Equal rights

Washington D.C. is the latest place in this country allowing gay marriage. Good for them! I am proud to live in Massachusetts where gay marriage was legalized a few years back. I remember the arguments against allowing same sex couples to marry. One of my personal favorites was that it was "an assault on traditional marriage!" Well, I woke up that first day next to my wife. I looked over at her and thought, "Well, I don't feel any different than yesterday, my wife is still here and we are still married." MMMM, I thought to myself, "I do not feel like I have been assaulted."

I have yet to hear a legitimate argument that would continue to disallow marriage between persons of the same sex who love each other with the same depth and conviction that many different sex couples feel when they marry. I strongly believe that I have not heard one because one does not exist.

No, all of the laws pertaining to marriage, serving in the military and / or general discrimination are not born of something logical, they are a product of fear and hate. Fear of something hard to understand and hatred of something that is feared. This is why only four states and now Washington D.C. in the country allow gay marriage. this is why we went from a total ban on gays in the military to the compromise of don't ask don't tell.

Don't ask Don't tell is something short of an abomination but far short of equal rights. The political climate of 1993, when this was implemented, allowed for this small step in the correct direction of allowing openly gay persons to serve. A little bit more political courage would have allowed for a complete lift of the ban but it was not to be. It is shameful that we have had 17 years go by without and adjustment to that policy that would have effectively lifted the ban completely. After all, one would have to be very naive to believe that the military has not had gay members who have served well over the years of its existence.

I think that the bottom line here is this. The country has made some strides in relation to gay rights. It is, however, not where it should be. Remember, it is not equal if it is only sometimes.