Mikie Husman
The Paw Print
According to the law of the United States heterosexuals marry, so why can’t homosexuals? In the last few months, there have been issues that have come up, that some states allow a homosexual to marry another homosexual. This is one of the hottest topics that we have ever heard of. If you know a person you want to spend the rest of your life with, what’s the hold up? Heterosexuals think that it’s wrong to marry the same sex. What happened in the Declaration of Independence that states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I thought that it would be for all heterosexual and homosexuals to have the same rights, but I was wrong.
Some of the states allow homosexuals to marry. Five states and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. This is where and when they were allowed to: Connecticut (2008), District of Columbia (2010), Iowa (2009), Massachusetts (2004), New Hampshire (2010) and (Vermont 2009). It is the future and some things are changing for the equal rights for homosexuals. Some of the states are working to change so that a homosexual can marry their partner. Colorado included is also working towards this.
An organization called Human Rights Campaign has been set up to help support all homosexuals and it was founded in 1980. This organization fights for the rights of homosexuals. I am part of this organization and I am proud to support it. It is not all about the rights. The Human Rights Campaign has over 750,000 members and supporters nationwide. It is the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization since 1980. It works on hate crimes and equal rights for this community. It is working not just towards the marriage issue, but everything that a heterosexual can do that a homosexual can’t do in all parts of life.
In the article “Momentum for Marriage: Future for Wedding March at Stake in Elections,”* *the Human Rights Campaign is working very hard on behalf of homosexuals getting the same rights as heterosexuals towards the marriage issue during this election year. The Human Rights Campaign’s national field director, Marty Rouse, said, “It would deepen the roots of marriage equality, proving that it can be embraced all across middle America- not just on the coasts.” They have supporters working on fighting for homosexuals getting the same marriage rights as heterosexuals. One of the states that are trying to pass this into law is the State of New York. “We’re just a few votes shy of a pro-marriage equality majority in the New York Senate,” said Rouse. “If New York passes a marriage bill, it would double the number of LGBT Americans who have the right to marry.” Overall the Human Rights Campaign for New York has raised more than $150,000 to defeat state senators from both parties who voted against equality. But in other states like Rhode Island, Maryland, Oregon and Washington, they will likely take up the issue in 2011- and though marriage equality is the ultimate goal, states like Colorado, Delaware, Illinois and Hawaii will soon take steps toward other forms of partnership recognition, said Rouse. “Over the past year, we have seen legislation to extend rights to our community senselessly vetoed by governors or delayed by anti-LGBT legislators,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “This election season, we can sweep those roadblocks out of the way. With so little time left before the elections, every one of us has to get in there and fight.”
In November of 2008, Proposition 8 (the California Marriage Protection Act) was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment that passed in the 2008 state of California’s election. This will be one of the most difficult ballots to pass for a very long ime. This is one of the most remembered events of our time that California didn’t pass this into law. So California would give another ruling in the next election that would define the homosexuals, rights towards marriage and recognition. So in 2010, this would have a large impact on the LGBT Community if this does not pass in the midterms and the genial election.
On August 4, 2010, Proposition 8 was brought up again when a Federal judge overturned the ban on California’s same sex marriage. Judge Vaughn Walker ruled against the bill and called it unconstitutional. Now that it was overturned, this allowed marriages between gay and lesbian partners in the nation’s largest state. Judge Vaughn Walker’s opinion on the issue: “same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry the person of their choosing, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.” Proposition 8 was overturned in May of 2008, in California’s Supreme Court ruling. The outcome of the ruling on the gay marriage ban, which was approved by 52 percent of voters and which 48 percent opposed. The majority
of the voters in California supported Proposition 8, which is irrelevant. Walker said, “Fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.” After the ruling, Walker came out with a statement, saying, “Walker wrote that the idea of restricting marriage to one man and one woman was “an artifact of a foregone notion that men and women fulfill different roles on civil life.” After all this happened in California, we have some things to think about. Will California gay -marriage trials go to the Supreme Court? Did animosity drive California’s gay marriage ban in the Prop 8 trials?
I have some friends that are homosexual and can’t marry in this state. They are committed to each other and the state does not recognize that but they are working on the issue of Colorado being one of the five states that has the marriage recognition law in the state. So when the day comes for Colorado to have the same-sex marriage they can get married without any problems. So that my friends can marry, and have the same rights as a heterosexual in the state of Colorado. I have some friends in Salt Lake City, Utah that have the same problem, but that state will take some time to fight.
I hope that in the near future all 50 states will be equal and with the election results that some homosexuals can hold office or be reelected into office. They can also have a positive outcome in the years to come, and it’s not just the heterosexuals that have to make all of the decisions in our government. It can be heterosexuals and homosexuals working together. With that we can build a more civilized government and the United States can be brought together to end hate in the LGBT community. Why can’t we get along and accept people for who they really are and stop defining people on who they love? It may be a heterosexual loving another heterosexual. But the homosexuals can’t love another homosexual because some of the states will not allow them to marry. Well, I have some bad news; the HRC is working on changing the way they look at marriage and recognition for homosexuals. HRC is also working on changing the rights that a heterosexual can have things that a homosexual can’t. Heterosexuals need to open their eyes and see that homosexuals may not have the same rights as a heterosexual at this point, but one day, homosexuals will be a part of today’s world and have the same rights.
My own opinion on the issue being fought by homosexuals for equal rights is that it should be allowed all over the world, not just in the United States. If you love the person and you have been with the person for a long time you should have the same marriage. rights as heterosexuals. I have some friends that are homosexuals and that can’t be married because of the law. Homosexuals should get the same rights as a heterosexual in all parts of life, including the right to marry according to the dictionary, the definition of marriage is the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. My own definition of marriage is that any person that is in love and committed to any relationship should have the right to marry. I think they need to redefine the real meaning of marriage not just for heterosexuals, but for all people in general. So what is your definition of marriage?
What’s Been Said…