Speaking of Rights...

Erin Pellett
Undergraduate/Creative Writing 

Every day, I am reminded of the sad state of affairs that has become normalcy. I am constantly denied rights that every human being should have, just because of who I fall in love with. I have been fighting for the past few years for a just society and a government that will recognize that I, as an American citizen and taxpayer, am guaranteed and deserve the equal rights that I am still denied because I am not a heterosexual. 

I am currently identifying as a bisexual. I have always had the stereotypical girly ideal of the perfect white wedding. This is something that causes me great pain, to know that if I were to fall madly in love with a female I cannot currently marry her. I would be denied the right to be by her side if she were dying in the hospital. I would be denied any child support or alimony should she cheat on me or leave me. If she were to bear a child for us I would have no right to the child if she were to end our relationship. These are all thoughts that make my heart ache. What hurts the most is the fact that I could marry one of my male friends and experience tax breaks even if there was no love between us. I have always held marriage on a pedestal and it will forever stay there because I will forever hope to join in union with someone I truly love. 

What makes it worse is the grounds that are used to justify denying homosexual people rights. People say that because homosexuality is “morally” wrong that the government cannot condone these actions. These “morals” that are used are based mostly on religion and not on simple common sense. According to About.com, because the First Amendment establishes a separation of church and state, “the government cannot tell either you or your church what to believe or to teach …[also] it ensures that the government does not get involved with enforcing, mandating, or promoting particular religious doctrines.” 1 The common theme here is that multiple religions believe homosexuality is a sin. However, we cannot justify these right-inhibiting laws with religion, because doing so is promoting religious doctrines and is against the constitutional rights of all those involved. 

Another justification that is used to deny homosexuals the right to marry is the slippery slope theory. Basically this theory says that if homosexuals can get married, we would have to allow adults to marry children, we would have to allow people to marry animals, and who knows how far this will go. The slippery slope can be solved by the simple wording of the law by including that “marriage is between two legal, consenting, adult human beings.” Slope leveled.

I know there are many people who disagree on moral grounds, but at the end of the day it is simply the fact that if I give up, I will never have equal rights. Equal rights are not special rights, and to be completely honest, I cannot believe we have to put a law on the books to allow two people to share the sacred vows of marriage. There’s no law that allows heterosexuals to get married, so why should there need to be a law allowing homosexuals to get married? 
 
This is why I went to Washington D.C. October 9-11. I went to stand up not only for my own rights but for the rights of Gays, Lesbians, other Bisexuals, Transgender people, Gender Queer, Questioning, Intersexed people, and all the other groups that fall under the umbrella term of LGBTQQI. Some of the people I marched with are fighting for rights similar to those I am fighting for, but there are others who are fighting for completely different rights. 

Every person in the LGBT movement is an individual; we all have different views and opinions. I ask you simply to not judge people by their sexuality or their gender identity, and to try to put yourself in the shoes of those who are being refused basic rights. Would you fight?

Sources:
1. http://atheism.about.com/od/churchstatemyths/a/phrase.htm