A conductor of a string quartet raises his baton, and softly Canon in D starts to play. Candles are lit, silk is draped everywhere with lilies dancing around the room, a wedding is to begin. Does it matter who the people getting married are? Now, a large group crowds the outside of a city hall, the sun is cascading down gently, and a soft breeze cools the air. This gush of air does nothing to relieve the bright red faces of gay marriage protesters, screaming and yelling hateful words to a same sex couple that has just been married.

Bringing down the gay culture by having the state decide whether or not same sex couples are allowed to marry is a travesty. Who are we to decide who people can and cannot love? Who are we to refuse the legitimate experience of two people –either opposite or same sex—pledging that they love their significant other, vowing to stay with each other through the good, bad, in sickness, and in health? In the constitution, our first right is that we are all created equal. But obviously that is not the case when it comes to marriage, because one group of people are clearly being put down and left out. We as teens are the new generation; no longer should we clutch so desperately to the ignorance of the past, but look forward to the innovation of the future. The future is in our hands and we need to embrace it.

It seems as though forbidden love never has a happy ending; Jack and Rose, Tristan and Isolde, and Romeo and Juliet. But I believe that the gay community will overcome their oppressors just like the characters above. With every good story, there is a villain. Our villains today do not wear capes and cause devious acts of destruction, they wear crucifix necklaces and come bearing bibles. They rally, tearing down innocent people, and making them feel ashamed for who they were born to be. The people who claim, “It’s God’s will,” are a very poor excuse to justify what they do. As a child, going through catechism, the one thing I absorbed during the eight years was that God loved me no matter what, and he wanted me to love everyone too. It is very hypocritical that protestors and homophobes say God is behind their actions, yet they are doing the opposite of what he has taught us. I’m not saying that the only gay haters are the religious; there are others out there who just don’t see it as the right thing to do. Yet today we need to change their thoughts, or at least show that what they do is bad. Keep your ignorant and pernicious words to yourself, and let the ones who truly love live on.

George Sand once said, “There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.” Being in love is beautiful, although I’ve never been; I am still a hopeless romantic. But I become an angry romantic when I hear about anti-gay protests. I don’t understand why people cannot accept something out of the norm. For one day the protestors should be in the shoes of the people they oppose. Obviously, none of them think about being madly in love with their significant other, and having society slap them in the face with harsh and cruel words. When the world is constantly bringing you down, you turn to the people you love. But, still you cannot find peace even with a loved one. My heart aches for those individuals who are surrounded by so much prejudice each day. The question I just want to know is: Does it truly matter who we love?