Fighting for Equality

I am an active member and participant with HRC, or the Human Rights Campaign. I became a member because I have so many close friends and even a few family members who are gay or lesbian. Fighting for and protecting their rights, as well as the rights for any person is something I am passionate about. Recently, my good male friends got married after being in a relationship for twelve years. With the election coming up, the GOP party is threatening to make gay marriage illegal on a federal level. I am saddened and outraged by this. My friends deserve equal treatment as a married couple as straight couples do. You don't see the Democratic party out there threatening to redefine marriage for heterosexuals. Why is it so different for gay and lesbian couples?

There are so many issues with the Romney/Ryan platform, it is hard to even know where to begin. Not only do the men want to prevent same sex couples from marrying by voting for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, they also have openly voted against the Hate Crime Prevention Act. The hatred that these men display is frightening and very serious for the future of our nation.

We need to educate our kids to accept one another for who we are, no matter what the race, gender,  or sexual orientation. Children are not born hating or judging other people; it is a learned behavior. By having men running for President and Vice President who openly hate certain groups of people, we are sending the wrong message to our children. Romney has even go so far as to reject the birth certificates of children coming from same-sex couples:

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/mitt-romney-rejected-birth-certificates-for-massachusetts-children-born-to

Ryan is very outspoken against the gay and lesbian community as well:

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/paul-ryans-long-anti-lgbt-track-record


Social justice means that we work with our communities to educate not only the children in our classrooms, but also the people that we come in contact with on a daily basis. We need to stop people from teaching children that it is ok to judge someone just because they are different. The country will never succeed if we cannot come together and learn to accept one another. We talk about bullying and how wrong it is and damaging it is to our children....yet we are faced with two bullies possibly being elected into the White House. It just cannot happen.

For my "Take Action" assignment, I will be working with the Obama committee this Sunday to go door to door in Windham, NH to get people excited about voting. I am a strong supporter of Obama/Biden because they stand for everything I believe in. As a woman, a student and a future educator, I feel that these men have fought for me in the face of opposition, and it is so important to re-elect Obama for a second term.

Taking action by Rachel Gregory

            Our service learning project could be outside of class. We would go to register to vote. Since petitions are still being legalized for same-sex marriage the best thing we can do to support same-sex marriage is to vote. There are two ways I found you can take action for this cause. One is to register to vote so on Election Day you can vote for the candidate who believes in same-sex equality. The next thing is joining a gay- straight alliance or a support group.  Here is a link for a gay and lesbian alliance right here in Boston… http://www.bagly.org/about

            My action has already been fulfilled. I have been a registered voter since 2008 and I am ready for Election Day. I still remember the day I registered and my first time voting. I was a great feeling because I felt like a real grown up. My felt my opinion making a difference which is one of the first times I remember feeling that way because no one really takes kids opinions seriously. I would join a gay-straight alliance but I really don’t have much time to commit to another activity. This would be a possibility once I am done with school.

            This is an interesting topic to bring up to students. I would be teaching younger students who are not old enough to vote and I wouldn’t bring up politics in the classroom because that and start a lot of trouble. I would ban discriminating words against homosexuals. I would do this by pulling the student aside and explaining how calling someone that name isn’t nice. I would also explain to my students that homosexuals are no different than any of us, that they are just in love and to me love can come in any shape, size, or gender.  I think if I could get this across to kids at a young age there would be less bullying and they will grow up to be more excepting of others.

            I agree with the quote “Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individuals, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teacher social studies.” In social studies we teach many different things. One of the subjects is the great men and women all around the world who made a difference. If we teach the students about them we can also teach them how to be great like them.

For a “take action” I went on freedomtomarry.org and signed their “Majority for Marriage pledge” that supports marriage rights for all Americans. It felt good to think that I could make a difference for Americans who can’t marry who they want to just because of the law. It would be great to see anyone be able to marry whomever he or she wants. It would be a big accomplishment to see marriage of any kind not be discriminated against.

Here is a great video from their website. http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/roadmap-to-victory

I think it would be hard to teach younger children about social justice issues but that it needs to be done in some way. I don’t think they need to know about every issue however, they should know that everyone no matter, race, gender, beliefs, culture or size should have the right to anything. They should also know that this is not happening now and that children need to know that it has gotten better over the years but is certainly not fixed. 

I agree with the beginning of the quote, " Struggle for social justice is central to our nation's history...". Throughout our history, our world has had trouble with social justice. It has been hard for certain groups or people to live because there is struggle for social justice. I think that all of these topics and situations appear while teaching social studies. However, how to teach it would be a concern. You have to get your point across to the children without telling them all of the horrible details. however, you would still want them to know that people and groups went through terrible things and that people are still going through things today just to get social justice. 

