaho House of Representatives on Monday called for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the 2015 ruling that extended the fundamental right of marriage to same-sex couples.

On Monday, the Idaho House voted 46-24 to pass House Joint Memorial 1.

— Idaho House calls on U.S. Supreme Court to reverse same-sex marriage ruling

Now, this bill may not make it to the finish line, but it won’t be the last attempt if it doesn’t. It won’t be surprising – at all – if this eventually ends up with a Supreme Court ruling to dismantle our rights.

I’m not going to sit here and argue for why we should retain our rights and our freedoms. Frankly, I wouldn’t change any minds.

I’m only here to say this.

Nothing – and I mean absolutely nothing – will make us go away. We’ve been here forever and we will be here forever more. And if you think we’re going to give up or hide away, you are dead wrong. We are a community. Together, we are an unyielding force, and our love will not be silenced.

Our freedom is not just a privilege; it is our birthright, and we will fight for it together, now and always.

You can’t turn us off. You can’t turn me off. I’m here. We’re here. Get over it.