In the last week two states have granted marriage equality to all their citizens, irrespective of gender. Marriage is, or should be, both a constitutional and a human right.
Opponents of marriage equality argue that the institution cannot be changed. Yet it has had many faces over the centuries, while different cultures have varied definitions of what marriage is. Opponents of marriage equality among the religious community argue that granting equality to all will destroy the fundamental tenets of society as we know it. However, in every country and state where marriage equality is the law, the world has not come to an end., as predicted by the forces of social repression.
There is a generational divide between us...how many od my contemporaries feel about marriage equality produced Prop 8 and its passage – I would like toknow how the younger generation feels about it.
Mr. Beeche
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Marriage should be a human right. It does not matter what the gender is of the person you love, everyone should be allowed to get married no matter if you're homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, transexual, and whatever else there is. Everyone is still human and God created all of us so nobody should be discriminated against. It doesnt matter who you love, all that matters is that you are happy with yourself and your partner.
ReplyDelete..and people have no right to judge others just because they are different from them. It is not their business if it has nothing to do with them.
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a topic I feel really strongly about. During the 2008 elections, when I was driving home, there was a mass of twenty people protesting Proposition 8 on the freeway exit near my house, yelling at cars saying that being gay was a sin. A woman pulled over and told a young man that everybody deserves the privilege of marrying the person he or she loves. The boy shouted back at her, "Are you f****** gay? Get out of here. God doesn't love you [insert derogatory term here]." Amid this accumulation of Prop 8 supporters, were three people rallying for the elimination on the ban of gay marriage. Passionate about the cause, and motivated by the intolerance of the boy, I borrowed a sing from a neighbor and chanted "NO ON 8! NO ON HATE" with the other students waving signs of red, white and blue that read “Vote No on PROP 8: Unfair & Wrong." People rolled down their window to tell me how ashamed I should be to support something so "immoral". Some people shook their heads in opposition of my beliefs. Other drivers smiled and gave me a thumbs up. The young man previously mentioned was not happy about the four of us protesting. As fervent as I felt about my beliefs, he also reflected zeal. He came over to our corner and spit in a girl's face and threw our signs over a fence. A neighbor came out to heal the commotion and the boy punched him in the face. You ask how the young folk feel; well, i'll tell you right now you can't generalize today's youths' opinion through our responses. We grew up in San Francisco, a more so than other places inclusive society. We go to a quite tolerant school and were mostly raised by Democratic families. It's safe to say that our class knows it is so unethical to refuse a right to someone because they are, for lack of a better word, different. I cannot understand how this nation can be so intolerant when our history should teach us otherwise. Well, I know the ban on gay marriage is wrong. (And that young man did get arrested, just FYI)
ReplyDeleteWow, I made many grammatical errors in that passage... there's a run-on, some incorrect tenses and a misusage of structure. I don't know how to fix it though?
ReplyDeleteTo me, marriage simply means to have a formal pact with your true love. It shouldn't matter who that person is; even the gender shouldn't be an issue. If a male or female feels comfortable loving someone from the same sex, then why not get married? That commitment, that bond they share illuminates their love for one another. If marriage is a way for them to express their love, then so be it. It would be a disgrace to not allow this matrimony. My friends and family always told me, "God gave us free will." Doesn't this mean that we get to do whatever we desire? If so, why can't people marry the same sex? They're not hurting anyone whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first heard about Proposition 8, the first thought I had was “Is America stupid?” True, America is a country’s name and therefore cannot actually be stupid, but that doesn’t exempt intolerant Americans from holding that title (though stupid is a bit harsh). I remember discussing Prop. 8 with a fellow student in one class and when I asked her opinion, she told me that she would vote yes solely because her Asian heritage believed that. Now I’m not going to lie and say that my aunt didn’t believe that as well, but just because she believes that, doesn’t mean that I have to as well. And although I am proud of my heritage, I’m not going to follow a principle I don’t agree with (just as I am Catholic but refuse some of their beliefs). I understand that perhaps people who voted in favor of that proposition were afraid of a change in tradition. However, marriage is a tradition where two people can show the world that they’re in love. Why should their sex be the one thing to change that definition? It's like asking, why are you afraid of change, when you know it will lead to something better?
