In more than 200 years of American history, the U.S. Constitution has been amended only 17 times since the Bill of Rights – and except for Prohibition, which was repealed, it has never been amended to restrict the rights and liberties of the American people. For example, our Constitution was amended to end our nation’s tragic history of slavery. It was also amended to guarantee people of color, young people and women the right to vote. These are fundamental rights!
Proposition 8 and the Marriage Protection Act...both topics currently under heated debate seek to single out one class of Americans for discrimination by ensuring that same-sex couples would be unfairly denied the equal protections that marriage brings to all other American families. Marriage equality, on the other hand, would build on America's tradition of moving civil rights forward and erasing the inequalities of the past.
Enshrining discrimination and bigotry in our Constitution would consequently strip millions of families of basic protections which would not serve our nation’s best interest on any level. The Constitution is supposed to protect and ensure equal treatment for all people, and as such, should not be used to single out a group of people for different treatment. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!
As history has repeatedly proven, institutions that fail to take account of the changing needs of the population are those that grow weak; those that recognize and accommodate changing needs grow strong. It is due time for the apathetic attitude which has pervaded the minds of American's for so long to be annihilated. Wake up America!
Granting same-sex couples the right to marry would strengthen the institution of marriage by allowing it to better meet the needs of the true diversity of family structures in America today. Equality for all, and nothing less, is truly ethical.
It is past time to allow same-sex couples the freedom to honor their relationships in the greatest way our society has to offer, by making a public commitment to stand together in good times and bad, through all the joys and challenges family life brings.
How you deal with the outside world is a clear reflection of how you feel about who you are.
