Justice for all

For many people, the dream of growing up and finding that special someone to love does not seem far out of reach. The glamour of planning your wedding and planning out your life together, knowing that you found that special person to be with for the rest of your life with, is something that all young people yearn for. For many, these dreams can, and will, be realized. However, people involved in same-sex couples, like myself, will never be able to experience this.

It's a safe assumption to say that love is a conditional thing based on what society says is okay. However, should anyone have the right to tell me or anyone else whom we can or cannot be attracted to and be happy with? Nevertheless, society is making it more difficult for same-sex partners to have those rights to be with whom we want.

On Nov. 4, the voters in California made it quite clear that love is conditional and can be controlled by the government. By voting "yes" on Proposition 8, Californians passed a law banning same-sex marriage, stating that marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman. How can a state that once accepted same-sex marriage just months ago suddenly decide that same-sex couples should no longer have the same rights? Same-sex couples should have the right to be with whomever they choose, regardless of their sexual preference.

It's the 21st century, America - get with it.

Most importantly, why should it matter whom we choose to love? We cannot help whom we're attracted to, and no one has the right to mandate who that can or cannot be. Love and attraction are not something that the government or anyone other than yourself should have a say in.

It seems as if people forget that the LGBT community experiences every aspect of longing and love that many same-sex couples experience. The first date nervousness, anticipating the first kiss, and all the times in between, good or bad, we experience them too.

Just because the LGBT community does not choose to follow what societal norms dictate does not make us any different than heterosexual couples. Many of us want to be able to plan a wedding, a honeymoon, and possibly even raise kids, just like heterosexual couples. However, more than 1,138 federal rights are denied to same-sex couples, many of which play a vital role in the lives of married heterosexual couples, according to www.change.org.

The passing of Proposition 8 in California only brought our country back to a place of inequality in which the government and this country's citizens choose what they feel is conducive to our society.

Should it matter to heterosexual couples if people from the LGBT community are given the right to take twelve weeks off if their significant other is fatally ill or in the hospital? What about the ability to receive family-related social security benefits, income and estate tax, and disability benefits? If same-sex couples received any one of these, it still wouldn't match what heterosexual couples receive.

In the long run, what can really be said to justify the government and the people who say that same-sex marriage is wrong? There is no justification for the passing of Proposition 8. We experience the same things as everyone else, and if people would just take a moment to recognize that, the world would realize being different isn't so bad.

Is there truly justice for all?