Choosing a side

As of late, gay marriage is at the forefront of the world’s most controversial news stories due to the latest revelations of laws concerning the topic. Currently seventeen states have legalized gay marriage, despite the country’s somewhat conservative views. And the U.S. can be sure there are plenty more cases to come.

The wind of change is not simply swaying gently in the breeze, but it’s blowing like the recent Polar Vortex. It is only a matter of time before we, as Americans, will find ourselves voting to overturn decisions regarding our peers’ life choices. The question on many minds seems to be whether or not to ‘go with the flow’ or hold on to the ‘good ole boy’ ideals.

Earlier in the year the British legalized same-sex marriage. How does this affect us as Americans? This major act may set precedence for the free world, especially our country, to follow. However, while this battle was won abroad, it is still close to home.

Following the Shaw vs. Virginia lawsuit intended to strike down Virginia’s current ban on same-sex marriages, a poll was released confirming that a majority of Virginian voters support gay marriage. According to roanoketimes.com, up to 50 percent of Virginian voters support gay marriage, while 42 percent oppose it. This comes as a stark contrast to some years ago when Virginia was a largely conservative state.

Last year the Supreme Court found the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, unconstitutional. DOMA, first signed by President Clinton in 1996, prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home state from receiving hundreds of benefits available to other married couples under Federal law. The Republican Party, the bastion of conservatism in America, fought tooth and nail to keep DOMA in its place as it greatly hindered the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual community’s agenda. “This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court righted the wrong and our country is better off for it” President Obama said shortly after DOMA was found unconstitutional.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of Civil Rights legislation for its time, setting precedence for the American government to follow. The act outlawed discrimination based on gender, race, color, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. So, one may wonder is the ban on same-sex marriage not discrimination in its own right? However, to every coin there are two sides.

Those against same-sex marriage frequently bring up religion and in particular, the Bible. Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, which makes reference to the Book of Genesis and the Bible’s general intolerance for same-sex relationships. Many conservatives also state gay marriage will ruin the traditional family unit of a woman and man, and that children adopted by gay couples will grow up to be gay. Or that gay marriage will undermine the significance of heterosexual marriage and cause a collapse of our modern society. The United States however, enjoys the separation of Church and State as defined in the first amendment of our Constitution. This forbids our lawmakers to base decisions on religious views over political views. Sadly, this does not stop those who are staunchly against gay marriage from attempting to halt the wheels of equality within the American judicial system.

There is a growing movement in the U.S. and the push for same-sex marriage and equality is stronger than ever. We, as citizens of this great democracy, must make a choice. Are we for or against sanctioned discrimination? Lawmakers in our nation’s capital place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the constitution; they do not place their hand on the constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.