Homophobia is not a disease. Homophobia is nothing more than bigotry. It's a lame excuse for a word that people use in order to try to justify their prejudice against homosexuals who happen to comprise between 5 and 10 percent of the U.S. population, depending on which statistics you look at. This means there are somewhere between 14 and 28 million Americans who happen to be homosexuals. That's a lot of people to discriminate against.
The issue of same-sex marriage has come up once again as a seriously divisive issue in the 2004 presidential campaign. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry supports civil unions, but believes that marriage is between a man and a woman. President Bush says he would support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The last time I checked, the Constitution was supposed to protect people's rights, not take them away.
Now, as a heterosexual male, I cannot understand why someone would be attracted to a member of the same sex, but I definitely know it is not a choice. No heterosexual male has ever woken up one day, looked at a Playgirl magazine or seen a penis in a locker room by accident and instantly changed his sexuality. No heterosexual female has ever been morphed into a lesbian simply because she had a traumatic experience with a former boyfriend or decided that Ellen DeGeneres is an attractive woman.
The American Medical Association, an overwhelming majority of doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and millions of other organizations have proven and stated over and over again that being homosexual is not a choice, but rather an issue of genetics. Rationally thinking people understand this to be true.
But the homophobes (or, if you prefer, the bigots, hate-mongers, simpletons and prejudiced people) have decided to ignore the facts and truths in order to continue to attempt to justify their hatred for other people, much like the members of the Ku Klux Klan have done to try and justify their irrational hatred for African-Americans based solely on skin color.
I have an uncle who happens to be gay. He used to tell me stories in high school about how he wanted to fit in, and therefore tried to date women. He found out he just wasn't being who he was born as. He got beaten up, spat upon, kicked around, harassed and bullied for years because of his sexuality. In fact, research indicates that 31 percent of gay youth were threatened or injured at school last year. Hate crimes against homosexuals are at an all time high, and Matthew Shepherd, who was brutally beaten to death by evil bigots because he was gay, is unfortunately the poster boy for them.
Some of the political heat has finally settled down from the third presidential debate, where millions of Americans felt Kerry was \out of line"" when he mentioned that Dick Cheney probably loves his daughter Mary Cheney, who happens to be a lesbian. Kerry made this remark in response to a question by moderator Bob Shieffer, who asked the candidates whether homosexuality is a choice. Not only was Mary Cheney's sexuality not a secret, but Dick Cheney has mentioned his daughter's sexuality numerous times on the campaign trail. In addition, Mary Cheney used to work as the ""Gay and Lesbian Affairs Coordinator"" at Coors Brewing Company. So, needless to say, her sexuality was not some big secret.
Kerry was simply highlighting the irony of the whole situation regarding a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage by pointing out that Dick Cheney probably loves his lesbian daughter very much. Cheney thanked John Edwards in the vice presidential debate for making kind remarks about his family over the very same issue. I would imagine that Dick Cheney does not want to see his daughter discriminated against by the one thing that is supposed to protect Americans' rights: the Constitution.
I personally happen to disagree with both candidates on the issue of same-sex marriage. I believe all homosexuals should be able to get married. I know that, as a heterosexual man, it wouldn't hurt my marriage, or anyone else's for that matter. Heterosexuals have already done a very effective job of ruining the sanctity of marriage, as the divorce rate is around 50 percent. Gay marriage would not make the institution of marriage any less sacred than Britney Spears being a slut or Jennifer Lopez acting as some sort of a revolving bedroom door or former Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan running around and having sex at strip clubs with his wife.
Let's put to rest the hatred and bigotry. If you claim to be a homophobe, call yourself what you really are: a bigot. I normally can at least respect a person's opposing point of view to that of my own, but on the issue of homosexuality being a choice, I simply cannot because it is such an insane, bigoted, hateful view.
I honestly believe the gay-rights movement is the civil rights movement of the 21st century, and most of those who try to discriminate against homosexuals now will be ashamed of themselves in 10 or 20 years. Don't fall into that trap of being on the wrong side of the new civil rights movement. Jump on board now, and let's end this hatred against a group of people who have a different sexual orientation than the rest of us.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
