Equal Rights

It genuinely baffles me that there are still American citizens fighting for equal rights in the United States of America.  I feel we, as a country, should have learned from our previous mistakes by now and have open minds and hearts for all.  Mostly, it breaks my heart there are still millions of Americans who can not get married because they are same-sex couples.  Why should I be able to marry but they cannot?  Marriage is about being in love and committing the rest of your life to that person.  It should not be about gender.

It was not long ago when our government believed African Americans did not deserve the same rights as white citizens in this country.  African Americans were separated from white citizens as if they were an inferior race. They were worked as slaves,  and then later paid next to nothing while not having the right to vote.  We all know now how repulsive this way of thinking was, and we are, as we should be, disgusted by what happened.  Yes, African Americans were allowed to marry one another, but interracial marriage was illegal in most states in the 1950s.  There is a heart-wrenching documentary showing an interracial, Virginian couple who fought this law, taking their case to the U.S. Supreme court.  In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the couple which resulted in states overturning their ban on interracial marriage.

I don't understand how the government can realize how erroneous and ignorant our laws were against interracial marriage, but they do not grasp that keeping same-sex couples from getting married is equally wrong.  If two people are in love, and they can legally make decisions about marriage, the government should not be able to intervene.    

After allowing same-sex marriage, the government must change the federal law which defines marriage only if it is with one woman and one man being married.  This inaccurate definition of what marriage should be, must be changed to allow same-sex couples the benefits of social security, tax breaks, family and medical leave, and more.

The government must realize how hypocritical this is, and we must do what we can to change these laws.