Column: Banning Same-sex Marriage Violates American Values
This story was written by Mackenzie Maxwell, Daily Toreador
Last Tuesday, Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president of the United States of America. He is a part of a minority group which has a long history of oppression in this country. The win is a large step forward for equality in America. Unfortunately, not every election on this historic night went in favor of equality.
In California, MSNBC reported that, "voters approved a constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriages." Florida and Arizona followed suit, passing bans on same-sex marriage as well. This decision violates everything America was founded on, including no taxation without representation, the right to the pursuit of happiness and the separation of church and state.
In the United States of America, we learn in our early schooling that our country's revolution was fought on the basis of "no taxation without representation." Throughout our years, we all like to believe that this principle still holds true in this great nation.
Sadly enough, it doesn't.
Homosexuals across America are being denied their right to marry. When a group is denied such a right, they are not being represented. However, this same group is being taxed. Put simply, this is taxation without representation.
On her Web site, award-winning musician and gay-rights activist Melissa Etheridge commented on just this fact. After identifying the fact that she and her partner are not allowed the same constitutional rights as other couples, she said, "I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen."
I agree with that whole-heartedly. Any time a person's rights are not protected by the government, they should not have to give that government anything. Let me just say that the California government could use Ellen's and Melissa's millions of dollars in taxes.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," according to the Declaration of Independence. These new bans seem to interpret the Declaration of Independence to mean "All men are created equal --except gay men." However, this is not the case. The Declaration of Independence clearly calls for equality for all.
Further, it calls for the right to the pursuit of happiness. Whether they be homosexual or heterosexual, many couples want to pursue happiness through a legal union. If any couple is denied this right, they are also being denied the right to pursue happiness.
There are over 1,100 rights that married couples have and unmarried couples do not enjoy, according to the Human Rights Campaign. These rights involve the right to company health benefits, social security and employment benefits for a partner among other federal benefits. By keeping law-abiding, tax-paying citizens from having these choices, are we protecting the right to the pursuit of happiness? Absolutely not.
When you are raised by a same-sex couple in the Bible Belt of America, people tend to argue the same-sex marriage issue with you a lot. Thus, I have heard many people tell me why they believe same-sex marriage should be banned. In my years of debating this topic, I have not heard one person be against same-sex marriage for any reason other than religious beliefs. To my knowledge, the only reason people are against same-sex marriage is because their religion tells them to believe so.
If you don't believe me, look up the Mormons' role in the banning of same-sex marriage in California. "On the instructions of their church leaders, Mormons provided up to $40 million" in support of the ban, according to the London-based newspaper The Inependent. Clearly, this is a religious issue.
However, the Constitution clearly states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Although it only specifies Congress's role, this piece of the Constitution makes it clear that the United States of America is not supposed to respect one religion over another.
These new bans on same-sex marriage grossly violate this principle. These bans favor people who say that being homosexual is a sin without giving thought to those who strongly disagree with that idea.
Many people who support the same-sex marriage bans will argue that the majority of people voted for the ban. To those people, I beg these questions: When the majority of people supported African-Americans sitting on the back of the bus, was that OK? When the majority of people thought that slavery was acceptable, was it? When the majority of people thought that women should not vote, did their opinionsstand? The rights of minorities should not be left to the vote of the majority.
This wonderful country was founded on the values of liberty, freedom and equality. These values are being trampled upon by banning same-sex marriage. I hope that Americans will speak up for equality. I hope that Americans can see past our differences long enough to see that we are one people. I hope that the American people can open their eyes to see the beauty that diversity brings.