Michael(MtheGM), I may be missing something, but I don't find we disagree much, if at all. I acknowledge that "gay" formerly both connoted happiness, euphoria, etc., and homosexuality (especially among men). I believe, although I have not studied it closely, that 'gay' was a code term used in Victorian England for homosexual men. Recently, you pick the time frame, it has come to mean homosexuality almost exclusively.

I have heard younger folks laugh at any previous use of the word, as 'the gay 90s', 'I had a gay old time' or 'gay caballero' for example. I do use the word gay occasionally to mean happy; am I being obstinate in doing so, or am I utilizing an enriched vocabulary? Likewise, I sometimes say homosexual as opposed to gay. Same question. Certainly both can mean the same thing, but only one is not mistakable as to its referent.