Don't Amend- The Gay Marriage Amendment Debate
It is a crisp cool October morning. Two hikers are enjoying a quiet walk through the frost tipped fields of Laramie, Wyoming when they are startled by whimpers begging for help. They find a young man tied up to a wood fence, ready for crucifixion. He has been burned, bloodied, beaten, and broken. The University of Wyoming student died three days later due to injuries sustained from repeated pistol whippings. His name is Matthew Sheppard. Matthew was gay. His murderers intended to kill him because he was gay. Matthew had never hit on them, and had not been involved with any of them romantically. In fact, the murderers had tried to lure Matthew from a bar the night before, but were unsuccessful. Intent is clearly shown. This subject is about more than hurt feelings. It is about discrimination, prejudice, hate, and intolerance of sexual orientation that has brought physical harm and death to many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans-gendered people. Our government is taking steps to split our country into a segregated society- straight versus gay, taking us back to the days of Jim Crowe and "separate but equal" standards. After the United State's Supreme Court struck down anti-sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas, and the Ma
It will breed more hate and intolerance. Posted to the Matthew Shepard Online Resources bulletin board (http://www. And I think it's a mistake to get into this constitutional amendment business. The Constitution has been amended 27 times, and only one (the 18th for prohibition) was created to restrict rights, but was later repealed by the 21st Amendment. This poll certainly indicates the voice of America, which does not agree with the amendment, but the Bush administration does not seem to be listening. ssachusetts State Supreme Court followed suit in Goodridge et al. 7% of hate crimes committed were against gays and lesbians. President Bush's coalition with the religious right betters his chances of re-election. " (Brandt, 2004) This Amendment intrudes on the states' power to decide the issue and is inconsistent with federalism.
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