Informational and Procedural Knowledge

v  Informational knowledge- knowing that something needs to be done to legalize gay marriage. 
Procedural knowledge- Knowing how to go about this change and what steps the government would have to do to legalize gay marriage.

v  Steps:
1. The U.S would need to be more educated about homosexuality. They need to realize that even though someone is homosexual, that they are the same as everyone else. 
2. Large amounts of people would need to sign petitions showing our government that we want gay marriage legalized. 
3. These petitions would need to be sent to congress.

v  Critical Attributes of same sex marriage:  Understanding that homosexuals are the same as everyone else. They live, breath, and feel just like everyone else.  The students must also understand that they can make it possible for same sex marriage to be legal. There are petitions they can sign and also by voting makes a huge difference.

Just this week and article came out talking about how it will soon be legal for citizens to petition for same sex marriage. The Supreme court must agree with the Court of Appeals ruling on the Marriage Act, which is the federal ban on same-sex marriage petition, will end. Here is the link if you are interested! http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/citizenship-now/petitioning-same-sex-partners-legal-article-1.1189778

The concept of understanding how important same-sex marriage is can be taught in many different ways. One excellent way to teach it is to have a group activity that focuses on discrimination. We often do not look at marriage as something that can or cannot be discriminated on...but it is. In the class, the students could be broken up into several groups. The groups would be handed cards. If you receive a card with a word or phrase on it. The category could be eye color, height, ethnicity, etc. If an individual received a card with a characteristic that belonged to them, they would be forced to leave the group and sit along. The role play game would continue until there were only two "winners" left, while everyone else was separated. The goal of the activity is to teach what discrimination feels like and to be the odd man out.

Interview with Molly, supporter of same-sex marriage

I interviewed my best friend, Molly. I thought she would be a great person to interview because not only one, but two members of her family, are gay. She has had to deal with people's opinions all her life and she feels that she would not be the person that she is today if she had not had the experience of having gay family members.

1) Do you feel that the issue of same-sex marriage is a problem that is important in our society? Why/Why not? Absolutely. It affects not just gays and lesbians, but everyone and society as a whole. I believe in the equal rights for everyone, not just heterosexuals. I am an active member of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) and fully support same-sex marriage being legalized nationwide. I don't care who you want to marry, and honestly - other people should not either.

2) Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? Why/Why not? I think that not enough people are as supportive as they should be. I feel that a lot of people will not be vocal about supporting same-sex marriage. There are also way too many people who are close-minded and do not think it is something that should be allowed. In my experience, those people are ultra conservative or very religious. In my opinion, hating someone because of their sexuality is pure ignorance.

3) What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem? There is the problem of separation of church and state. The problem right now is that same-sex marriage is only recognized on a state level. It should be made legal on a nationwide level. If a couple is legally married in Massachusetts, their marriage should also be legal in every other state. It does not matter what the church has to say about it. It should not be a factor of supporting the rights of others.

4) Why are you in support of same-sex marriage? I grew up in a home with a father who ended up being gay. It was just something that was never talked about. My mother (who has since passed away) and my father were best friends. During the time period when they got married (in the 1960s) being homosexual wasn't accepted like it is today.They had a very friendly separation. My father suppressed his feelings into his adulthood and finally through years of therapy was able finally accept who he really is. My younger brother is also gay. I strongly believe there is some sort of genetic connection somewhere along the lines that leads to sexual orientation. My brother was very fortunate to have a family that supported him coming out and being gay from an early age. He is very well adjusted and very open about his sexuality.

5) What are advantages of the policy of allowing same-sex marriages? There are so many advantages it's hard to list them all. Equality for men and women, not just heterosexuals. Being able to marry who you love without the government or church telling you it's wrong. Also, being able to adopt children or have the same benefits that a husband and wife have are important.

6) What are disadvantages of this policy? If I really had to come up with a disadvantage is that it would be met with an enormous amount of criticism by certain groups.

7) How might the policy be improved? I strongly believe that same-sex marriage should be legal on the Federal level, not just the state level.

8) What disagreements, if any, about the policy of same-sex marriage exist in society? There are hundreds I can think of. People say that allowing gays to marry is destroying the "institution" of marriage. I feel that with the divorce rate higher than ever, this is a ridiculous argument. Marriage has become a joke for too many people. Many believe that homosexuality is morally wrong or goes against the Bible. However, homosexuality has been around for thousands of years...even in the earliest civilizations there were documentation of homosexuality. It is a recurring theme in classic literature. The writer Sappho was born on the island of Lesbos in the 7th century and her work focused on love and passion for both genders. In fact, the word "lesbian" comes from the word Lesbos, her homeplace.

9) Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem? There are tons of websites that are helpful. I do a lot of work with HRC (www.hrc.org). If people want to educate themselves on same-sex marriage and the debate there is a great site at http://www.arguingequality.org/ The most important thing that people can do is educate themselves!

10) Any other comments? It's just so important that we treat human beings the same that we would want to be treated. There is no reason to teach children to hate others based on their personal values or beliefs. Let's start working on ourselves instead of judging what other people are doing.

Reflection:

I completely and totally support same-sex marriage. I have best friends who are homosexuals and I couldn't care less who they love or want to marry. Honestly, I find it strange that this is SUCH a hot topic and the center of so much debate. I think that people need to "clean up their own yards" (meaning their personal business) before getting involved in what their neighbors are doing. I actually don't see how it affects anyone if two men want get to married or two women get married. I am passionate about this subject. I gave a presentation on allowing same-sex couples to adopt children in my public speaking class.

