The Backyard Philosopher
By Mike Duarte
People fear or hate that which they do not understand, and homosexuality fits this description. Gays and lesbians are probably the largest minority group still openly oppressed in the United States, and though great strides have been made in recent years, a long road lies ahead. Such rights as marriage, military service, job security and adoption, which are taken for granted by the majority of the population, are rights gays have been struggling to obtain for years. This blatant unfairness has to stop if the U.S. is to be rightfully called the "Land of the Free."
Religious groups repeatedly say, "we love the sinner, but hate the sin." How exactly is loving someone of the same sex a sin? Homosexuality is about having the innate feelings of being attracted to someone of the same sex - it is not just about sex. What is frightening is that the individuals who follow this scripture-based line of thinking often equate homosexuality with murder, adultery, thievery and other malicious acts. In their eyes, a gay person can be seen to be the equal of a serial killer or rapist - that is absurd. When people use Scriptural passages, I tell them, "I don't care what the Scripture says about homosexuality, I want to know what you say." Dumbfounded, the person stares at me for a moment, and continues quoting. This leads me to believe they had never thought on their own about it at all and just blindly followed a 5,000 year-old law.
Logic seems to be another problem for anti-gay rhetoric. Those who oppose same-sex marriage, for instance, say they are against "special" rights for gays, yet these individuals also forget that only heterosexuals can legally marry, making marriage a "special" right for them. The argument of "it's tradition" can only hold out for so long (read the 14th amendment): traditions change. Those who believe individuals choose their sexual orientation also donÃt follow logic. Asking a gay person to explain why they're gay is like asking a straight man why he finds red hair on women to be a turn on - it's a feeling that cannot be explained, nor should it have to be. So, is homosexuality unnatural? If it weren't natural, it wouldn't exist. It's just different. We need tolerance and acceptance on the issue - you cannot have one without the other and expect to live peacefully.
Mike Duarte is a senior English/theatre major.