SITTING ON THE FENCE

The military's policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is nothing more then fence sitting.

There are those that argue that this issue is about gays forcing others to accept thier lifestyle. I disagree. It is about their rights to equal protection. Gay rights has everything to do with equal rights; because you don’t have to accept their lifestyle, you just have to treat them fairly.

The question to answer is not why does anyone need to know a gay person’s sexual preference as some would argue is the case. The question is why should they have to hide their identity.

A person’s sexual preference is private, but if someone knows you are heterosexcual, it doesn’t mean the end of your career. You don’t have to hide your relationships in “fear” of being ostracized or fired from your job.

For the record, if sexual identity was something that we all choose, then there are no heterosexuals or homosexuals, we are all just “sexual”. It means that all men and all women are not driven by a biological factor to have a preference for the opposite sex but we all choose it. This means we would all have to admit that we are all attracted to men and women but choose to be with the opposite sex just as gays choose to be with the same sex. I do not believe that God or nature, whichever you prefer, is that flipped in the design of our sexuality.

Gays and Lesbians are not asking for special laws. They are asking for EQUAL TREATMENT UNDER THE LAW. So if they can be kicked out of the military because someone finds out they are gay, not because they are screaming it to everyone they meet, then that is NOT equal treatment.

There are many gays and lesbians that serve their country with honor and with dignity. They serve and fight to protect other American’s rights and freedoms. So why would or should we deny them the same rights and freedoms as other Americans just because some in our society are not “comfortable” with their lifestyle, which is what this debate really boils down to.

It’s like my mother would say, “piss or get off the pot”. The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is a policy that allows us to sit on the fence. If we are going to discriminate against a group of people then be upfront and honest about it. Let’s put them in separate schools, and keep them out of our neighborhoods. Let’s deny them the right to vote.

Sound familiar?

We are trying to justify discrimination in our day and age plain and simple.

It is wrong anyway you cut it.

But there are those that continue to argue against gay rights espeically in the African American community because they want to continue to believe that being gay is a choice.

That is part of the problem. They continue to ignore evidence that points to homosexuality being a biological issue. There are plenty of studies that show this.

“…The two scientists are not foolhardy enough to claim that a single gene can make a person homosexual. But they think their studies may yield important new insights into how genetic makeup, through a complex series of biochemical reactions, influences sexual orientation…”

“A new study has found a correlation between a specific region of the X chromosome and male homosexuality. The finding represents new evidence that sexual orientation may be influenced by heredity”.

To read more at: http://www.skeptictank.org/gaygene.htm

If you can lose your job for you sexual identity then you are NOT protected. If a gay person becomes ill and their spouse can’t see them in the hospital because their “union” is not recognized like a heterosexual couples, they are NOT protected.

But let’s say for the sake of argument that it is a personal choice. Then where does anyone get of telling two grown adults what they can do in a free society? How is it that we can try to make up laws and policies to make homosexuality “illegal”, which is what these policies and laws are doing?

So it’s not about making new laws for gays. It’s about ensuring their rights that some argue they already have under the law.

Some will say they have to accept the consequences for their actions. What are those? And better yet, WHY are there consequences for being who and what you are?

We make laws to protect citizens. So how do these laws and policies protect you and I from people who choose to be gay?

They don't. They are just modern day policies and laws put forth to try and discriminate against one segment of our society because we are not comfortable with their so called choice.

All this leads me to recall the words of Dr. King:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963