Same-Sex Marriage Support Is Growing

Recent polls have shown that many Americans support same-sex marriage, and President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden have made similar declarations. It is the first time in history that an American president has publicly declared support for gay marriage (as opposed to simply supporting civil unions), and it’s a good sign that someday gay couples will finally be treated with the equality and respect they deserve.

Whether or not you support same-sex marriage, it’s important not to lose sight of the true issue here: human rights.

We live in a country founded upon the separation of church and state and personal liberty, yet gay couples are denied all of the above on a daily basis. We should not discriminate against people based on whom they love any more than we should discriminate against people based on their skin color or religion. To do so is small-minded — and goes against what our country stands for.

One of the main reasons that people decry same-sex marriage is because they wrongly believe that it could somehow negatively impact the children involved. From my perspective, if the child is being raised in a home that is filled with love, respect, and happiness, it simply doesn’t matter if the parents are heterosexual or homosexual. It is the quality of the parent/child relationship that is the most important factor in a child’s development, not the parents’ sexual orientation. Furthermore, having two mothers (or two fathers) as parents doesn’t cause a child to become gay; just like having two heterosexual parents doesn’t make a child straight.

It’s important to remember that we live in a society made up of diverse families and individuals: Some children have divorced parents and some children have blended families. Some children are adopted, and some children have two mommies and two daddies. Each of these children (and these adults) deserves to be treated with equality and fairness — and to do otherwise is a violation of basic human rights.

Happily, the polls reflect that we’re moving in the right direction. There is more support for gay marriage than ever before and with the declaration by the Obama administration, I am hopeful that we will continue the path to equality for everyone. Whether you are straight, gay, bisexual, or transgender, you should have the right and the ability to love whomever you choose, and every couple should be afforded the dignity and the respect to marry whom they desire.