Jasmine Fabre
Professor Booker
English Composition 1
28 September 2011
Equality: The Gay Agenda
How would you feel if you lived in a society that was constantly telling you that your thoughts, actions, and feelings were wrong? How is it that in a country that has seen its fair share of civil rights battles, we are still so blindly unaccepting? At present, we supposedly accept people of all religions, races, and belief systems and yet we are still denying basic human rights to approximately 4 million gay adults in the U.S. While the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community has made recent strides in the fight for equality in many states homosexuals are still being treated as second-class citizens. Society dictates that marriage can exist solely between a man and woman, but as social norms are constantly changing and being re-evaluated, shouldn’t our views? I wholeheartedly believe that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, deserves to be treated equally.
While there have been recent victories in the fight for equality, the road ahead is still very long. However, things are looking up, what with the recent repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, as well as the legalization of gay marriage in New York. But, while in the fight for equal rights, same-sex couples have got their foot in the door, it seems that someone is always trying to close it back up.
Gay marriage is currently legal in only six states, but it should also be noted that thirty states have approved constitutional amendments against gay marriage (Cuomo). With the recent legalization of gay marriage in New York, a huge step for the gay community, many activists are hoping that other states will follow their lead. The gay community stands to gain so much from the legalization of same-sex marriage. Marriage would give each partner not only a legal document in which they showed their commitment to one another, but the right to marriage benefits such as joint ownership, and the ability to make medical decisions on their partners behalf. The 14th amendment states that, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” It would seem that with this so explicitly stated in the constitution of our country, the fight for gay marriage should have been won a long time ago.
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was a policy put into effect in the early 1990’s, as a way to put a stop to homosexuals being discharged from the military. However, this policy also set the gay rights cause back quite a bit, as it was based solely on not disclosing your sexual orientation. Recently, this policy was repealed, which many believe is a large step forward for the gay community. I feel that with a policy like this being repealed, it gives the gay rights cause not only hope, but a look into a future where they will be accepted. I believe that with out of date policies like ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ being repealed and re-evaluated it is only a matter of time until the federal government sees the error in their ways on a number of laws that blatantly infringe upon the rights of the gay community. It has been proved time and time again that not only is homosexuality not, as it was once thought, a mental illness, but that the gay community are first and foremost, human beings. And these human beings deserve to have the same rights as everyone else. Now, when we, as a society, start deciding that certain minorities do not deserved basic human rights, where will it stop? You would think that with the civil rights movement barely behind us, that our government, and fellow American’s would understand that regardless of the color of your skin, the religion you choose to believe, and the person you choose to love, no one should have the ability to deny you of your basic rights.
Adoption is yet another large issue facing the gay community. As many people point out in their campaigns against same-sex couples, they are unable to procreate. But with the number of children in the foster care system in our country soaring, wouldn’t it just make sense to allow same-sex couples to adopt? Many people argue that growing up with same-sex parents will ‘turn you’ into a homosexual, but it has been proved time and time again. My grandmother is a lesbian and that, in no way, caused my mother to become a lesbian. Others believe that homosexuals are all sexual deviants and predators, and this too, is not the case. Many children also grow up in homes where their families are split apart and they live without one of their parents and often suffer the consequences of their parents’ choices. With teen pregnancy through the roof, who is to say that someone who wants to start a family doesn’t provide a nurturing enough environment, or is not fit to raise a child simply because they are a same-sex couple. Dr Ellen Perrin concluded, "The vast consensus of the studies is that children of same-sex parents do as well as children whose parents are heterosexual in every way. In some ways, children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures (Little).” I believe that if same-sex couples were given the ability to adopt, not only would the number of children in the foster care system or up for adoption drop dramatically, but these children would receive the loving and caring families that each and every one of them deserves.
Nearly all arguments against equal rights are based in some way on religion. I, respectfully, believe that while the bible does say things against homosexuality, it also says not to wear clothes containing multiple fabrics, that the punishment for adultery is death, and not to cut your hair or shave. Nearly all of these things take place every day without the bat of an eye, what gives one sentiment more value than another? I believe that while these arguments have their merit, times have changed greatly since these ideals were written, and so they should be updated in accordance. It is also said that the sanctity of marriage will suffer with the legalization of same-sex marriage, but with the divorce rate in this country at nearly 50%, is there really so much at stake?
At what point do we decide to stop basing legal decisions on personal prejudices and start giving people the rights that they deserve? Basic human rights should be offered to everyone, not just those who fit the cookie-cutter mold that society deems ‘appropriate’. Gay rights are already legal in six states, and nothing catastrophic has happened, further proving the point that for most people this won’t change the way things are, but for some it will be the most important thing in their lives. It has been proven time and time again that sexual orientation does not affect the way someone will perform at their job, raise their child, or live their lives. So, I have to ask, why are we still discriminating against an entire group of people who are, in fact, just like everyone else?