My fellow Americans, lesbians, gays, straights, transgenders, and bisexuals, the message I must convey to you today is one of great gratitude; but it is also one of great sorrow. As many now know, New York is the sixth state to offer full marriage equality to its citizens. Six states out of fifty is abysmal. Such numbers strike me in my very core. Though I am grateful that the people of New York are supportive of equality, it saddens me that so many of our peers–our friends, our families–do not share the same sentiments.
Where I live, the Defense of Marriage Act is written into the state constitution. If I were to fall in love, he and I would not be allowed to get married and enjoy the nearly 1,400 federal and state rights granted to married couples. Ohio does not even recognize civil unions, or marriages/civil unions conducted in other states. I have drafted a letter to Governor Kasich which I intend to send to his office in the immediate future.
Many other injustices are afforded to the LGBT community across the nation. First, in Tennessee, it is now illegal for teachers to discuss homosexuality with their students. Instead of enacting anti-bullying laws, the Tennessee legislature passed a law that merely sweeps the issue under the rug. I don’t understand their logic: “If you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t exist.”
In several states, gays are excluded from protections afforded by Equal Opportunity Employment acts. If you are gay, you can be denied work or even fired from you job for that reason alone. Disgusting. With nearly ten percent of the population being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, it would make sense to offer the LGBT community employment protection simply for the economic reasons. The more people a country has working, the better the country does financially. With a debt that exceeds $14 Trillion, the United States of America cannot afford to have its citizens out of work.
There are even organizations (mostly Christian organizations) that are trying to demonize, demoralize, and in all ways slander, libel, and defame the LGBT community. Such organizations as the Westboro Baptist Church, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Family Research Council regularly protest, lobby, and spew false information all in the name of protecting the “traditional family.” None of their arguments are sound. The WBC’s only stance is that homosexuality is a sin and, therefore, all gays and their supporters need to repent else they suffer in Hell for all eternity. NOM and the FRC are government organizations. They often quote “scientific studies” that show how gays are bad parents, how gay parents raise gay kids, and how gays are more likely to be pedophiles. Real science has shown to the contrary. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association have both published studies and articles that show that homosexuality is not an illness of any kind (some suggest it is a genetic trait) and that gays make just as good (or even better) parents than straight couples. As for gays being pedophiles, there is no evidence that gays are any more likely to be pedophiles than straights.
All in all, the United States of America is in a state of peril. With such bigotry festering within its borders, it is a true miracle that the LGBT community has survived.
The following message is for the government of the United States: Civil Rights or Civil War… the choice is yours.