This is not an article about Republicans vs. Democrats.
Instead, this is about our progression to becoming the generation that is the most accepting of the gay and lesbian community. If you don’t agree, or you take issue with that, then this is a good place to stop reading.
According to a PBS Frontline study, those with negative feelings towards homosexuals “are likely to be older and less well educated,” and “are more likely to express traditional, restrictive attitudes about sex roles.”
Those are our parents. Yes, that’s a vast generalization, but as a generation, it’s seems to be the case.
In high schools and colleges around the nation, New Trier included, there is the Day of Silence. This day is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) annual day to protest the bullying and harassment of LGBT students and their supporters.
It is no longer acceptable—and rightly so—to use phrases like “that’s so gay” or “you’re gay” to describe something in a negative light. GLSEN has teamed with the Ad Council and the NBA to launch television advertisements discouraging the use of such phrases in the “Think B4 You Speak” campaign.
Numerous athletes like Manny Pacquiao, Kobe Bryant, Joakim Noah, and Desean Jackson have found themselves in hot water after saying homophobic derogatory remarks.
Aside from greater support for the gay community, there is greater national support for equal marriage rights.
In his second-term inauguration speech, President Obama was applauded for finally demanding equal rights for gays. He said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law — for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
This inauguration was also called the most gay-friendly inauguration with a reading by Richard Blanco, a gay Latino poet, in addition to Obama’s speech.
Recently, even a group of Conservative Republicans filed an amicus brief, asking the Supreme Court to strike down the California statute, Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. Proposition 8 states “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
This group, made up of well-known Republican politicians like former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, sent the brief with the hope of swaying the judges to declare Proposition 8 unconstitutional. The brief contends that Proposition 8 is anti-family. This has surprised many, given the long-standing conservative stance on gay marriage being anti-family.
Regardless of a possible ulterior motive—like perhaps the need for support from the younger, and now voting, demographic—this change is important for this nation. Gay marriage is becoming less of a partisan issue and more of a human rights issue.
Things change slowly though; almost 150 years the Civil War and racism is still a problem in the United States.
But, there is undeniable progress. Nine states currently allow and recognize the marriage of same sex couples.
Our generation, while not unanimously in support of gay rights and gay marriage, is leading the continuing fight for equal rights.