Equality for ALL

I was born white. I was born female. I was born American. I was born heterosexual. According to society today, I have hit the jackpot....well, except for the female part...but I'll leave that for another post. I am not sure I can even put into words how arbitrary that feels. I didn't ask to be born any of these things. I had no power in them...it was how the genes mixed and grew and yes, I believe that God had a hand in the process as well. But I did not. Neither did you. So, how can I get mad or judge others who were born different?

I don't believe that people whose skin color is different than mine are any less valuable, less important, or less worthy of equality. Do you? They are people, made the same way you and I were.

I don't believe that people who were born male are any less valuable, less important, or less worthy of equality. Do you? They are people, made the same way you and I were.

I don't believe that people who were born in other countries are any less valuable, less important, or less worthy of equality. Do you? They are people, made the same way you and I were.

I don't believe that people who were born homosexual are any less valuable, less important, or less worthy of equality. Do you? They are people, made the same way you and I were.

Of all the things we judge others for; their clothes, their shoes, their hair, their class status, their politics, their religion, I don't understand how we can judge someone for the way they were born.

How can we judge someone on something that they had no choice in? And I guess this is where my argument fails for many. We as a society, have not accepted the fact that homosexuality is not a behavior but a sexuality you are born with. First of all, why in the world would someone choose to be persecuted and hated? Why would they choose to be ostracized from society and their families? This is not rational. Why? BECAUSE THEY DO NOT CHOOSE. THEY CANNOT HELP WHO THEY LOVE ANY MORE THAN YOU CAN.

Because much of society believes that homosexuality is a choice, the church has searched scripture to find the ultimate yardstick by which to judge others. Not unlike in the the 50's and 60's when the church argued against the equal rights of blacks. So now we have not only the idea of choice, but GOD. There is nothing that will get people stirred up like God and the Bible.

I am not a religious scholar and have never claimed to be one. I am however married to one. He is a well educated man. He was once very, very conservative and has since opened his mind to see all that God is. And so, I am going to direct you to his words on the subject of the Bible and homosexuality, for all those who are interested.

My argument for the equality of gays and lesbians and for gay marriage is not a religious one. But I knew that for many reading this post it is, so I wanted to address that side of the issue. For me it really has nothing to do with religion, but with people. How can we deny anyone in our country of their basic rights? I just don't understand this. I just don't see how all these Christian friends of mine cannot see the eyes, faces, hearts of these special people and deny them their rights.

My friends Allison and Lou are so good to me and my family. They come over and help me fix plumbing problems. They help me fix up my kitchen, they help me move old freezers into my shed, they make me laugh. They are very good people. They are lesbians. Lou came to America from England. Now, because Allison and Lou cannot get married legally, Lou may not be able to stay in this country. Allison has worked all her adult life and has paid her taxes like every other citizen. She attends church and pays her pledge and even serves on boards there. She volunteers in the community. She is not unlike many of you reading this post. But she loves women, in particular, Lou. She loves Lou and Lou loves her and they have been in a committed relationship for over 5 years now. They live every day knowing that when this student visa runs out, Lou may have to leave. All because of the way Allison and Lou were born. How would you like it if because you were born a brunette you could not marry a blond? How would you feel if the government told you who could marry, who you could love?

These are real people's lives we are talking about. Not perverts, not murderers, but law-abiding, loving, caring people. We must make a stand. We must not continue to allow our society to discriminate against homosexuals. We must fight for the equality of ALL people.