Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

Matthew Dulin    Geronimo Rodriguez      Cara Sarelli          Lisa Street

Love should be legal

In the year 2003, one would think people living in the United States would be entitled to equal rights, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual preference. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case for gays and lesbians residing in Texas. 

The Texas State Senate approved a bill Tuesday that bans the state from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions. This is an extension of the previous law that limited the issuance of marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

It is ridiculous the way politics can systematically affect people's intimate relationships, turning the closed-minded views of others into laws and forcing those laws onto people whose desire is simply to be recognized as a couple.

This restriction on same-gender relationships invades gay Americans' privacy, and limits their freedom, labeling them as outcasts and their relationships as unfit to be legitimately recognized by the community.

Gay and lesbian people are not carriers of disease; they are not lepers to be shunned by all passers-by. They are human beings with human emotions who wish to have intimate, loving relationships without having to face discrimination because of it.

The government should not suppress the legality of any marriage, straight or gay, no matter what the views of the most radical conservatives are.

Who is to determine the morality of this nation in respect to marriages, especially when corporate scandals and bloody wars plague this country?

Any two people should have the right to be recognized as a married couple in any state without regard to their sexual preferences. 

Our founding fathers envisioned a government that used its power in the way thatis best for all people, making laws based on educated judgment, not mindless bigotry. 

They didn't form a government so that those in power could allow their prejudices run rampant, or so this countryis leaders could create prejudiced laws against people whose sexual preferences happen to be different from Adam and Eve's.

It's sad that this nation's lawmakers spend their time passing laws to degrade citizens when we should all be focusing on much more serious and urgent issues, such as providing appropriate health care for all, improving our economy and educating our children.
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