Open Your Heart.

I'm just like every other teenager. I obsess over my favorite celebrities, I can spend hours upon hours at the mall doing absolutely nothing yet still find it immensely fascinating, I have those ever raging hormones, I suffer heartache when I break up with someone, I try to fit in while also striving to retain my individuality, I go out on dates, I want to be an adult but part of me fears that giant step forward. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm gay?

    Now, when you read those two words, "I'm gay", undoubtedly you came to some kind of conclusion about what kind of person I am, or curled your face up in disgust, or maybe you've just stopped reading this altogether. No matter what you did, you judged me in some way. It's okay. Trust me, I'm used to it by now. And to be quite honest, I don't really care what you think about me. I am comfortable with my identity, and I have accepted who I am. I've realized that it is not something I can change and really, I don't want to. Now if only the rest of the world could do the same...

    I've gotten so used to homophobia that sometimes I don't even know why I even waste my time expressing my opinion on it anymore. And it embodies so many different things, that it's hard to say anything against it without stepping on someone's toes. On any given day, I can turn on the television and see something in the news about President Bush and his ilk pushing for the oppression of gays, or switch over to Comedy Central and see some skit on MADTv using gays as fodder for their jokes, or I can flip the channel to Pat Robertson, host of The 700 Club, and listen as he thumps away at his Bible and makes blatant homophobic remarks. But hey, Pat says, it's ok because I am using God as my alibi so no one can oppose me! Which brings me to my first point:

    I respect everyone's right to think freely and choose to live how they wish, and I have no problem with any religion, even though I do not believe in God or what the Bible says. I'm sure you know about the huge controversy surounding gay marriage right now, and no doubt you have seen at least one pastor on TV or, my personal favorite, Mr. George W. Bush himself saying that gays can't get married because God says it's wrong. (Dubya is such an expert on the Bible and God's will. I mean, he has to at least be one of the top five best Christians. What better way to show what a "man of God" you are then to kill innocent people for no reason at all but your own personal greed?) Ok, so the Bible says that because I am gay, I am therefore doomed to an eternity of burning in the flames of Hell and God doesn't love me anymore. Oh, boo hoo. But wait, isn't there that saying that Christians love to throw around so much...how does it go? Oh yeah. "God is LOVE!" And if I'm not mistaken, don't they also love to screech that His love is "unconditional"?  So basically what the Christians are saying is that yes, God's love for you is unconditional unless, of course, you're gay. Then He doesn't like you so much. Wow, the Big Guy really contradicts himself, doesn't He? But hey! If we're gonna use the Bible as a way to excuse homophobia, then why don't we kill those who work on the Sabbath, which the Bible clearly states is what should be done. It also says that it is okay to sell one's daughter into slavery, so why do I have the feeling that if my Uncle were to do that to his two daughters he would be arrested?  Of course, the Bible thumpers have a way to write this off. "That's from the Old Testament!" "The Old Testament is irrelavant!" Oh, so I guess the story of creation and all that good stuff can be ignored as well?  Jesus himself made it clear that ALL of the laws and commandments would be in effect throughout ALL TIME. But I  guess it's okay to change the Bible around to better suit your needs when you're using it as a guise for your hate, right?

       And while we're on the subject of religion, whatever happened to "seperation of church and state"? Isn't using something that the Bible, which is a RELIGIOUS book, says to keep gays from getting maried a violation of that? America is supposed to be the land of the free and we are supposed to be able to worship however we choose. That's the reason our forefathers came here in the first place. Saying that we shouldn't be allowed to get married because it is deemed unacceptable by God and condemned by the Bible is pushing a religious belief on a group of people. Seperation of Church and State? I think not. This may come as a shock to the Christians but NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES IN GOD. So why should we have to be forced to live under God's "law"? And no, Pat Robertson, our country was NOT founded on the Christian religion. Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli 1797, which was unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate and signed by President John Adams, states "The Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion...".  We were founded on the idea of freedom for all, the ability to live, think, and worship freely. Denying gays their right as human beings to get married is denying them their freedom. It is allowing the government and the Church to have control over a group of people. I don't know about you, but it all sounds a bit Hitler-ish to me.

          Another argument against gay marriage is "Gays shouldn't be allowed to get married because they cannot produce children, which is the purpose of marriage." Well that one really throws me off! I was always told that people got married because they love each other and want to be together for the rest of their lives, not to be factories for making babies. Guess I was wrong...Apparently, according to these people, if you can't reproduce you can't get married. What about infertile couples? Does this mean that they can't get married either? And my godmother, she got married in 2001 when she was 65 years old so she obviously cannot bear any more children. Does this make her marriage void as well?This argument is so idiotic but then again, that is the main ingredient of homophobia: idiocy. People get so blinded by their narrow little minds that they can not see how irrational their actions are.

       "If we allow homosexuals to get married, then this will corrupt our entire way of life. Families will be destroyed! Our children will want to become hookers! The entire basis of our society will crumble!" Yeah, really, the gays are gonna cause the Apocalypse to happen. Better start stocking up on those canned goods. Basically what the homophobes are trying to say with this one is that by allowing us to get married, we will suck your children into becoming homosexuals as well and then the whole world will explode, because gays are just so dangerous. Why can't people understand that we did not CHOOSE to be gay? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD? Think about it. We are generally looked down upon, considered filthy, we are harassed, denied our rights as human beings, we lose family and friends over it...Would you choose to be gay? I didn't think so. I mean, if I chose to be gay, I must've done it really early in my life because I remember being five years old and havinng a huge crush on the Red Power Ranger. And when I was eight and saw Val Kilmer in Batman Forever? Don't even get me started! Of course, at those ages I thought it was normal. It wasn't until Matthew Sheppard was killed and I asked my godmother what "gay" meant that I learned that it wasn't as normal as I thought. "Oh, sweetie, 'gay' is a horrible, horrible thing." Then she started quoting various scriptures from the Bible telling me that gays were going to Hell, God hated them...blah blah blah. Wow, I guess it's not so normal, huh? The one thing I always heard was that they chose to be "that way"...that they could be straight if they wanted to. Trust me, I tried my best to be straight...dated all the girls, had sex, forced myself to believe that this is what my heart truly wanted. But there was always this empty feeling inside, and I knew I couldn't run from myself forever. It's hard to find and accept who you really are when you're 14. I don't know many people who would put themselves through such agony by their own choice. It's just plain crazy. Love is love, and it is blind. It doesn't see race, background, or sex...You cannot help who you love. It just happens. And the ultimate symbol of two people's love for each other is marriage. Homosexual couples love each other, and should be allowed to express that love through marriage. The world won't come to an end because of it. Believe me.

       In a country that is supposedly all about "equal rights for all", we are still so far away from the image of perfection that we like for the rest of the world to believe. By opressing us, you are opressing yourself. Gays will never stop fighting for their rights, no matter how many Biblical scriptures you quote at us. Diversity is what makes the world such a fascinating place. A melting pot of different races, cultures, ideas, religions, lifestyles, this si a world where no two people are exactly alike, and everyone has a different background. We have differing tastes in many things, and we all go about our lives in different ways. But despite all of these differences, we all have one thing in common: We are all human. And we all deserve to be free. Look past the labels. They mean nothing at all. Yes, I may be gay but I am still a human. This not make me some kind of inferior species, does it? We need to wake up as a nation, and see that everyone is equal in that they are all human beings. Then, and only then, will we truly be able to be the nation of "freedom" that we claim to be.