Joshua Hitz
freshman from
Staunton, Ill.
Out of all the bickering and face palming everyone goes through during election times, or just whenever our government does something over the top, it’s nice to know that finally the higher ups of our country were able to get past something so frowned upon and make a decision that would benefit many and harm few to none. I am not a homosexual or a bisexual, but I do feel that calling Proposition 8 unconstitutional was a smart and very tolerant move by the California Circuit Court.
Originally brought up in 2007, Proposition 8 banned gay marriages in the state of California, completely repressing the homosexual community. This act wasn’t approved until a year later and was only concocted as a more strengthened version of Proposition 22, which didn’t make same sex marriage illegal but stated it wasn’t a true legal contract. It wasn’t a good sign toward America’s tolerance on anything different and few heterosexual persons fought against it.
As of Feb. 7 this year, the California Circuit Court called for the ban of this measure with the members agreeing it was unconstitutional due to singling out a minority. As I quote an article from Huffington Post, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in his statement, “All that Proposition 8 accomplished serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”
The American people have been stereotyped as a society that, to put it frankly, shoots anything they don’t understand and when Proposition 8 was approved it only aided that painful label. So it delights me to know that one state, as well as the country, is making strides in equality for all persons, no matter the race, sex or sexuality, especially if said country boasts the title ofthe land of the free.
The banning of Proposition 8 is not a miracle, but a revelation and like other achievements prior, it can be added to the list of proud moments in American history. The fight for equality for any minority is far from over, but that is due to a bigger fault of a person, not just people. There will always be prejudice and bigotry, but at least the voice for equal rights is being heard.