A Public Retraction

Earlier this year, I had the fortune of serving a two-week tenure as the Minority Leader of the Republican Party in Mr. Linton's 3rd hour AP Government class. This forced me to take an in-depth look at things on an issue-to-issue basis, from matters ranging from offshore drilling to environmental reform.

One of the more controversial issues that was brought up was nationwide legalization of gay marriage. I immediately adopted a "no way, no how" stance and saw to it that not a single Republican voted for or abstained from that bill. Why? Looking back, I don't have a good reason. It was a staunch conservative viewpoint, and in a split-second lapse in judgement, I opposed the bill. I now see just how "in the wrong" I was. I followed indoctrinating conservative and religious rhetoric with a one-track mind, and just let it chug along. My epiphany is as follows.

All PEOPLE are created equal. Black, white, Hispanic, homosexual, heterosexual, what have you, everyone should have the same human rights. Life. Liberty. The Pursuit of Happiness. Homosexuals should no doubt have the LIBERTY to do what they want with their LIFE and PURSUE HAPPINESS. It doesn't directly affect me or my rights, so there's no legitimate reason to ban it. It would in fact be morally wrong to restrict marriage to strictly heterosexuals. One of my main points was that "there would be a profoundly negative societal and civil effect". Stepping back and looking at it again, I don't see how I ever believed that. What's it going to change? Who cares if two men are living together in a house with a piece of paper that says they're legally together? Not I.

Another main objection is that "it's expressly forbidden in the Bible". So the government should not allow it? From my point of view, that crosses that ever-important wall of separation between Church and State that has guarded our nation from religious tyranny for over 200 years. I'm not fundamentally religious enough to see that infringe upon the way I live my life, so if it ensures that others have every right that is granted to them while they are in this country, then by golly, legalize it.

I was straight-up wrong. This has taught me not to go along with either conservative dogma or liberal rhetoric, but to listen to my own morals and beliefs. This post should stir up some controversy, and I'm more than prepared for it.