To be or not to be...Gay that is.

In an article published in THE UNITED-STATESIAN, Justin Sitarz comments on what Gay Rights really mean. He points out that the fight for civil rights, no matter their cause is the same and I agree. I don’t see the difference, whether it is about rights for women, rights for blacks or rights for gays. There should not exist, in our country or our world, a subset of humans who cannot take advantage of and be protected by rights enjoyed by others. 

Sitarz also mentions that the same fear tactics that were used during the civil right struggles in the 60’s are being used today to discourage politicians and constituents from granting equal rights to the LGBT communities. It is such a shame that this is even an issue that we have to fight for. It should be self-evident, and any American that can justify their desire to withhold equal opportunities from their neighbors ought to be deeply ashamed of themselves. The idea that gay marriage threatens the sanctity of straight marriage, that is a favorite statement thrown around by the fear mongers, is simply erroneous and, well, for lack of a better word, dumb! Let’s examine for a minute what that means. Sanctity; “noun- the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly... Ultimate importance and inviolability: the sanctity of human life.”

I don’t know a lot about religion, but I am fairly certain that you aren’t to hold yourself to be holy or sacred and you can’t just call yourself a saint, so I don’t see how you can apply this heavy noun to your marriage, and anyway, how does your neighbors gay or straight marriage affect your admittedly, if not arrogantly, stated saintly straight union, may god forgive you. Also, if your marriage is so inviolability (never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored) I don’t see how anything could threaten it except your ignorance and hate. Okay, now that that is off my chest, let’s move on.

I like what Sitarz says about the government needing to lead this fight. He points out that in 1948 Truman desegregated the military and it still took three years for full desegregation. It took many years after this to obtain equal rights for blacks, but the government was needed to lead the way. I hope to see DADT rescinded soon and I do understand the need for a hold on the initiation of it abolishment. It would be devastating to allow those that are LGBT serving in the military to be able to come out, only to have it over turned again leading to many discharges and angry retaliations, but I too would like this to be done sooner than later.