Legalizing Gay Marriage: What's with All the Fuss?

In addition to the Olympic Games, the election, and who is sleeping with who in Hollywood, legalized gay marriage is still present in the headlines. I think that marriage is a very private thing between two people. Once a couple decides to make their commitment to one another public, they should not be met by opposition from anyone. From personal experience I know that there is more thought put into a gay or lesbian union than a commonplace straight marriage. After all, heterosexuals have done it again and again in their lifetimes, divorce is no longer looked on as a bad thing. Any gay or lesbian couple that decides to get married has already dealt with opposition from family, possibly friends, and, of course, the media.

A homosexual union is not taken lightly by either party. For gays and lesbians it is not all about the day and the decorations, it is about having their relationship publicly validated. The gay couples that I know that are either planning a ceremony or have been wed, have been together a lot longer than most of my straight friends were before they chose to get married. The difficulty with finding a place to go where it is legal and not likely to be overturned is one of the hardest things facing gay America.

It is ridiculous to think that just because a union between two women, or two men is not traditional, it should be illegal. It is equally insane to state that just because we legalize marriage for same-sex, human unions, that people will marry their pets, socks, or snow tires. Underneath everything, we are Americans, and we should all enjoy the same freedoms. This fight has been fought and won many times in the past. Women and African Americans were once exposed to a different set of standards.

Benefits and tax breaks that are taken for granted by straight households, should not exclude homosexuals simply because it is a different lifestyle choice. We live in a very diverse country, and we should celebrate that. If we continue to deny the basic freedom of choosing who we spend our life with, we are no better than some of the countries that we shake our heads and point out as unjust. After all does the bible not point out in Mathew 7:1, Judge not lest ye be judged?