Equality seems to be a hot topic right now but really if you look at history it has been a hot topic for a long time. Back in 1848 a campaign started for woman's rights. Several woman and some men too started the movement working toward equal treatment for women. In 1920 some 70 plus years later woman finally gained the right to vote with the 19th amendment. One more step toward equality. But even today when most might say that women have equal rights woman still earn 77% of what men earn. That is not equality.
African Americans gained freedom from slavery in 1865 with the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1870 African Americans' rights to vote were given with the 15th amendment but only if you were male....woman would have to wait 50 more years. Equal rights in the USA are protected....or are they? African American men make only 72% of what white men make. That is not equality.
In 1967 the supreme court decided that interracial couples could marry. It was their right. Wow, that baffles me because it seems like a no brainer and yet until then it was not legal It seems asinine. Why should two people who really love each other not be able to get married.
So today as LBGT ask for their unions to be recognized as marriage I remain hopeful it will happen. There are so many against it for religious reasons but I hope that they can remember that our great country was formed with a separation of church and state. LBGTs rights to marry should not be based on anyone's religious views. It should be based on equality of all people. And unfortunately the right to marry will be only one step to gaining that equality that many of us Americans are still waiting for.
