Live and Let Live

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These words are present in the Declaration of Independence. They form an important principle the United States of America was founded on, and yet, in many states, including New Hampshire, these words are under attack.

In October, a bill to repeal gay marriage passed in the House Judiciary Committee and was sent to the full House floor. This is happening despite the fact that 62 percent of New Hampshire residents oppose repealing same-sex marriage.

Why are our state legislators discriminating against people simply for being who they are? Whatever happened to “all men are created equal?”

Despite claims to the contrary, domestic partnerships and civil unions aren’t equal to marriages because they don’t qualify a spouse or children for employer-provided healthcare coverage. If a gay person’s partner becomes ill and needs to take time off from work, same-sex couples are not eligible for family leave.

This severely strains family life, and could potentially put the sick person in danger. If the partner does not have enough money to hire a nurse for medical care than the sick person will be left home alone to cope with his or her illness, since the partner must remain at work.

It’s important for people to realize that a gay couple’s marriage will have no negative impact on their lives. It will only allow the couple a chance at happiness and a chance to have the life they want.

People who oppose gay marriage will often say they hold their position because it “protects the sanctity of marriage.” There are two main flaws with this statement.

First of all, “sanctity” is not a proper term to describe all marriages. Sanctity means “the quality of being holy or sacred,” and neither word is present in many marriages.

Over half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce, and there is a new story about a celebrity cheating scandal every day on the news. It’s extremely hypocritical for people to say that homosexuals will destroy the “sanctity” of marriage when that sanctity doesn’t actually exist in many unions.

Secondly “sanctity” is a religious term, and there is something called separation of church and state in this country. People cannot force their religious beliefs onto others and therefore cannot cite religion as a reason for opposing gay marriage.

Another argument people use in opposition to gay marriage is the fact that gay couples cannot reproduce together. This argument is flawed because there are countless heterosexual couples who don’t reproduce, and yet they are allowed to marry.

The argument that children will be negative affected if raised by gay parents is also flawed. Most gay people are raised by heterosexuals and surrounded by heterosexual friends, and yet they turn out homosexual.

Having children raised by loving, supportive gay couples is far better than shuffling them around in foster care since our foster care system has so many problems today.  

All the arguments made against same-sex marriage fail time and time again. We’ve got to stop separating people for their differences and start accepting people for who they are. If we don’t do this, the gay suicides will only continue and cause heartbreak for more families.

It’s time for members of the New Hampshire state legislature to live up to our state’s motto: “Live Free or Die.”