proposition 8 passed

the homosexual community had some set backs this election. california passed the much publicized proposition 8 and states such as florida, arizona, and arkansas followed suit with anti-homosexual legislation. i find it appalling that there can be laws on the books that basically disenfranchise united states' citizens. i have said this before, the state should recognized civil unions only. marriage is a religious affirmation. the state has no business favoring a union between a man and a woman but not two men. once upon a time, interracial marriage was forbidden. it is easy to feel slighted by these circumstances and yet after the election of obama, a prevailing sense of hope is in the air. if this country can shift its outlook by electing a black president, then i have hope that one day it will not matter what your sexual orientation is. if you make an advance towards a straight person, you will get a polite "no thanks," instead of being beaten and left for dead in the cold wyoming night. i believe that one day it will not matter if the soldier fighting next to you is gay and when that soldier goes home from war, he or she will go home to the same freedoms as the straight person he or she fought beside. perhaps it does not seem like such a big deal, this right to wed. there are many heterosexuals that would rather be dead than married. yet, it makes all the difference in the world, if you or your partner is ill. imagine being barred from visiting your dying lover in the hospital and all the years you spent together becoming meaningless before the hardened faces of that person's family. you can believe homosexuality is a sin but in this country, we have been taught that there is a separation of church and state. this means that your religious beliefs should not rob me of my rights. isn't it time we started adhering to that constitutional protection? these are your fellow citizens. you have an obligation to stand up for them. if you don't do it for them, do it for yourselves. the erosion of one man's rights, is the erosion of all our rights. we either breath free together or we are enslaved as one.