Bittersweet

Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008 brought a bittersweet victory for those that revel in the diversity of the United States. While the country was able to break though racial barriers in order to elect the first African-American president, California, Florida and Arizona upheld measures against the gay community. This showed that tolerance and equality for those who are different from you are still a long way off.
In California, Proposition 8, the motion to ban gay marriage, passed with 52% vote. Where black people across the nation cast their ballots for Obama and crossed their fingers that others would join them to bring this historical triumph, 70% of them simultaneously voted against gays to keep their right to solidify their love.
Yes, I said it. I know that good amounts of black people are homophobic or so deep-rooted in the religion that they are not accepting of someone regardless of their sexuality. I am not trying to undermine the civil strides made by black people. I am just saying that the seven in ten African American yes’s compared to the five in ten white yes’s is an ironic note.
The Yes on 8 supporters argued that, religiously, marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman. They also argued that legal confirmation of same-sex unions would somehow cause socio-psychological damage to our children.
In a society where approximately 50% of heterosexual marriages end in divorce, I find it hard to believe that supporters of the measure are that concerned with the fate of the American family. It sounds more like a Christian elitist base for discrimination than a real concern for our children.
I say if you are so concerned with the sanctity of marriage as you see it and the way that we raise our children, then show a true respect for your beliefs: Stop getting divorced. It is disappointing to see people so fervently defend a position that they take for granted so easily.
It seems a very sad thing when the love of two people who have been committed for 21 years has to take the back burner to serial monogamists on marriage number three, shotgun weddings due to an unplanned pregnancy and those that marry for anything less than love.