This was written in response to gay marriage being banned in California.
The founding fathers based the birth of America around the Unalienable Rights, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That every man and woman, regardless of their beliefs or lifestyles, could live freely. These rights were above the law, could not be taken away or challenged. But now, over two hundred years later, they are being threatened.
Religious groups are saying all across the nation that same sex marriages should not be allowed, that they are unnatural, immoral, etc. Even our own president says that gays shouldn’t have rights.
People are interpreting the bible in many different ways over this issue. Some say it specifically states that marriage is restricted to only a man and a woman, while others say that any two consenting adults can wed. There are gay churches and millions of homosexual Christians, and also churches that vehemently oppose same sex marriage, thinking it the worst kind of sin.
Even if the bible said word-for-word “People shouldn’t be gay,” what about the separation of Church and State? There is no reason for religion to influence the government. And this isn’t even a purely Christian nation. What about atheist gay couples, or Jewish gay couples, or a gay couple belonging to one of the hundreds of other religions. Should their rights be controlled by another religion they have nothing to do with?
Others say that gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized because it isn’t natural. But if being gay isn’t natural, then shouldn’t plastic surgery, medicine, glasses, and birth control all be outlawed? Thousands of unnatural products are being developed and sold everyday, but somehow no one is complaining about that.
And if gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry because it’s always been that way, then shouldn’t blacks be property and women second-class citizens? We as a country have adapted to cars, airplanes, television, and just elected an African American as president. Surely we can allow two people that love each other to be able to marry.
Gays and lesbians have been stereotyped into harmful images, men as being feministic with lisps and women as man-haters. But in fact they are the person in front of you on the highway, the student you pass in the hallway, the girl you sit with a lunch, and the singer you listen to on the radio. Homosexuality is present in all cultures, genders, and races. They are just like us. So if gay’s right to marry is forbidden, then what’s next? Will abstinence be enforced by law? Will interracial couples not be able to marry? We must take a stand for our rights and the rights of those around us, and not wait until it is too late.