Gay Marriage and Civil Rights

In today’s society, we have all been discriminated against in one way or another, whether it is because of our gender, where we grew up or because of our religious background. Even though these little acts of discrimination can be hurtful, they cannot be compared to anything that the homosexuals of our time are feeling now. They are treated as if they are lesser human beings than a straight person by being called derogatory names all the time, being treated as if there is something wrong with them, they are not people that have morals or, in extreme circumstances, they are physically abused, but most often it is all emotional abuse. However, the biggest controversy homosexuals have to deal with right now is being able to marry the person they love regardless of their gender.
Many of the arguments and fighting to have the right for homosexuals to marry is very similar to the experiences black people were going through just forty- two years ago. During the Civil Rights movement, blacks were fighting for their freedom, but they were also fighting to be able to have interracial marriages. Many black lawmakers are now agreeing that gay marriage should be legalized because they fought for equality for all people, therefore, everyone should be equal and share in the same rights regardless of their sexual orientation. In this New York Times article, it states that Senator Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat, gave the names of those states that sold black people into slavery and did not allow interracial marriages until a Supreme Court decision in 1967 because “It was an abomination for interracial couples to fall in love; it would destroy the institution of marriage. This is exactly what we heard then.” Similarly, these same states are against allowing same-sex marriages because people, again, feel that it is against the institution of marriage and not right for two people of the same sex to marry. Many people are now considering homosexuals to be the new black because they are discriminated against and fighting for the right to be equal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/nyregion/03personal.html?scp=2&sq=gays%20being%20the%20new%20black%20articles&st=cse