Choices?

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month, Prop 8 was on the ballot in California, to add a new phrase to the California constitution: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." It is an egregious act of discrimination which was appallingly allowed to be put to popular vote. In case you don't know already, I am against it.

I have heard many arguments over the past couple of weeks supporting Prop 8. The one most interesting to me is that being gay is a choice, not genetic. I personally believe it is genetic. Our attraction to people has a lot to do with chemistry and biology. Anyone who watches Discovery channel knows this. We also know that people are born all the time with different genetic anomalies. Some people get cancer. Some have conditions that make them age very fast. People are born without limbs, or cleft palates. Why is it so hard to believe that a person can be born with the chemical makeup of a man, but the body parts of a woman?

Now, before you attack me for lumping homosexuality in with what are generally referred to as "birth defects," hear me out. Most gay people will tell you that they grew up confused, because society tells them that they must, MUST behave according to the way they look. They are "trapped" in the wrong body. Their brain is telling them that they really like girls when society says they must like boys. Why is it so hard to imagine that biology got mixed up for them? Homosexuality has been documented in many species of animal, too. It seems that nature just "messes up" from time to time. The great thing about being gay is that it's not a life-threatening malady. As long as society leaves you alone, you can live a normal, happy life.

There was a time when people who were born left-handed were vilified, and schools attempted to force them to use their right hands. It seems silly today, and today we completely accept left-handed people as a matter of course. I look forward to the day when we treat gay people the same way. Until then, however, we must fight for equality for our gay brothers and sisters.

However, all that being said, it's a moot point! It is absolutely silly for a Prop 8 supporter to suggest that gay couples don't deserve the same rights as straight couples, because they made the choice to be gay. Even if this were true, so what if they chose that lifestyle? Isn't that what our country was founded upon? Aren't we supposed to be able to make any choice we want in America, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else? Don't we choose our religion as well? Is it ok to discriminate against Mormons and tell them that we are taking away some of their rights as a Morman? If they want the rights back, all they have to do is choose to be Catholic. Right?

No, gay people do not choose to be gay. But that is beside the point. It is just another argument made in support of discrimination. The fact that this discrimination was allowed to go to a popular vote is abominable. It is amazing to me that we as a people continually make the same mistakes, over and over and over again. We never seem to learn, and grow. Yet again, a minority has to fight for their right to simply be an equal member of society. When will America get off this ridiculous roller coaster? People will claim that we are making in progress in America, and point to our new black President as proof. I say bullshit. We just transferred our prejudice somewhere else. You can't just move your dirty laundry to another pile and expect it to go away. You have to clean it. And that takes effort. People need to choose to be tolerant.

Wait, maybe that's the problem... maybe intolerance is genetic, and I need to learn to accept intolerant people...

Nah.
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Michael Glass
mglass@gmail.com
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