Amendment 2

Sometimes I am just shocked at how closed minded and "selfish" Americans (in this particular case Floridians) can be. Look at the title, if you don't know what I'm talking about follow this link.

Below is what one of my friends had to say about this topic. I would have to agree with him 100%, yes even the willingness to leave America and live somewhere else.

It is not often enough that something happens in this country that makes me ashamed to be a part of it. However, there has been a growing trend which has stopped me dead in my tracks. With the recent Florida elections, I have witnessed first hand the bigotry that continues to permeate our society.

I am speaking of course about the Florida Constitutional Amendment number 2. This amendment passed on November 4th, and it prohibited homosexual marriage and stripped rights from a domestic partnership. For those of you who are ignorant on the subject, domestic partnership has not been an exclusively or even predominantly homosexual union. It is merely what the name says. Two beings entering in a legal partnership in order to relieve stress of financial situations among many other things. Now, domestic partnerships across Florida have been reduced to a mere shadow of the benefits a man and a woman may have by being legally married.

This ignorance is gut wrenching. Imagine a similar amendment, one which prohibited interracial marriage. That's right Florida, let's all vote on whether our constitution says I can marry a black woman. Such a proposition would be met with instant hostility and cries of overwhelming racism. Hell, lets take it one step further. Black people can't marry. Period. There is no alternative to give them equal status of being "married". By the simple fact that they were born black, they are denied the rights which are extended to another race.

If you think there is a fundamental difference between those two examples and amendment 2, you are blinder than I ever thought my friends could be.

There is no excuse for this. There is no justification. This, and the progression of 29 other US states is fueled by nothing but sheer bigotry towards homosexual people. In the process, states such as Florida have crippled many non-homosexual partnerships, all in the name of preserving the American family.

I cannot and I will not tolerate this. My desire to complete my education keeps me in the US, but I vow that if such blind hatred continues to be entwined into the very constitutions of the states that make up this nation, I will be leaving. I love America, and I have always thought how lucky I was to live in a nation that was for the most part, better off than most others. But this is not an issue I will compromise.

Normally, I would be open for debate on an issue, but I'm afraid I am making an exception to this. I am not gay, and honestly this decision will probably never affect my personal life. It is the principle itself which is evil. If you think this could have been defended by saying that the domestic partnership was abusable, then I counter with allowing homosexuals an equal equivalent to marriage. If you counter with marriage only being between a man and a woman by decree of God, I will counter with an absolute declaration of your stupidity.

My only salvation is to hope that in the future, children will read about this is textbooks, much as we read about the injustices against black people in America and their faces will be filled with shock. Shock that at one point in the not so distant past, their country, their grandfathers and grandmothers, could have believed in such bullshit.

Also I would like to mention that I am not gay and just like my friend this will most likely not affect me in my life. But it is the principle of the matter, who gave the government to power to say that marriage is the union of one man and one women? Some people will say something like "...it's in the bible...", well I am still waiting for someone to actually show it to me. Also since when was the bible the doctrine that governed this country? The bible also says to turn the other cheek...and yet we are in a war over a particular even that happened a few years ago. So don't tell me that we are a "Christian nation", because being a Christian is about more than just reading the bible, you also have to follow the lifestyle, and so far this country isn't doing a very good job. Yes I know that homosexuality is looked down upon by the bible (this I have actually read and/or been shown) but so are the 2 commandments Jesus gave us (for crying out loud he cut the 10 down to 2, at least have the decency to try and follow them both). Here they are, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your hear, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29 if you need a reference). Now I don't know about the first one, but this Amendment surely goes against the second.

I shall leave you with the following quote, and if you don't see how it relates then I truly do feel sorry for you.

If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind is no more justified in silencing the one than the one - if he had the power - would be justified in silencing mankind.
- John Stuart Mill