#8: Persecution In The Face of Love

            The debate concerning “Same-Sex marriage” has become an ongoing human rights issue all over the world. The issue has been addressed numerous times within the United States but progress has been minimal. However in May of 2012, same-sex couples finally gained some major political support when President Obama announced his blessing of same-sex marriages. Nonetheless his support has ignited a significant amount of heated and controversial debate throughout the media and internet and may also affect his votes during the Presidential Election.
            Many individuals who oppose the idea of same-sex marriages tend to do so because their religious beliefs condemn it. They also share the same belief that the individual chooses to be “gay” and isn’t inherently born that way. My response is simply this, YOU'RE WRONG! Why would someone choose to live a life full of persecution, suffering from insults, being bullied at school, being disowned by their family and living with the belief that they are condemned to an eternity in hell? Not the kind of fairy-tale ending everyone hopes for. If equal rights are supposed to be obtainable to all residents of the United States, then why can’t same sex couples get married within the United States?   
            In my opinion the concept of love is too complex for any of us to comprehend. In other words we don’t spontaneously pick who we fall in love with, we have no choice in the matter. It’s also impossible for an outsider to interpret why two individuals fell in love and at times the two individuals cannot explain it their selves. However when religion is applied to the concept of love, heterosexuals feel that they take precedence over homosexuals. Since the bible condemns any act of homosexuality as blasphemy, heterosexuals feel they have the right to condemn them to the same fate. However what they fail to realize is that when they condemn homosexuals they condemn themselves as well.
            On the other hand Obama’s support did not stop with same-sex marriages. He is also responsible for “endorsing the Student Non-Discrimination Act (Lussenhop)” which investigated schools all over the United States who failed to protect their homosexual students from harassment and bullying. Growing up it was not uncommon for children to be subjected to some minor childhood teasing. However, at what point does minor teasing become something more prominent like bullying and harassment. Can you imagine how derogatory words like faggot, queer or homo affect younger gay kids who struggle with their sexual orientation? What’s more disturbing is the amount of suicides associated with this type of bullying and harassment and the fact that they could have easily been prevented if schools weren’t neglecting to correct this type of negative activity.
            Homosexual students are often subjected to bullying and sexual harassment on a daily basis at school. “The Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network reported that 84.6 percent of LGBT students are verbally harassed in school (Lussenhop).” Another study by GLSEN indicated that, “a scant 9 percent of school principals believed anti-gay bullying was happening often within their school (Lussenhop).” Homosexual students are teased, called names, stabbed with pencils, jumped by gangs and have even been urinated on by other students just because of their sexual orientation. This type of harassment should not go unnoticed within our education system and many students have lost their lives because no one had the decency to stand up for them. The time for change is NOW and this change must start with US.

Source: 
Lussenhop, Jessica. "The Gay Selma: Schools Ignore Gay Bullying at Their Own Peril." Riverfronttimes.com. Riverfront Times News, 31 May 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2012. <http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2012-05-31/news/schools-ignore-gay-bullying-at-their-own-peril/>.