The document that our country was founded on says that all men are created equal. Logically, this would mean that all people would have the same rights. But that isn't the case in the US. I think the reason for this is because of the radical religious people in our country. For instance, the Westboro Baptist Church is a radical group who strongly opposes gay marriage. They actively picket and use extremely hateful words against gay people. Free speech in our country allows them to do so, but they are still extremely hateful.
Strong religious beliefs is an obstacle that seems hard to get past. Currently, a gay marriage bill is going through Congress which would, in theory, give equal rights to everyone, no matter what their sexual orientation.
What other reasons are there why the US is a step behind in passing gay marriage? Will gay couples ever have equal rights even if it does get passed?
That "all men are created equal" line gets a prize for one of the most easily-twisted quotes in history. Given that in 1776, "men" simply meant "humans". Recall that in the Kentucky Cycle, whenever someone wanted to injure, kill, or abuse in any way another human, they begin to use the pronoun "it" or refer to them as "animals". Further recall the term that the KC uses towards male Native Americans (and also that the Great Gatsby used towards male African-Americans): "bucks", these days a word used to describe male animals such as deer. By defining the person or persons they wish to victimize as animals, the persecutor can sidestep the "all [humans] are created equal" dictum, because they do not believe the victims to be human.
ReplyDeleteI cannot say whether Westboro considers same-sex couples human. If not, it would explain (though not excuse, obviously) why they believe themselves to be in the right.