If you don’t know what Prop 8 is, you should. Proposition 8 is a bill that has been under attack for a few years now because it prohibits marriage between two people of the same sex. The bill was passed in California and has become a center point in the battle of marriage equality since federal judges in California have found Prop 8 to be illegal – and so the battle continues with greater force, according to The New York Times.
To this day, there are people on both sides of Prop 8 – the margins are slim – but people nationwide are fighting for a full overturn of Prop 8 and federal legalization of same-sex marriage. And yes, there are those that are fighting just as hard to deny gays their basic human rights.
It was suggested to me to write about Prop 8 for this column. At first, I was offended. I am a gay woman. I don’t call it “same-sex” or “gay” marriage. I call it marriage – simply marriage. I felt that the last person to write an opinion article on Prop 8 should be a gay individual. It would be like having a black student write about segregation back in the 50s. The topic is controversial, unjust
and very close to home.
Then I thought about it. This column is my way of giving certain people and certain topics a voice in an environment that doesn’t particularly want to hear that voice. But there are too many students that read this column, enjoy this column, and want more out of this column to not stand up and write it.
So, here’s the gay perspective on Prop 8 – for all to read. We are born into a society that tells us we can do anything with our lives. We grow up, go to school, get educated, go to work, fall in love, get married and have families – the American dream. It isn’t for everyone, but one thing that everyone wants is to love and be loved, regardless of orientation, gender, race or religion. When you grow up thinking you can do whatever you want as an adult and you reach that age to learn that you cannot marry the person you love because it is illegal, reality smacks you harder than any cliché can convey.
Prop 8 is an abomination to the United States of America, a country that is supposed to be “the land of the free.” This bill is all about control and shutting down the freedom of a select group of people. Why is it such a big deal if a man and a man want to get married or a woman and a woman? How does that affect anyone else? Stop calling it “gay,” “same-sex,” or “lesbian.” It’s marriage. It’s love. It deserves the equality. And those that seek it deserve it as well. No one should have to fight this right.
Regardless of your views on Prop 8, put yourself in the shoes of someone who is affected directly by it. How would you like to be told you couldn’t marry the person you love because the government says so? I’m pretty sure that you would be more than frustrated.
If this has taught you anything, it should be that there is no such thing as gay and straight. There are people everywhere and all people need to be treated equally; gay men, working women, minorities, and the disabled. Just because someone has a quality that is different doesn’t give anyone the right to whip up a law that prohibits him or her from something so basic as marriage.
Ellen Degeneres publicly stated in August 2012, a little over the 4-year anniversary of her marriage to Portia de Rossi: “Portia and I have been married for four years and they have been the happiest of my life. And in those four years, I don’t think we hurt anyone else’s marriage. I asked all my neighbors – they say they’re fine.”
Did her marriage affect your life? How about your parents’ marriage? Or what about your grandparents’ marriage? I doubt you thought about it much. Stop thinking so much, stop labeling everything and just start progressing forward. It’s about time we move past Prop 8, past “same-sex” this, and “gay” that. It’s time we move into a future where people are people and love is love, regardless of your sexual orientation.
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