Gay Rights

"With liberty and justice for all." This is a common phrase that every American knows and has said. It speaks of rights that every human being deserves, including gay people. Gay people deserve the same rights as everybody else.

Thirty-two out of the fifty United States have some type of ban on same-sex marriages. Gay marriage is one of the most talked about issues in society today and is facing much controversy. According to Infoplease.com, there are only five states in the United States that issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. That is shocking when you realize that many other countries allow gay marriage, including Canada and South Africa. Now some places in the world offer civil unions instead of marriages to gay couples, but civil unions don't offer joint social security or federal tax breaks that come with a marriage. Some people say that gay marriages would threaten the institute of marriage, which in-and-of itself is an oxymoron. How anyone thinks that letting people get married is a threat to marriage is beyond me. Besides, when people can get drunk, drive to Vegas, and marry a complete stranger, there isn't much left of marriage to threaten. These same people go on to say that marriage is traditionally a union between one man and one woman, which is true. Then again, slavery used to be a very normal and popular tradition as well. When all else fails, the "marriages are for ensuring the continuation of the species" argument comes into play. Unfortunately for this argument, overpopulation is one of the world's biggest problems today; if a few thousand people stopped having kids the world would go on, and the overpopulation problem would actually be helped. Also, as bidstrup.com pointed out, if marriage is specifically for procreation then straight couples who are infertile, or women who hit menopause, may no longer get or stay married. Additionally, if a gay couple can't have kids, there is always adoption.

Currently, six states are considering, or have considered, bans on gay and lesbian adoption. Anti-gay activists state that same-sex couples are the optimum environment in which to raise children, but a study on youdebate.com found that anywhere from six to fourteen million children are living with at least one gay parent. There is already a shortage on adoptive parents, and children are growing up without parents, yet people still want to take away adults willing to take these kids and give them a loving home. Being gay does not change your parental instincts, and gay people are just as capable of loving children as anybody else. According to a study from bidstrup.com, "the outcomes of children raised in homosexual homes are just as good as those of straight couples."

Today, it is still illegal for homosexuals to donate blood or bone marrow. Imagine this: you are very sick and require blood immediately to survive. You have a rare blood type, but luckily for you, a man with your same blood type walks in and is willing to donate his blood to save your life. Unfortunately for you, this man also happens to be gay and is turned away by the hospital because of that, not that you would have been informed anyway. Patients are not informed when a blood donor turns out to be gay, so they can't even decide for themselves if they want to accept the blood or not. According to gaylife.about.com, the FDA banned all homosexuals from giving blood in the 1980's because they felt that homosexuals were at a higher risk for contracting STDs than heterosexuals. Gay people who are in long-term, monogamous relationships are turned away as blood donors, while straight people who engage in risky sexual behavior are allowed to donate. Heterosexuals are just as likely to get an STD as homosexuals. STDs don't have a preference when it comes to a person's sexuality.

''As the country has changed, so have the people in the military," said Sharra Greer. A Washington Post-ABC News poll found that seventy-five percent of Americans said gay people who are open about their sexuality should be allowed to serve in the United States military. In 1993 President Clinton signed into law a policy that banned all homosexuals from serving in the military, called the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. This policy states that while superiors can not ask a person their sexual identity, or investigate them to find out their sexual identity, if it is realized that a military personnel is gay they will be discharged. Soulforce estimates that of the 11,000 plus service members discharged under the "Don't ask, Don't tell" over 800 of them had skills critical to national security. The armed forces are already facing recruitment shortages and by discharging homosexuals, they are losing men and women who are ready and willing to serve our country. Some people say that homosexuals will create discomfort within the military, but there was once a time when blacks made people uncomfortable; we got over that so why not this. The banning of homosexuals isn't limited to the army, however, but has spread to the boy scouts as well. Since 1991 gay people have been prohibited from leadership positions in the Boy Scouts, and even kicked out of their troops when their sexuality was realized. All hope is not lost however; President Obama has stated that he will end "Don't ask, Don't tell", though no timeline to when this may be happing was provided.

Hate crimes against gay people have increased by about three-hundred in the past three years. According to the San Francisco Conical, 2,475 people were victimized nationally by anti-gay violence, which is a rise of ten percent since 1999. People should be free to live how they want without judgment or hate; to help stop hate crimes against the gay community President Obama passed the Matthew Shepard Act, states Change.gov. Multiple studies indicate that thirty-one percent of gay youth were threatened or injured at school because people think that being gay is wrong, disgusting, or a sin.

The Bible contains six admonishments against homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. Many religious activists hate gays because they feel that they are immoral and sinful, but whatever happened to the separation of church and state? The way a religion feels about things should not effect the laws of the country. Besides, not all religions have a problem with homosexuality. According to religionfacts.com, the Unitarian Universalists do not believe homosexuality is a sin. Also, the Dalai Lama is well known for his campaign for human rights, specifically including equal rights for gays, and the Metropolitan Community Church has a specific outreach to the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and allies) community. To the Metropolitan Community Church, acceptance of homosexuality is an important part of its theology. Still, there are religions that don't accept homosexuality. "War, rape, murder, poverty, equal rights for gays. Guess which one the Southern Baptist Convention is protesting." (The Value of Families)

Whether you're looking to get married and start a family, or to join the military or donate blood to help somebody in need, you have the right to do so without fear, judgment, or hate. Every human being deserves the same privileges, the same freedoms, the same rights. Homosexuals, queers, fairies, fags, gays: these are all words used to describe people, human beings, who deserve the same rights as everybody else.

"With liberty and justice for all."