The Civil Rights Cha-Cha

Doesn’t it seem like every time you take a step forward, you take two steps backward?  We’ve witnessed history in the making, electing our first (half) black president, the shift in power between parties, and the vast numbers of voters who chose to make a difference. We’ve overcome obstacles that years ago we thought insurmountable, and yet here we are again, at the crossroads of progression and tradition, between what is right and what is right now.

We, as a nation, have challenged ourselves throughout history to provide for common liberty among all citizens. We have failed at times, and excelled at others. We have changed hearts and minds toward protecting equal rights for everyone in this country regardless of race, color, creed, age, gender, etc…but something is missing.

The Fourteenth Amendment reads:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. (for full text, click here.)

The State of California’s Proposition 8 amends the State Constitution to include the following:

SEC. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.(for full text, click here.)

This is only the most famous of the three state propositions banning same-sex marriage (and the most funded of the campaigns, both for and against). Arizona, California and Florida have all passed measures to ban same-sex marriage, and Arkansas has adopted a proposition banning homosexual couples from adopting children. In total, 30 states have passed measures to ban same-sex marriage, or to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

One, two, cha-cha-cha.

The simple fact is that by not allowing homosexual couples the same right to marry one another, we are continuing the long list of abuses of power we have extended, as a nation, over whoever is the unpopular minority at the time. The question remains: how can we justify trampling upon the rights of American citizens simply because they are different?

Some states allow for “civil unions,” which basically allow for the same rights as married heterosexual couples without the marriage nametag, calling it the most fair compromise between opposing sides. However, what is a marriage other than the legal combining of property? Don’t say love – 52% of marriages end in divorce, rather than “’til death do you part.”

If it is about love, then allow people to marry who they love, regardless of gender. If it’s not about love, then stop with the backwards, archaic logic that only a man and woman can legitimately join their property for the purposes of taxation. According to the 2000 Census, 601,209 gay and lesbian families could file jointly (and use the money they save to stimulate the economy, or buy a hybrid car, or…).

The bottom line is that 30 states are acting against the Fourteenth Amendment, choosing to impede on the basic civil rights of minority citizens with the purpose of flexing their Judeo-Christian moral muscles, and it’s time someone let them know who is boss. It is our job, as American citizens, to stand up and fight against any action that curtails the freedom we have worked so hard to maintain.

Do your part as a citizen, as an American (hell, as a human being), to keep government in check and liberty alive by fighting for everyone’s rights.