Equal Rights

[Mavdog]

It is interesting to read that George Bush has announced his intention to back the effort to amend the Constitution of the United States to allow discrimination and denial of equal rights to a group of US citizens. Yes, I am referring to the plans to have an Amendment placed in the Constitution, the very constitution that states that there will be equal rights to ALL citizens, denying the right of same sex couples to enjoy the same rights, the same priviledges, the same benefits, as different sex couples currently enjoy.

The basis for denying equal rights to many US citizens is rooted in verbage such as "sanctity of marriage". Of course, no one is addressing the fact that there is no "sanctity" to the roughly 50% of the same sex married couples who divorce each other, as if the easy termination of the marriage contract preserves such "sanctity". No, there exists already rights, benefits and priviledges enjoyed by these less that sanctimonious marriages...but they are not to be shared with same sex couples because....well, it's a wonder what the "because" is all about. Well, it's about discrimination.

There should NOT be a denial to same sex couples because doing so is counter to the very document that George Bush proposes to amend. Every citizen in our country is guaranteed equality under the law, except if you happen to have a homosexual orientation, in which case you will be denied such equality. This is discrimination that should not be tolerated. This is discrimination on the same order of when there was denial of equal rights for a black person to sit at the lunch counter, or to ride a bus, or even to drink from the same water fountains as white people; it is wrong, it is unamerican, and it should stop.

Nobody is seeking extra rights; nobody wants to be given more than what others are given, and can be given. The same sex couples merely seek to be given the same rights, the same opportunities, the same priviledges that different sex couples enjoy. America needs to either not provide such rights, benefits and priviledges to different sex couples or allow same sex couples the opportunity to enjoy those same rights, benefits and priviledges. Anything different than that is contrary to the laws of our great country.