It includes the freedom to pursue happiness. It also includes the freedom from persecution. It is these two in particular that apply to marriage equality.
Gay people are denied the rights that many Americans do not have to question. The denial of basic citizenship rights is not a novel concept. It was not until 1967 that the Supreme Court made miscegenation laws unconstitutional. Not allowing marriage equality endorses the same level of inequality for all and perpetuates the misguided belief that religion should rule our humanity and our relationships.
Marriage should be an option for every citizen who chooses it. By refusing to acknowledge that choosing who we love and marry is a basic right in the United States, the moral majority of today follows a doctrine of oppression.
The “American Way” was born out of the need of many, to be entitled to full citizenry despite their differences in beliefs while remaining one nation, indivisible.
The key word is acceptance. Bringing marriage equality to Washington should not be the decision of the religious right or pressure to conform to binary roles. Our legislators need to emulate the beliefs or our founding fathers. We need to accept marriage equality as a basic American citizenship right, because to deny it would be un-American.
