Fifteen hundred species of animals practice homosexuality according to an article on NewsMedical. Out of those fifteen hundred, in only one species are homosexuals persecuted - humans. It’s only taken two hundred years, more or less, but finally, a future where gay and lesbian Americans are protected equally under the law is in sight. Throughout the past few decades, gay rights have improved drastically, and in the end of March of this year, Californian gays have seen their largest glimmer of hope yet. Proposition 8 - a Californian law banning gays from marrying - has been taken to the Supreme Court and may be declared unconstitutional. Despite President Barack Obama’s support for gay marriage Rights, he adamantly states that the matter is best left for states to decide - or is it?
According to an infographic on the Washington Post, 24 countries have recognized gay couples - whether they have a substitute to true marriage or the real deal. World powers like the United Kingdom, and recently France, have legalized gay marriage. It’s time for America to grit their teeth and open their eyes - the world is moving in the direction of equality.
Obviously, gay marriage should be legalized for all the moral reasons. Man and woman are equal, and anyone should be free to love whom they please without fear of discrimination in social, political and economic situations. However, gay marriage equality is only one piece in a large puzzle that comprises America’s current political situation.
Bipartisanship has locked America in a useless stalemate so effective that it’s nearly impossible to pass any sort of legislature at all. For example, take the recent gun control bills that almost passed. Due to the differing political views of Democrats and Republicans, the liberal bill calling for more gun control was shot down by the conservatives in the Senate. Hope to decrease gun crimes was shot down that day (puns intended). This confounded bipartisanship tension has made it literally impossible to come to a consensus or find a compromise, and it’s gotten to point where Americans are suffering due to it.
Although figures are disputed, a significant portion of the American population identifies as gay or lesbian. Though some may live in liberal-leaning states like Massachusetts and Maine where gay marriage is legal, many live in places like California where it’s illegal. They have to face the inferior status of engaging in a ‘domestic partnership,’ mainly due to the conflicts of bipartisanship. Some stubborn conservatives refuse to recognise gay marriage, hiding behind a mask of religion. They will put their own political agendas and personal beliefs over the happiness and equality of gay and lesbians. It is people like them that cause gays to lament over the fact that they may not be able to marry, simply because of their location.This is why we need a constitutional amendment guaranteeing gays and lesbians equal marriage status as straight couples.
Although President Obama has stated that gay marriage rights is an issue for states to decide, it is a much more pressing issue than he seems to believe. Americans are being oppressed because of their sexuality. America takes extreme pride in our wonderful constitutional right to Freedom of Expression - yet not all citizens are able to fully experience it. Being able to love whom you please falls under the umbrella of Freedom of Expression, and therefore states denying, or attempting to deny gays from loving whom they please, is violating the Constitution - a federal offense. Therefore, in order to prevent gays from being discriminated against any longer, a constitutional amendment is necessary to protect them equally under the law, and also to help fight the bipartisan struggle that has put a hold on America’s modern political agenda for the past decade.