In Loving v. Virgina (1967), The U.S. Supreme Court had this to say on the issue of interracial marriage: “Marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man”, fundamental to our very existence and survival… To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law. ”
Here and now in the year 2008, marriage has once again become an issue in America. Once again, a fundamental right of man is being denied - this time on “so unsupportable” a basis as sexual identity, something that, much like racial identity, is something over which its owner is given no control over.
Allow me to clarify; I’m a straight teenage girl who likes boys. And even if I was gay, or bisexual, I wouldn’t want to get married. I don’t have a personal interest in the legalization of same-sex matrimony. I believe in gay marriage simply because I believe in the ideals our country was founded upon. I believe in equality, justice, and the pursuit of happiness.
Those are just my beliefs. The beauty of America is that lots of people believe otherwise. However, although a white supremacist may believe all other races are inferior does not make it true or a law by which we govern our nation. There were and are still people who believe that interracial unions are immoral and wrong. A homophobic person may believe that all homosexuals are going to hell, and that certainly doesn’t make it true. In regards to God, are we not all equal in the eyes of our Creator?
In short, let me ask you: When can I vote on your marriage?