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard that proposition 8 was going to be on the ballot for the election, I was surprised. With so many different people, (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transsexual, ... and so on), in this world, I couldn't believe that California would want to ban gay marriage. I couldn't believe that America, The Land Of The Free, would be so intolerant to people that may like a person of the same sex.
ReplyDeleteI felt very strongly on opposing this proposition. When it comes to love, I don't believe that a person's sex should matter. I don't believe that love is just black and white but a multitude of colors. For many people (that oppose same sex marriage), they say that marriage between a man and a man or a women and a women is not 'normal' (I wonder what 'normal really is) or goes against religious beliefs. (Because I am not Catholic myself, I hope that I don't offend anyone) For example, for most Catholic's, their reason for not accepting gays/lesbian's is that it is wrong to be in love with someone of the same sax and, as it says in the bible, that marriage should ONLY be done between a man and a women. But if your going to bring religion into this, doesn't the bible also say that God MADE man, therefore he MADE everyone and made them differently. (I wonder which one's right, if there is a right answer.) It also seems that many people are afraid of change and they are scared of what would happen if change did occur.
I agree with Rebecca, marriage is a symbol that shows the love that one feels for the other. Why should a person's sex matter? Many of my fellow classmates would/do probably agree, that Everyone should have a chance to fall in love and get marriage, no matter who it is that you are in love with.
I'm just curious: Are people that scared for change? What makes people so intolerant to how a person feels about another (in the sense of same sex)? Many people say it's religion while others say that it's not 'normal', I wonder if it's more then those reasons for a person to say no to gay marriage.
Although i am a Catholic by culture and at heart, I do believe that everyone, EVERYONE, should be able to have the right to marry whomever it is they want to. The Catholic church and certainly our government cannot tell us who we can and cannot love.
ReplyDeleteProposition 8 was a very unfair measure that took away people's right to get married. Everyone, no matter what their sexual orientation is, should be able to marry the person that they love. Many people use religion to support their methods of injustice. Their reasoning is very skewed. One person that I talked to said that the earthquake in Asia was attributed to God's anger over gay marriage. In order to change such modes of thinking, it is absolutely necessary for people to open up and to let go of their prejudices.
ReplyDeleteAll your answers are extremely inspiring. Societal change happens slowly and with the bittersweet passage of time. I became aware of how much intransigence and intolerance, bigotry and ignorance surrounds us during the Prop 8 campaign.
ReplyDeleteOne Saturday morning, as I let our pups out for their morning walk, I was astonished to see a lady, who lives some houses down from our home, attempt to rip our No on 8 sign. When I reprimanded her for doing so, her answer was an expletive of the nastiest sort. Yes, even in my enclave of Berkeleyan tolerance and progressive thinking, there was plenty of hate to spread about. Very sad...
Mr. Beeche
When I heard that the people will vote on if people can get married with the same sex it shocked me. It doesn't make any sense that people will vote on how other people will live their lives. It isn't right to say to a person that you can't do that because it is not "normal". America is discriminating once again and now it is towards homosexual people.
ReplyDeleteThis question will go on long after my time but I do belive in equality. What many people don't understand is that weare from San Francisco which is very open to every type of people and its hard to see why people are against it. Be open and acceptable to all people because that is what my parents taught me. Except ad impbrace in what others want and deserve.......
ReplyDeleteI thought it was ironic that the day we have our first African American President and the promise of change Californians ban gay marriage. Our generation is very progressive and more accepting. But our parents' and grandparents' generation are still very old school and cannot always keep up with the times. I think it is only a matter of time before same sex marriage gets legalized in all states.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Sonia on this. I am Catholic, but that doesn't mean that I follow everything that we're "supposed" to believe. I remember on the days leading up to voting day, I was telling my parents to vote no on Prop 8. My dad is a devoted Catholic so he was asking me why I was going against my religion. I think that people should be able to marry the person that they love and want to spend the rest of their lives with. I also don't know why people are so against it when the marriage wouldn't even affect their own lives.
ReplyDeleteeveryone should have the right to marry whom ever they please. just like the government isnt allowed to choose our religion or cultural background, they also should not get to choose who we love and want to spend the rest of our lives with. i know a couple who got married at city hall before the whole prop 8 thing, and they are happily married. i attended the wedding and they are jsut as happy as any straight couple. i am happy for them and i hope that someday they will be allowed to be legally married with no questions asked.
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