Rarely do I get fired up about political issues, but the past week or so of politics has made my blood boil. Of course, I think it is no coincidence that this feeling is coming to a head as the GOP candidates make their rounds for the Republican Presidential bid. My biggest problem with all of the Republican candidates is their lack of consistency. For example, Republicans claim to stand for liberty. Their favorite, as of late, is religious liberty. While defending this religious liberty, however, they are denying many Americans liberties and freedoms such as the right for gay men and women to marry. Furthermore, "religious liberty" seems to be defined more specifically as "protection of Christian mores." Christian "liberties" are defended so whole heartedly that the Bible becomes the words by which national laws are created. What ever happened to separation of church and state? The argument that we cannot allow gay marriage because it infringes on the rights of Christian Americans to define marriage in a particular way directly disagrees with the foundations of a free country. Remember the Declaration of Independence?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Yes, all men and women are created equal and should be granted the same rights. Everyone should have the right to marrying the person that he or she loves. We cannot conflate "belief" and "liberty." Someone can hold a different belief than you without infringing on your liberties. With that in mind, I have never heard a logical argument for why gay marriage is illegal in so many states. It is an embarrassment to our nation that this is a topic that is up for debate. Have we learned nothing from our past transgressions on the rights of our fellow humans?
