Spring Break
Gays deserve respect and a place in history
The Most You Ever Knew
Kimberly Tsao
Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: Opinion
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That means more kids will stay in the system. Angelina Jolie can only take in so many. Give homosexuals a chance.
According to the American Psychological Association, studies have shown that homosexual parents are no different than heterosexuals, and in some cases, homosexuals are superior parents.
Besides, the definition of family is subjective. It doesn't have to be a dad, a mom and a kid. It usually never is - life makes sure of that.
Family can be a single parent, multiple parents, grandparents or no parents. It doesn't even have to be blood. The important thing is that the children come first - not a religious or political agenda.
That means you, Schwarzenegger. According to a CBS News article, the governor vetoed the bill because Milk had more local importance in San Francisco rather than statewide. Reality check: Milk earned a spot on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and fought for gay rights. With the disenfranchised, a victory for one is a victory for all.
Furthermore, we have countless holidays: Presidents Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day ... I could go on and on. National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Vegetarian Awareness month and Black History month? Check, check and check.
So why not make room for one more? Let's honor Milk. Or are we lactose intolerant?
If Rhode Island and New York can acknowledge same-sex unions performed in other states, I don't understand why they don't step up and approve the unions straight out. Big Apple, small balls.
And may I just point out that "union" is synonymous with "marriage"? Not that anybody cares. But if you approve one, the thesaurus dictates that you have to approve the other.
Joanna Grossman, a law professor, wrote, "Yet denying the term 'marriage' to same-sex couples seems blatantly discriminatory. Imagine, by contrast, if gay couples' adopted children were called not their 'children,' but their 'adoptees' - or if gay parents were called 'guardians' and denied the term 'parents'!"
Even the silver lining is gray. While California still allows same-sex unions, Arizona and Florida do not. Although minority voters turned out in large numbers, 70 percent of blacks voted in favor of Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban, according to a New York Times article.
Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic state representative, said, "I think the country was like, 'Look you get Obama, call it a day and go home.' … And frankly, I'll take it."
Well, with all due respect to Sinema, that doesn't cut it. Obama winning the presidency and shutting down Proposition 8 aren't mutually exclusive.
Change doesn't just mean a Democrat in the White House.
Change doesn't just mean an end to the war in Iraq.
Change means more, damn it.
Change certainly doesn't mean a ban on gay marriages - at least not the change I had in mind.
I refuse to believe that our generation will only see a triumph in the Civil Rights Movement and not the gay rights movement.
People have no control over the color of their skin any more than who they love.
Call us a selfish generation, but we want it all.
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