Two Day Magazine

The New Second-Class Citizens

Since Proposition 8 passed, I have felt very sad and disheartened by what this means for the gay and lesbian community. The idea that two people who love and care for each other and want to solidify their bond in front of their family and spiritual leader, as well as the state, and can’t, is preposterous.

When did it become acceptable to legislate morality? This is not “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Instead, we have become the “land of fearful and the home of the cowardly.”

By allowing Prop 8 to stand, we are now saying that we are comfortable with restricting people’s personal freedom in this country to uphold ‘traditional’ values. Singer Melissa Etheridge, who had wed her longtime girlfriend in California this past year, expressed her anger and disgust with Prop 8 passing, saying that since she is being taxed without being represented, she would no longer pay the half million dollars in income tax to the government until she is guaranteed full rights under the law.

Can you blame her? Can you blame someone for falling in love and wanting to start a family and a life with their lover? Can you blame someone for feeling like a second class citizen when they are being ostracized and discriminated against for wanting the same rights as everyone else? It is as if we are saying that their relationships are not only wrong, but meaningless in the eyes of the state. How can we, as a people, who live in a country partly founded on religious freedom, decide to use religion in the name of intolerance?

Let’s be honest. The people opposed to giving gays the right to marry, are doing so because they feel it is wrong in the eyes of their religious beliefs. They have been brought up to think that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination. But, I ask, if your god is so cruel to sneer in the face of love, then how can you worship this deity? Have we all forgotten the separation of church and state in this country? Shouldn't logical reasoning come before religion when writing legislation?

This is America. There are people from all walks of life living here. Whether they are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, the list goes on and on. How can we make law based on one religion’s belief when it affects a nation of many beliefs? Just because a slight majority gave into their bigotry, doesn’t make it just. If this was so, the Civil Rights Act may never have passed, women may have never received the vote, children may never have been granted rights under the law for protection against exploitation, etc.

Samuel Adams, one of the founding fathers, was quoted saying, “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds."

Let’s replace the fear with love and replace the ignorance with enlightenment. Hopefully, in time, this fire will be set aflame in everyone’s mind and we will realize that it is not so important as to whom we love, but that we love.