GLBT & Social Evolution

From The Sauce (Northwest University’s newspaper in April 2005) by Justin Shatwell, editor:

Gay rights next step in Social Evolution

As graduation looms and my tenure with the Sauce draws rapidly to an end, I feel I must leave you with some final words on the issue of homosexuality in our nation, for I feel that the question of homosexual rights will be the issue that defines our generation.

This debate is not going away. It simply touches too many Americans to be swept under the rug and forgotten. Over the coming decades, this matter will be resolved, and we will all have to answer to our grandchildren about the role we played in this struggle.

As a historian, I am well-versed with the progression of American society. Though changes are always accompanied with popular unrest and civil friction, our nation has marched steadily towards the philosophy of total equality that our founding fathers left us.

In our search for this ultimate social truth, we have surpassed our founders’ simple understanding of it. To stay true to their message in modern times we ignored their wishes and freed the slaves, gave suffrage to women, and provided citizenship to American Indians. Thomas Jefferson would not have approved of our actions, but we really don’t give a damn. Time and experience breed a greater understanding of morality. The prejudices of our founders were wrong, and we are a better nation for shaking them off.

Now it is the homosexual population’s turn to claim their rightful place as equals in the American Dream. Would our founding fathers smile upon this? No, but I have no doubt that homosexuals will succeed and that the cause of liberty will prosper as a result.

There is no real legal argument against homosexual marriage. Instead, the issue has been fought almost solely from a religious perspective, appealing for the preservation of the “sanctity” of marriage. However, this makes little sense as the “marriage” in contention has nothing to do with religion or the church.

Homosexuals are seeking legal marriage and the rights and privileges associated with it. They are not asking for approval from the churches, and such approval is not even the government’s to give.

Homosexuals just want the right choose an individual with whom to share property rights and jointly file taxes. Most importantly, they want to be able to choose who will have the right to make medical decisions for them in the case of emergencies.

Currently, homosexual lovers, no matter how long they have lived together, do not even have the right to be in the room while their partner is dying if the family does not want them there.

Homosexual marriage hurts no one. Rather it is the banning of such marriages that inflict pain upon certain citizens of this nation.

Legalizing homosexual marriages will not intrude upon anyone’s religious beliefs. Bestowing legal rights is not equivalent to the U.S. government forcing churches to stop preaching that homosexuality is a sin.

Christians and Muslims can still celebrate how they choose and only acknowledge those marriages they agree with. However, this does not give anyone the right to force those religious beliefs into the political sphere and pass baseless legislations that oppress portions of our population.

This is the line where religious values become bigotry. God-ordained bigotry perhaps, but bigotry all the same.

As Americans we are all entitled to our beliefs. We can publish them, we can teach them to our children, we can shout them from the rooftops so long as they do not hurt anyone.

However, when these beliefs are implemented in ways that materially harm other people, they become hate speech.

I know that I am in the minority, but this is one instance when the majority is wrong. It is time we as a generation really analyzed this issue and accepted that we are allowing our passions and prejudices to undermine those philosophies that make this country great.

I refuse to remain silent as the travesty unfolds, and I have no doubt that my actions will make my grandchildren proud.