With Massive Unemployment Why Are We Talking About Gay People? [Left and Right]
North Carolinians are going to the polls shortly to decide the fate of Amendment 1. Amendment 1 will change the North Carolina Constitution to define a marriage as the union of one man and one female. Sometimes I weep for this country.
The percentage of Americans who are gay is estimated to be about 9 million people or 4% of the population. Of that population probably fewer than half of them even want to get married (although I would venture to say 100% of them would like the right). Yet marriage equality on a federal level is no where in sight.
Listening to the rhetoric coming out of North Carolina you would think we are no longer in America. Anti-Gay Marriage citizens filming themselves on YouTube taking shotguns and shooting street signs against Amendment 1. The wife of a State Senator telling staffers that this was a vote that could save the Caucasian race. Preachers telling their congregants to physically assault their children if they exhibit any sign of “gayness”.
Sometimes we all have to weep for what is going on in this country.
Ironically, the Right claims that they are a freedom loving bunch that only wants the government to stay out of there lives, their healthcare and their ability to buy enough guns to seize Montana. But for some reason, 4% of the country wanting to do something as silly as get married has them so agitated that they begin to shoot things, call for children to be beaten and even talk about the survival of their race because these people want to tell others, who they will probably never meet and will definitely never hang out with what they want them to do in their bedrooms.
What makes this worse is that this is an election year. People have their eyes open as to what is going on with our leaders. Why can’t they come out and simply say that who one decides to marry is their own business. They don’t need a special term to describe their union they do not need to move to certain States. That in America everyone is free?
I have to expect this from Mitt Romney. I assume he can’t stand up for Gay people because that would take courage to go against your base. Romney shows a lack of courage on most issues, I doubt he will be able to muster up courage for this issue which he probably couldn’t care less about.
But Obama, he can do something. He should do something. He should give a speech and tell people that hate and discrimination is wrong and it doesn’t matter where or why.
In 20 years our children will actually ask us about the time in America where there were people who stopped other people form marrying whoever they wanted. Which side do we want to be on when they as what we did about it?
Left and Right is a three times weekly column by Inquistr writer H. Scott English examining the hottest political issues of the day, the candidates running for public office and the 2012 elections.