I have known Molly for 17 years now. I have been with her through ups and downs and was there when her father came out and told them all that he was gay. I saw what happened to her family, and how he was ridiculed by long time family friends. It is not easy, and I can't imagine that anyone would choose this for their lives or for their children. I stand by my belief that homosexuality is something you are either born with or not. We do not learn how to love, and we do not choose who we love.

Interview With Kiersten Lawler

Me: Is this a problem you think is important? Kiersten: Yes. I think everyone should make their own decision about their personal life and the partners they want to spend the rest of their life with. Me: Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? Kiersten: Yes. I think the community thinks it’s important but they don’t see it as a problem. Everyone just realizes others opinions of it. Me: What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem? Kiersten: The policy is a state by state decision. Some states allow same sex marriage, some only allow civil union, some only allow domestic relationship, and others don’t allow any rights to gay couples. Me: What are the advantages of this policy? Kiersten: Everyone has their own choice according to where they live. States are smaller and are more easily controlled than a whole country. Also if a gay couple lives in a state where marriage is not possible they are able to more to a place where they are accepted. Me: What are disadvantages to this policy? Kiersten: It doesn’t give same-sex marriages everywhere. You have to live in a certain area. This means to be happy people have to leave their homes. Me: How might the policy be improved? Kiersten: This would be improved by getting rid of it. If same-sex marriage was available throughout the whole country then there would be no issue. This is one policy that should be country wide rather than state wide. Me: Does this policy need to be replaces? Why? Kiersten: Yes. Everyone in the United States needs to have the right to marry whomever they want. Me: What disagreements, if any, about the policy exists in this community? Kiersten: Many people disagree with the policy like me and think that it should be a nationwide policy. Others disagree with the policy because they believe that homosexuals don’t have the right to marry someone of the same sex. Me: Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem? Kiersten: You can look online for more information. One of the best places is to look at the candidates websites to see the political views on same sex marriage.

I realized from doing this interview that Kiersten and I have very similar thoughts. I have never really talked to someone who was against gay marriage. It will be interesting the day that i have a conversation with them. It would have been interesting to interview someone with a different opinion but I am not close to anyone against same sex marriage.

Interview Paul- Parent 1. Is this a problem you think is important? why or why not? Yes, it is a huge problem in our world today.Marriage is marriage no matter what gender it involves and not everyone realizes that. 2. Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? why or why not? Some do and some don't. Some people agree that anyone should be able to get married no matter the sex. The older people in our community don't always agree with this. They are stuck in their ways and think that there is no issue with not being able to marry the same sex. 3. What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem? They have same sex marriage rights on the state level but only in certain states. 4. What are the advantages to this policy? That same sex marriages can occur. 5. What are the disadvantages with this policy? That this can't happen in every state or on the federal level. 6. How could it be improved? It could be legal on the federal level so that no matter what state you were in, it would be legal for the same sex to be married. 7. Does this policy need to be replaced? why? Yes, because people of the same sex should be able to get married in any state. 8. What disagreements, if any, abut the policy exist in this community? People disagree on the whole topic. On the fact that same sex marriages should occur or if they shouldn't. 9. Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem? You can go on the internet, watch the news or read the news paper. Doing this interview with my dad made me realize that many people feel the way that I do. Even though he is older, he still feels the way i do about same sex marriage. It also made me realize how many people don't agree with this topic being legal even though it wouldn't affect them at all.

Our Opinions

My name is Beth Crowley. I completely and totally support equal rights for all human beings and therefor support the federal legalization of gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is a topic met with much tension and controversy. It seems that everyone has an opinion. I feel strongly that if you are lucky enough to find love, and have someone who loves you back, it is none of anyone else's business what their sexual orientation is. I have many friends who are gay and I feel they deserve the same rights and privileges that are given to heterosexual couples. Church and state should be kept completely separate. The Bible cannot be used as an excuse that suggests same-sex relationships are immoral(which it doesn't). All men and women should be able to choose their partners freely and enjoy the title of being married.

I'm Rachel Gregory and I think same sex marriage should be legal on a federal level in the United States. I think it is unfair that our country is know as being free and having religious freedom but then a lot of our laws are based on the bible. It is unfair that everyone has to follow rules and beliefs from the bible. I also have many gay friends and I think they deserve to be happy just like me. It shouldn't matter who they love. To me Love and Love no matter who it is.

I'm Jackie Gaffney and i believe that gay marriage should be legalized on the Federal level. To me, their rights should be the same as ours because they are really no different than us.They are in love and are happy. That's all that we are, in love and happy. It doesn't matter what gender someone falls in love with. It matters that they care about the person and are happy with their lives. A good majority of my friends are gay and are extremely happy with the person they are with. The gender doesn't matter to them, they love the person for the person.

Policies

The United States' constitutional amendment prohibits same sex marriage. This is more of a state by state issue. There are five states that legalized same sex marriage. Four states recognize domestic partnerships and two states granted Civil Unions.