Vote
"No" on Issue One
By Bob Ignizio
I really don’t like to get into my political views in
the context of this website. Utter Trash is first and foremost about
entertainment. However, when I see something that I think is just plain
wrong I feel I have to say something about it. In my opinion, Issue 1 is
just such a thing. What is Issue 1? It’s a proposed amendment to Ohio’s
Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Furthermore, it goes on to prevent any form of civil unions or other rights
for unmarried couples, gay or straight, which would approximate marriage.
If this issue passes, it would be the first time in our state’s history that
the constitution would be altered to specifically deny a certain group of
people rights.
My first question is this. How does the fact that same
sex couples might one day be allowed to marry hurt anyone? The standard
answer is that it somehow would devalue traditional marriage, but I’ve yet
to see any logical evidence to that effect. As a married guy myself, I can
see absolutely no way in which gay marriage, or civil unions for unwed
couples of any orientation, would affect me. None. Zero. Zip. The only
reason this issue gets any play at all is because of gut reaction moral
beliefs.
Now there’s nothing wrong with moral beliefs. Pretty
much everyone has some moral code they try to live by, and I’m not out to
change anybody’s mind as to the morality of homosexuality. You can believe
what you want; this is America. But because this IS America, we don’t just
arbitrarily impose our personal beliefs on others without justification.
Murder, theft, assault, rape, and other crimes are illegal because they
directly impact and harm other people. The only people that are affected by
gay marriage are homosexuals, and they seem to think it’s a good idea.
The other argument you might hear in favor of denying
homosexuals the same basic human rights as us straight folks is that
allowing gay people to marry would somehow result in an epidemic of
homosexuality. This is a patently absurd argument which assumes that people
just decide to be gay. Why would anyone choose to be treated like a second
class citizen? Why would anyone chose to live a life where they either have
to stay “in the closet” or come out and risk discrimination and possibly
violence? Aside from simple logic, every credible scientific study that has
been done on the issue bears out that homosexuality is not a choice.
The way this vote turns out will send a message, so I
hope everyone who goes to the polls on November 2nd thinks about
what sort of message they want to send. Do you want to say, “My personal
faith and beliefs are more important than someone else’s rights?” Then I
guess you’ll vote for this amendment. If, however, you want to say,
“Regardless of what I think, I don’t believe I should help modify our
state’s constitution to discriminate against a specific group of people”,
then join me in voting “no” on Issue 1.
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