None of the world’s three largest religions –Christianity, Islam, or Judaism- accept same sex relationships and certainly not same sex marriages. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, about 5% of the world's population is openly homosexual- that’s roughly 300,000,000 people!  Erica Rose, the co-chair of the Human Rights Gala in the fight for equality, tells Teen Scene, “people need to stop bringing their religious views into a political issue, because there is separation of church and state for a reason!” Erica, a heterosexual woman with many close gay friends, has become such an avid supporter for gay rights simply because of her deep beliefs in equality. She feels that “everyone deserves to love and be loved by whomever they choose. It is not fair for one group of people to not have the same rights as another group of people just because of their sexual orientation.” She is on a mission to take a stand to make the proper changes needed for sexual equality because she believes homosexuality is something that encourages individuality and acceptance.

So, what is the future supposed to hold for people who are in fact homosexual? Are they simply not supposed to fall in love or want to eventually get married like the rest of society? Are they not meant to live in loving relationships like everyone else? Love is a feeling that is the same between a heterosexual couple and a homosexual couple. If a heterosexual person can marry their soulmate, then why can’t a homosexual person do the same?

Same sex marriages are currently legal and performed in the state of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa where New York and Washington, D.C. recognize them but do not perform them. Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire are slated to legalize and perform same sex marriages within the next year. However, the sunny state of California’s law on same sex marriages has caused quite a stir lately. Same sex marriages were performed between June and November of 2008 but were recently banned. Erica Rose shares many of the same views on homosexuality that I have, especially her views on California’s law change. She was extremely surprised with this decision since California “is the most open-minded and forward thinking state!” The nearly 18,000 couples who had their same sex marriages performed in California during those five months may now face having their marriages appealed since the ban. Both Erica and I believe that taking away something that means so much to someone would be just plain cruel and morally wrong to do!

This past April at the Miss USA pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, found herself in the middle of a raging anti-gay controversy. She was asked by openly gay celeb blogger, Perez Hilton, if she felt “all states should move toward allowing same-sex marriage.” Her response, “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman ... that's how I was raised,” did not seem like the typical response from a young girl from California. California is reported to have the most openly gay residents and open minded youths in all of America. This certainly was not the expected response. When Erica Rose was asked her thoughts on Miss California, this is what she had to say: “I am happy that she lost her title. California cannot evolve further and become more progressive with someone like Carrie Prejean representing the State. In fact, I think that the fact that she did not win the pageant and has since lost her title is a step in the right direction!” I couldn’t agree with her more!

When all is said and done it really is up to today’s youth to change the views of tomorrow. So what can you do to help in the fight for sexual equality? We need to all become more aware and conscious of the things we say. More and more of today’s youth are using phrases like “that’s so gay” when commenting on things they don’t like or find weird and different. They have no idea who they are hurting or what that phrase actually means. Erica Rose suggested that teens and young adults “start their own organizations geared toward youth that encourage tolerance so that once they become of age to vote, they can do so in an educated way and encourage others to fight for sexual equality. They need to spread the message to their peers that intolerance is wrong and it is not cool either!”

	Written by Ben Hall on 07-05-2009 12:00 - Registered
	Hmmm.... The concept of marriage is one which is steeped in religious connotation. If the question is: should a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, be allowed to marry in a church, the answer should be no. If religion is unable to accept certain things, they should not be forced to change. Religion's an out-dated concept anyway.    Whether or not Prejan's comments were fair, I think we are all entitled to our opinions. Though mine do not reflect hers, she never once said that her way was the right way and Hilton's attack of her views prior to the competition was ridiculous.     I could talk all day about this so I will stop myself here. Haha.

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