For the first time in our nation’s history, our sitting president has openly supported gay marriage. Although many people are raging about how wrong Obama’s stance is, and that he is only supporting gays to gain votes, the bottom line is that gay marriage is a problem for which a solution has been long overdue.
From a conservative Christian standpoint, which, according to Gallup, makes up about 40% of the nation, gay’s don’t deserve to have any marriage rights because of the sin that they are committing. In a study conducted by Lehman Strauss on the Christian perspective of homosexuality, they explain that God strictly forbids gay marriage. “Homosexuality is an illicit lust forbidden by God. He said to His people Israel, ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination’ (Leviticus 18:22). In these passages homosexuality is condemned as a prime example of sin, a sexual perversion. The Christian can neither alter God’s viewpoint nor depart from it.”
But, gays have contributed a lot to our world. Extremely influential philosophers, artists, and leaders like Aristotle, Socrates, Shakespeare, Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo, and Alexander the Great have all been said to be gay. Today we have the strong influences of Anderson Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, David Geffen, Rosie O’Donnell and Marc Jacobs, also all gay. Gays tend to be trendy and bring wealth and style with them. Northern Chicago communities likes Boystown and Andersonville have been bustling with inviting nightlife, trendy shops, and unique restaurants ever since the gay community settled there. So really, if a homosexual’s choice of what they do behind closed doors blinds people from who they are as a person, the question we should be asking is if America has a gay rights issue or a moral issue.
Another assumption many conservatives have is that people aren’t born gay, they just choose to be that way. According to Neil Swidey from the Boston globe “In May, Swedish researchers reported finding important differences in how the brains of straight men and gay men responded to two compounds suspected of being pheromones – those scent-related chemicals that are key to sexual arousal in animals. Brain scans showed that when straight men smelled the female urine compound, their hypothalamus lit up. That didn’t happen with gay men. Instead, their hypothalamus lit up when they smelled the male-sweat compound, which was the same way straight women had responded”. Just like a person can be born black, they can be born gay too, and to take away their rights over something they cannot control is just wrong.
In a world that has been undergoing social and moral evolution since the Civil Rights movement, shouldn’t there be a civil rights movement for gays to get married? Of the 50 states, only eight allow gay marriage and ten allow civil unions. It is a delicate topic, especially among conservative states. But gays deserve the same protection and legal rights as minorities, and hopefully gay marriage will be allowed in all 50 states in our life time.
It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, black, Asian, tall, fat, straight, or a bible-thumping Christian; if you’re a person, you deserve equal rights. Gay people are not ruining the morals of marriage, people like Kim Karsdashian are. In a nation that prides itself on its equality and freedom, it’s only logical to let gay couples have the same marriage rights as straight couples do. Who you chose to love and be with is not the business of others, especially the government.