I started this “rant” as a response to a good friend’s well-written (and appreciated) blog, but when it went beyond a response and became a full-blown commentary, I thought it a little much to post there, so I’ll use my own blog as my…forum, if you will. The original blog concerned gay marriage, and the forces that seek to stop it. But it goes SO much deeper than that, and I (of course) have an opinion. So now, please forgive me for just a moment while I step up on my soapbox.
We live in a country founded on the basis that every person living on its shores is entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It saddens and sometimes shames me that we now live in a country where basic rights can be denied to a person (and legally at that) not because they’re killers or thieves or rapists…but because of who they choose to have a relationship with. Impossible to imagine, or even fully appreciate, but true nonetheless.
Straight couples meet, they fall in love, they marry. They vow to be there for each other “in sickness and in health.” If tragedy should strike and a spouse should end up hospitalized, their husband or wife is there. They consult with the doctors; they carry out treatment. If the spouse is unable to take care of themselves, the husband or wife is given the power to make decisions for them. If the spouse should die, the surviving husband or wife can at least know that they will be helped financially through their spouse’s benefits. All of this comes with the legal institution of marriage, but in many states, you are still granted these rights simply by virtue of the fact that you are a “straight” couple living in America.
But does anybody even stop to think of these things as “rights”? For married heterosexual couples, I would guess probably not; it simply is how it is. Now consider this:
A gay person is not considered relevant in the case of a partner’s medical emergency, or even death. They are not considered family, can be denied hospital visitation, cannot have power of attorney, and they have no legal say in the caregiving of their partner. Surviving partners are denied health, 401k, social security, and pension benefits that a straight person would automatically be entitled to on the death of a spouse. Same-sex couples have no legal right to live together in a nursing home/facility. In some states, even making funeral arrangements is denied to the surviving partner.
Think about this for a minute; imagine your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, lover- dying in a hospital room. Imagine being denied the right to see them, and learning of their death from someone who had the “right” to be there. Then think about how you feel knowing that you could not be with them as they died simply because of your sexual orientation. How is that moral? How can that be legal? How is that even human?? Unforgiveable.
So, how did being gay change one from a person who is entitled to simple rights into an outsider who needs to fight for the right to protect, care for, or even to BURY their loved one? A person’s orientation is as insignificant to the outside world as having green eyes, or being left-handed. Why have we elevated it to the status of an opponent capable of world domination? With all of the hate, war, economic problems, and racial tensions present in the world today, why in the name of God do same-sex relationships cause such turmoil??
Ah, there’s an issue. To all of you “religious” conservatives out there: I respect your religion, and your right to study and practice it. It does not, however, empower you with the Devine right to sacrifice those in the population that YOU deem unworthy. You have a God, and I hear that he is quite powerful and capable of making up his own mind. Let’s let him, shall we?
And to all you politicos and government “officials” who waste your time and my money denying simple rights to American citizens: Help us resolve our National Debt. Get us out and KEEP us out of war. And let’s make laws that promote family unity, no matter how that family is made up. Times are changing. You need to do the same.
I now respectfully step down off my soapbox.
We live in a country founded on the basis that every person living on its shores is entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It saddens and sometimes shames me that we now live in a country where basic rights can be denied to a person (and legally at that) not because they’re killers or thieves or rapists…but because of who they choose to have a relationship with. Impossible to imagine, or even fully appreciate, but true nonetheless.
Straight couples meet, they fall in love, they marry. They vow to be there for each other “in sickness and in health.” If tragedy should strike and a spouse should end up hospitalized, their husband or wife is there. They consult with the doctors; they carry out treatment. If the spouse is unable to take care of themselves, the husband or wife is given the power to make decisions for them. If the spouse should die, the surviving husband or wife can at least know that they will be helped financially through their spouse’s benefits. All of this comes with the legal institution of marriage, but in many states, you are still granted these rights simply by virtue of the fact that you are a “straight” couple living in America.
But does anybody even stop to think of these things as “rights”? For married heterosexual couples, I would guess probably not; it simply is how it is. Now consider this:
A gay person is not considered relevant in the case of a partner’s medical emergency, or even death. They are not considered family, can be denied hospital visitation, cannot have power of attorney, and they have no legal say in the caregiving of their partner. Surviving partners are denied health, 401k, social security, and pension benefits that a straight person would automatically be entitled to on the death of a spouse. Same-sex couples have no legal right to live together in a nursing home/facility. In some states, even making funeral arrangements is denied to the surviving partner.
Think about this for a minute; imagine your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, lover- dying in a hospital room. Imagine being denied the right to see them, and learning of their death from someone who had the “right” to be there. Then think about how you feel knowing that you could not be with them as they died simply because of your sexual orientation. How is that moral? How can that be legal? How is that even human?? Unforgiveable.
So, how did being gay change one from a person who is entitled to simple rights into an outsider who needs to fight for the right to protect, care for, or even to BURY their loved one? A person’s orientation is as insignificant to the outside world as having green eyes, or being left-handed. Why have we elevated it to the status of an opponent capable of world domination? With all of the hate, war, economic problems, and racial tensions present in the world today, why in the name of God do same-sex relationships cause such turmoil??
Ah, there’s an issue. To all of you “religious” conservatives out there: I respect your religion, and your right to study and practice it. It does not, however, empower you with the Devine right to sacrifice those in the population that YOU deem unworthy. You have a God, and I hear that he is quite powerful and capable of making up his own mind. Let’s let him, shall we?
And to all you politicos and government “officials” who waste your time and my money denying simple rights to American citizens: Help us resolve our National Debt. Get us out and KEEP us out of war. And let’s make laws that promote family unity, no matter how that family is made up. Times are changing. You need to do the same.
I now respectfully step down off my soapbox.
