The Defense of Marriage

In today's society, it's hard to deny anyone anything. If someone wants something, they can go and get it. But when it comes to basic human freedoms, it's a little harder to find what you're looking for.

Throughout American history, the "land of the free" has never truly been free for a lot of people. Only until recently did we allow interracial marriages, or abolished poll taxes, or given a damn about what African Americans and women in this country are truly worth. But now, to replace these two groups, America has decided to scapegoat a new minority: the gay community.

Gay marriage is, by constitutional decree, legal. You cannot deny it, you cannot say that it does not; it is completely and inherently legal, and it says so in the 14th amendment. Due Process and Equal Protection, both of which guarantee the rights of marriage to homosexuals, were written into the Constitution by a man who knew that the only way to be a progressive nation and set an example was to give everyone the same rights, no matter what color they are or which sexual organ they prefer.

Arguments against gay marriage are sketchy at best. The only piece of legislation that contests it is the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, passed by Clinton in 1996. It says that Congress doesn't have to respect marriage certificiates handed out to gay couples and it defines marriage as "union between one man and one woman." The only reason this is still in effect, however, is that the Supreme Court is packed with seven (count them: seven!) republican, Moral Majority justices that seek to bring America back to before the march on Washington.

It's time for true change in this country. Nothing can happen while an entire group of people are left out of the loop. Marriage is not just for tax purposes; it's to profess your love for another human being, to tell the whole world that you love that person more than anything. Civil Unions will never come close to this. It's not about the tax breaks you get. It's about love. True, unadulterated love. How can you deny that to one group of people because they happen to like the same gender?

-Anteaus