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Gay Rights
MAKING GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE means . . . guaranteeing ALL citizens equal treatment all the time.
POSITION SUMMARY: I oppose discrimination in any form. Period. DISCUSSION: Gay Marriage Not so long ago, inter-racial marriages were illegal, even criminal, in many states. In Loving v. Virginia, 1, 87 S.Ct. 1817, 18 L.Ed.2d 1010 (1967) the Supreme Court held such laws violated the Fourteenth Amendment because they deprived certain individual of a rights of citizenship. I believe that laws prohibiting same sex marriages are equally repugnant to the Constitution. Gays in the Military
Sixty years ago, homosexuality was thought to be a mental disorder, and gays were deemed unfit for military service. We now know that homosexuality is a state of being, not a choice and not a disorder. The exclusion of gays from military service also unjustifiably denies a portion of our population access to what, for many, is their path out of poverty and to a better economic future. For example: The exclusion of gays from the military also means that a large segment of the population is denied the benefits of many government programs. Because they cannot serve in the military, they are denied the opportunity to obtain an education at any of the military academies, to benefit from military training programs that prepare them for successful careers in the private sector or to the benefits of college tuition under the G.I. Bill. In these economic times when we, as a nation, are desperately trying to recruit students to pursue higher education in technical jobs, a policy of preventing anyone from having access to such training through the military and following military service makes no sense.
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the rights of individuals. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships. Government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships.
Marriage is both a civil institution and religious institution. I have no problem with a “separate but equal” provision for civil unions—providing the relevant provisions of every law using the term “marriage”— especially the Internal Revenue Code--is appropriately amended.
I reject the argument that the presence of gays in the military bad for moral and unit cohesion. This is the same argument that was made for excluding African Americans from service along side whites prior to World War II. The integration of the armed services was not easy--but it worked, and today a segregated military would be unthinkable.
I also reject the argument that gays pose a security risk. At a time when gays were largely required to stay “in the closet,” this may have been true. But with most gay men and women willing to acknowledge, and proclaim, their orientation, this is no longer true.
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