Gay Marriage Is A Civil Right, Not A Civil Privilege

“Here’s the thing about rights. They’re not supposed to be voted on. That’s why they’re called rights.”

-Rachel Maddow.

“What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love.That’s their business. It is no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”

-Jay Z.

“I think President Obama is this generation’s Martin Luther Queen.”

-Gloganvlog

There has been a lot of buzz in the media lately about gay marriage and civil rights. I never put too much thought into the subject because I always assumed that I would never get married. I always thought: “Where am I going to find a guy that is willing to deal with the difficulties that come along with being me? Binge drinking, sleeping late, and long vacations take their toll on a relationship.” The more I think about it though, the more it becomes apparent that laws against gay marriage say a lot more than: “You aren’t allowed to fall in love with some schmuck, then marry them, then get bored but realize too late that you have impregnated the sum-bitch, so you spend the rest of your 18 year marriage cheating indiscriminately on the side,” (at least that is the straight definition of marriage from what I understand). It says that we aren’t real people because we don’t deserve the same rights afforded other Americans.

I never really got that until now.

When I was growing up, being gay in the South meant something entirely different. You didn’t see gay people when you went out and about. You knew they existed, and they were tolerated, but you didn’t think of them as normal people. To this day, when I go back to my hometown with a boyfriend in tow, I find myself nervous about PDA and I shy away from wearing the clothes I normally wear (my sister murders me with her skinny jeans jokes). Does this make me a coward? Maybe. Acting and dressing a certain way became a method of self-preservation for me in the South, and old habits die hard.

What I have gained from living in New York for 5 years is that being gay isn’t an affliction on me. It isn’t something to be ashamed of, or to hide. In my 29 years on Earth I have accomplished the majority of my goals, the most important of which was to build a super-strong support system of friends (some gay, straight, and ugh-even lesbian) that remind me every day that there is only one person I can possibly be.

Clothes, mannerisms, and actions don’t matter. In essence we are all just humans, and we all deserve the right to take life by the balls and live it our own way. If that means marriage to you, great–because it is only a matter of time before gays are allowed the right to marry.

If you really step outside and look at it, denying a civil right to any human being, whether white or black, gay or straight, skinny or Christina Aguilera is ludicrous, discriminatory, and openly in contradiction to the notion of free.

Although, I guess we have been getting it wrong from the beginning. Just ask any Native American. Isn’t it about time we lived up to the expectations upon which this country was founded?