The Gay Agenda: Equal Rights

"When I came out, my mom cried because she worried about difficulties I may face in life for being gay. When I told my dad, he said, "Everyone has something in life that they have to deal with because of other people's reaction to it. In the scheme of things, yours isn't that bad." It was perfect to hear.- Anonymous (When I Came Out)." The gay rights movement has been around for centuries but is coming up more in our media today. There were gay rights organizations started during the 1800's in Germany but were wiped out by Nazis (Marcus, Eric). Our constitution guarantees Separation of church and state but Christianity is still the number one argument against the gay rights movement. Everyone should be able to love who they love regardless of their lover's gender because being gay is not a choice. The gay rights movement is the final frontier of gay rights for America, gay people should be treated just like everyone else.

Not everyone practices the same religion; therefore the bible should not be used as an excuse to not allow gay marriage. "Thank God, under our Constitution there was no connection between Church and State, and that in my action as President of the United States I recognized no distinction of creeds in my appointments office." James K. Polk (Famous Presidential quotes). When the constitution was written by our founding fathers they believed that it was important to separate church from state so that everyone had the ability and freedom to practice what they believe. Not everybody practices the Christian religion so it is not fair to use the bible as the reason as to why gay marriage should be banned in the United States.

Gay and Lesbian parents are often denied custody of their children in divorce cases, simply because they are gay (Marcus, Eric). When this happens children are often thrown into the 'system' of foster care and group homes. Most of the time the parents are perfectly capable of taking care of a child but a prejudice judge decided that the parent is incapable only because of their sexual orientation. Gay people can make just as good of parents to their children and are not trying to 'turn' them gay. Gay people are not pedophiles or sex addicts; they just love a different gender than heterosexuals.

Love is love, no matter what gender it is towards. "Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law." ~Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy, A.D. 524 (Homosexuality Quotes). What Boethius is saying is that there should not be laws for love because love is a very deep and intimate emotion. Even people thousands of years ago believed in the strength and equality of love; love answers to no laws.

"Getting married, for me, was the best thing I ever did. I was suddenly beset with an immense sense of release, that we have something more important than our separate selves, and that is the marriage. There's immense happiness that can come from working towards that."-Nick Cave (Getting Married). A lot of people want to make that final commitment of marriage to the person they love. Many have dreams of walking down the aisle and saying "I do" to the person that they love most in this world. Not everyone that gets married is a Christian and marriage is more of a secular ceremony in today's modern world. There are currently 8 states that allow gay marriage, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, California and Washington. Proposition 8 (a law that banned gay marriage in California) passed in 2008, but was overturned February of 2012 by the 9th circuit court in California. Judge Stephen Reinhardt who ruled on the decision wrote "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples," (Goodwin, Liz). There is no reason why gay people should be denied the right to marry the one they love. A lot of people growing up dream of getting married imagine their wedding dress or suit and think about the wonderful life they will have. Everyone should have the opportunity to see their dreams become a reality.

46% of Americans believe that gay people should be allowed to get married 44% do not, and 10% are unsure (Lauter, David). As more states are working to remove bans on gay marriage the support of Americans is growing and the numbers continue to rise. The gay rights movement is appearing more in the news, and the voice of gay rights advocates is being heard. Just as African Americans and women were discriminated against in the past, gay people are being discriminated against now. Gay rights movement is a civil rights issue, and hopefully in our future equality will be achieved.

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