Something mind-blowing is happening in North Carolina that is starting to stink of a previous age of welcome discrimination. The ballet initiative to place a constitutional amendment into the North Carolina constitution to ban same sex marriage. What is going on? And, honestly, what year are we living in? It seems the hot-button topic this year (as well as the past few years) focuses on one basic issue - are Homosexuals considered equal in the eyes of the law? Reading our founding fathers' documents it clearly states that "...All men are created equal..." nowhere does it say as long as you fall into a traditional family mold. It seems all too comfortable for the "moral majority" (although in my opinion, there is no morality in discrimination) to push for legalized discrimination. Imagine where we would be today, as a country, if that had been aloud to happen in the 1950's and 1960's as African Americans were pushing for their rights to be treated equal - not different, not special, JUST EQUAL. Gays today want no more than that, and, if we haven't learned by now that SEPARATE is NEVER EQUAL, I suppose, we never will. The idea that civil unions are paramount to equality is a farce. If we need to get a civil unions license, then so does everyone else.
Looking at the vast majority of protesters against equality, I find myself shell-shocked. A large number are older (obviously religious) African Americans, and I think, didn't you have the same fight for equality 60 years ago? Did Rev. Martin Luther King's speech "I have a dream" specifically ban that dream from everyone different than he? Why is discrimination of one group of legal American citizens any better than another? I certainly wouldn't ask the political body to ban mix raced marriages, nor age limit marriages (excluding non consenting ages, of course). Would it be fine to say that a 60 year old man cannot marry a 24 year old woman or that an African American woman could not marry a Chinese man? Of course not, that would be ridiculous - so why is it alright for a group of religious pundits to be able to decide if my 10 year relationship is valid and deserves the same legal protection and validity that theirs does? If we are getting hung up on marriage as being a religious aspect and not a legal right, we can solve that quickly. Our constitution of this great nation demands separation of church and state, so this should be a no brainer...make the legal documents civil unions for all and allow the churches to preform marriage ceremonies, that way churches that do recognize a valid and lasting love and want to perform ceremonies for gay couples can continue and churches that find it revolting, can continue to hate (which, if I am not mistaken really goes against the greatness of religion itself.)
So this up coming May, make noise...all the GLBTQQIA need to stand together (especially the A - allies). We need to make our voice clear that in the 21st century, there is no place for legal discrimination, and those that do oppose gay marriage, don't have one. We are not the issue for the sanctity of marriage when over 50% end in divorce. How can you have sanctity on your third or fourth marriage when we just really want one. So, again, stand up! Be heard! let the politicians that are so afraid to take this issue on for fear of backlash know that DISCRIMINATION IS DISCRIMINATION! and one day, when an America in the future looks back and sees that in the 21st century they legalized discrimination in any form, they will see the shame and guilt that comes along with that.
Finally, to the opponents to gay marriage, I would like to just say get over it. I know that sounds harsh, maybe misplaced, but brave Americans have fought and died for the rights guaranteed in our constitution. They did not give their lives to let our civil liberties, our freedoms and the equality that makes us America slip away for fear. SPEAK OUT
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